The Outsiders

Growing up is difficult. The desire to fit in is pitted against the encouragement to be unique and different. A person’s actions as well as the influence of family, friends, and society helps to form a person’s identity. And, this isn’t all kids need to worry about: they will face and deal with bumps in the road and times where they’re down. Ponyboy in The Outsiders thinks his life is figured out, until one night his world is flipped upside down. S. E. Hinton thoughtfully crafted The Outsiders out of her own experiences. A story written in 1965 is still relevant today and captivates the reader with a youthful, slangy writing style which allows the reader to bond with the characters.

The Outsiders, written in 1965 Oklahoma, displays the struggle between two gangs in a town. The narrator, Ponyboy Curtis, his brothers, and friends make up the Greasers. This rag tag group of impoverished guys stick by each other's sides no matter what. They are up against the rich, snooty, Socs. These guys drive around in their expensive cars and jump Greasers to appear cool and intimidate them. In a constant battle between the Socs and Greasers, Ponyboy Curtis discovers there is good and bad in everyone.

The story displays a conflict between two gangs who think they are very different: “Greasers are almost like hoods; we steal things and drive old souped-up cars and hold up gas stations and have a gang fight once in a while” (3). On the other hand, “[Socs] jump greasers and wreck houses and throw beer blasts for kicks and get editorials in the paper for being a public disgrace one day and an asset to society the next” (3). It isn’t safe for a Greaser to walk around alone, for the Socs always pull up in their convertible, hop out, and jump them. The Greasers despise the Socs and the Socs despise the Greasers. This is the case for Ponyboy too until he meets Cherry, the toughest Soc’s girlfriend, he realizes that Socs aren’t all that different after all. Cherry and Ponyboy share many similarities, especially their love for sunsets. With the help of Cherry, Ponyboy realizes the greasers, including himself, misjudged the Socs. Yes, they do get drunk and beat up Greasers for no good reason, but they are human and they have lives outside of how well they can fight. Will Ponyboy get everyone else to see the Socs true colors? Can this ever get better? The conflict remains relevant to society fifty years after it was written because there always seems to be this in-group and out-group.

Not only is the story relevant to society, but it also maintains a young, slangy tone that allows the reader to connect with the characters. S. E. Hinton commented that “these characters are really kind of universal without losing their individuality.” The story, written when the author was only fifteen years old, is told from Ponyboy’s perspective. Ponyboy is a fourteen year old kid living with his two older brothers, Darry and Sodapop. Sodapop is sixteen and Darry is twenty and has custody of Sodapop and Ponyboy since their parents died in a car crash. Ponyboy’s young and optimistic, so his narration draws the reader in. Initially, Ponyboy feels very self-conscious and vulnerable: “I was wishing I looked like Paul Newman- he looks tough and I don’t” (1) He’s the youngest of the gang and looks up to his older, tougher brothers and friends. Within the first few pages, Ponyboy walks home from the movie theater alone and is stopped by Socs. “Need a haircut, greaser?” they ask him, “How’d you like that haircut to begin just below the chin?”(5) His brothers find him, fight back and save him. In Darry and Sodapop’s eyes Ponyboy is still young and fragile. But, as the story advances Ponyboy fights hard to prove the gang wrong. He grows stronger as he learns to be courageous, defend himself, and later in the process meets death face to face. S.E Hinton said “When I write, an interesting transformation takes place. I go from thinking about my narrator to being him,” and this is also how I felt while reading this. Ponyboy is forced to grow up in order to fit in, and as this happens the reader gets to grow with him and see him both thrive and grieve.

With help from family and friends, growing up can be much more manageable and even fun. When reading The Outsiders I could never put the book down. I would recommend this book to anyone and everyone looking for an easy read with a timeless story and a powerful message.

I got this for my daughter for Christmas last year. Her class read it for English and she loved it so much, she was practically obsessed with it! Then the next year, her English class found out that the other class the teacher has was reading it and after a whole lot of begging, she was forced to change the lesson plans and the class got to read it again! Now, I had to read it back when I was in 6th grade, so I totally understand it. I knew that this would be a great gift. And I was 100% right! Since she got it Christmas morning, she has now read it at least 7 more times! All of the pages are well printed and clear. The cover art is really cool too. So if you're a fan of this book too, I highly recommend getting this. It definitely made the holiday so much better for all of us.

My rising 7th grade daughter has to read this book over summer and answer a 32 page questionnaire about it- ridiculous I know- but it’s part of her school requirement. Anyway, she absolutely looooved this book, so much so that she didn’t mind working on the packet (for the most part). She was set to read another book by another author (2nd summer book requirement for her school) when she decided she wanted to read another S. E. Hinton book “That Was Then, This is Now.” She’s excited to read it!