Discuss the following: "Despite appearances, there is no difference between the Greasers and the Socs."

While I can't wholeheartedly agree with a statement that claims the Greasers and Socs are completely alike, I do agree that they are alike in many ways.  

Despite the socioeconomic divide that separates the two groups, the Greasers and the Socs are similar in age.  Each gang has its range of ages, but both gangs are comprised of teenage boys.  That brings up another similarity.  Both gangs are filled with males.  Ponyboy might say...

While I can't wholeheartedly agree with a statement that claims the Greasers and Socs are completely alike, I do agree that they are alike in many ways.  

Despite the socioeconomic divide that separates the two groups, the Greasers and the Socs are similar in age.  Each gang has its range of ages, but both gangs are comprised of teenage boys.  That brings up another similarity.  Both gangs are filled with males.  Ponyboy might say that Marcia and Cherry are Socs, but that is only because of how much money their parents have.  It's not because those two ladies are actually involved in the gang turf war.  

Cherry does help Ponyboy and the reader to begin seeing both gangs as more similar than dissimilar.  She is the person that tells Pony that not all Socs are violent thugs.  She also tells Pony that the Socs have their fair share of problems too when she says "Things are rough all over."  

Both groups of boys have family problems and struggles at home.  Both groups enjoy going to the movies.  Both groups tend to take their frustrations out in violent ways.  Both groups have gravitated toward forming a brotherhood of kindred spirits.  Lastly, both groups tend to see themselves as rebels and nonconformists.