The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, Viking, 1967
ISBN: 978-0670532575

Plot Summary

Fourteen-year-old Ponyboy Curtis lives with his two older brothers, Darry and Sodapop in a rundown section of town. After the death of their parents Ponyboy’s two older brothers started working to ensure that bright Ponyboy stayed in school and had a chance at a better future. Life is hard for the three brothers as they are not afforded many opportunities but, with the help of their friends, they manage to survive. While all three brothers are aware of their unfortunate circumstances, Ponyboy is the most keenly cognizant of the fact as he attends school with poor kids (called Greasers) and rich kids (called Socs). In school and on the streets, Ponyboy observes the Socs’ cruelty toward those less fortunate than themselves, especially to one of Ponyboy’s best friends, Johnny. When Johnny accidentally kills a prominent Soc while defending Ponyboy the two teens must go on the run. Meanwhile tensions are mounting between the Socs and Greasers who agree to a group fight (rumble) to settle their differences (at least temporarily). Will Ponyboy and Johnny ever be able to return home and will Ponyboy’s family remain intact in the aftermath of the rumble?

Critical Evaluation

Hinton’s The Outsiders finally gives a voice to underprivileged youth. Throughout the novel, readers are forced to analyze their own assumptions about poverty, gangs, teenagers, and the class system. Hinton’s characters are simply exquisite from tough Dally to timid Johnny, however it is Ponyboy who makes this novel truly great. Through his musings and experiences readers glimpse a vision of what life could be like. Throughout the novel Ponyboy constantly points to the similarities between teens who are wealthy and those who are not. “It seemed funny to me that the sunset she [Cherry] saw from her patio and the one I saw from the back steps was the same one. Maybe the two different worlds we lived in weren’t so different. We saw the same sunset (Hinton, 1967, p. 45)”. Ponyboy ultimately comes to the conclusion that we as readers must as well—if the downtrodden received more opportunities there would be less gang violence. “Things were rough all over, all right…It just didn’t seem right to me,” Ponyboy says as he remembers his friends’ tough situations. “I was thinking about Johnny’s father being a drunk and his mother a selfish slob…and Two-Bit’s mother being a barmaid to support him…and Dally…turning into a hoodlum because he’d die if he didn’t…Sodapop…a dropout so he could get a job and keep me in school, and Darry, getting old before his time…” (Hinton, 1967, p. 51). “We were as good as they [the Socs] were,” Ponyboy bitterly relates, “it wasn’t our fault we were greasers” (Hinton, 1967, p. 55).

After reading The Outsiders and Ponyboy’s musings about the fairness of life, readers are forced to consider how they, and the society they live in, feed the problem of class warfare. “It seems like there’s gotta be someplace without greasers or Socs, with just people. Plain ordinary people,” timid Johnny muses. Hinton challenges readers to prove Johnny is right, to make the world a fairer and safer place and it is this note hope, this subtle call to action, that makes this novel so great.

Reader’s Annotation

Ponyboy Curtis wants to believe that a better world is possible—one without Greasers and Socs constantly at each other’s throats. But when his friend Johnny kills a Soc Ponyboy finds himself on the run, questioning if his ideal world is even a possibility.

About the Author

“Susan Eloise Hinton was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She has always enjoyed reading but wasn't satisfied with the literature that was being written for young adults, which influenced her to write novels like The Outsiders…Once published, The Outsiders gave her a lot of publicity and fame, and also a lot of pressure. S.E. Hinton was becoming known as "The Voice of the Youth" among other titles. This kind of pressure and publicity resulted in a three year long writer's block….Her boyfriend (and now, her husband),who had gotten sick of her being depressed all the time, eventually broke this block. He made her write two pages a day if she wanted to go anywhere. This eventually led to That Was Then, This Is Now” (Hinton, n.d.). Hinton currently has nine books to her name.

When not writing or reading, she likes to take college courses, walk her dog, go horseback riding, and spend time with her husband and son.

Hinton, S.E. (n.d.) Biography. Retrieved from http://www.sehinton.com/bio.html

Genre

Coming of age, Gang fiction, Modern Classic, Realistic fiction

Tags

Gangs, murder, fights, 1960s, parentless household, dropping out of High School, Great Expectations, Gone with the Wind, Nothing Gold Can Stay, Robert Frost, Jack London

Curriculum Ties

This book could be paired with Romeo and Juliet since both contain gang violence of a sort. It could also be paired with other YA books like some of those mentioned in Alexandra Woznick’s list (ie. Autobiography of My Dead Brother, Life in Prison). It could also be used in any unit about coming-of-age, the complexity of identity, and current issues.

Woznick, A. (2010, March 24). YA books about gangs and street violence. Retrieved from: http://www.amazon.com/Books-About-Gangs-Street-Violence/lm/RIR2738597B3X

Booktalk Ideas

--Read sections from the book from Ponyboy’s perspective

--Introduce your booktalk with Robert Frost’s poem Nothing Gold Can Stay which is found on p. 85. Then discuss what this means in relation to The Outsiders.

Reading Level/Interest Age

Reading Level: 5^th grade

Interest Level: 7^th-12^th grades (11-18 yrs)

Reading level is rounded up from AR BookFinder found here:

http://www.arbookfind.com/bookdetail.aspx?q=381&l=EN&slid=189297642

Challenge Issues

This novel could be challenged because it contains potentially offensive language, violence, underage smoking and juvenile criminal activity. In fact, it is number 38 on ALA’s 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books from 1990-1999. When faced with a challenge to this book librarians could point out that it is now included in many schools curriculums and show challengers various articles supporting the book.

http://ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/frequentlychallenged/challengedbydecade/1990_1999/index.cfm

Favorite Quotes

I have too many favorite quotes to include them all but here are a few:

“When I stepped out into the bright sunlight from the darkness of the movie house, I had only two thins on my mind: Paul Newman and a ride home” (p. 1).

“I lie to myself all the time. But I never believe me” (p. 26).

“I still had a headache, but I felt better. Socs were just guys after all. Things were rough all over, but it was better that way. That way you could tell the other guy was human too” (p. 126).

Why Was This Included?

It seems like everyone has told me to read this book and I never have. I finally thought this was the perfect time to do so as both The Outsiders and S.E. Hinton serve as major foundations to the Young Adult genre. I also chose to listen to this on CD while I was at work and I’m so glad I did! Jim Fyfe’s narration is simply exquisite!