That's why people don't ever think to blame the Socs and are always ready to jump on us. We look hoody and they look decent. It could be just the other way around - half of the hoods I know are pretty decent guys underneath all that grease, and from what I've heard, a lot of Socs are just cold-blooded mean - but people usually go by looks.
Interpretation
Judgment based on appearance often leads to misperceptions about a person's character.
This quote from S.E. Hinton highlights the tendency of society to judge individuals based on their outward appearance rather than their true character. It emphasizes the idea that people often stereotype others without knowing their true selves, showcasing the disparity in how different social groups are perceived. The narrator reflects on the fact that, despite their 'hood' image, many of the 'hoods' have good qualities, while some belonging to the more affluent 'Socs' may not be as kind as they seem.
In practice
In a discussion about social stereotypes, this quote can highlight the flaws in how we judge others.
Your mother is not crazy. Neither, contrary to popular belief, is your brother. He is merely miscast in a play. He would have made the perfect knight in a different century, or a very good pagan prince in a time of heroes. He was born in the wrong era, on the wrong side of the river, with the ability to do anything and finding nothing he wants to do.
Sometimes, I feel like I spent the first part of my life wishing to be a teen-age boy, and the second part condemned to being one.
Anything you read can influence your work, so I try to read good stuff.
Things were rough all over, but it was better that way. That way you could tell the other guy was human too.
I had it then. Soda fought for fun, Steve for hatred, Darry for pride, and Two-Bit for conformity. Why do I fight? I thought, and couldn't think of any real good reason. There isn't any real good reason for fighting except self-defense.
...but I've never regretted it. You can't regret experience.
We dont know anything about racism. Weve never experienced it. If words can make a difference in your life for seven minutes, how would it affect you if you heard this every day of your life?
Each of us sees in others what we carry in our own hearts.
If I had never joined a church till I had found one that was perfect, I should never have joined one at all.
Our cure, to be no more; sad cure!
The principle of democracy is a recognition of the sovereign, inalienable rights of man as a gift from God, the Source of law.
I discovered that the study of past philosophers is of little use unless our own reality enters into it. Our reality alone allows the thinker's questions to become comprehensible.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.