Greasers
Ponyboy Curtis, the fourteen-year-old narrator, lives with his older brothers Sodapop and Darry, since their parents passed away in a car accident. They are all members of a Greaser gang, meaning they are considered hoods or juvenile delinquents by society. Other than being financially and socially disadvantaged, the Greasers' main problem is getting jumped by the Socs, the rich kids from the West Side. The other members of the Greaser gang are Johnny Cade, Dally Winston, Two-Bit Mathews, and Steve Randle. The greasers cannot afford rings, cars, or other physical trappings of power that the Socs enjoy. Consequently, they must resort to more affordable markers of identity. By wearing their hair in a specific style, greasers distinguish themselves from other social groups. Conservative cultural values of the 1960s called for men to keep their hair short, and the greaser style is a clear transgression of this social convention. It is not only distinctive, but, as a physical characteristic, this hair is truly an organic part of the greaser persona. When the Socs jump Ponyboy at the beginning of the novel, they ask him if he wants a haircut and threaten to cut off his hair. By doing so, they would rob him of his identity.