The Outsiders Theme Analysis

Have you ever had to sacrifice something, step up, and be the responsible one? A book written by S.E. Hinton, The Outsiders, is about a teen gang in Tulsa, Oklahoma in the mid-1960s who are at odds with a rival gang. You are either a soc in which you are rich or a greaser and are poor. The main theme of this story is that you should not judge a book by its cover. For instance, many greasers think that socs have it easy and get everything handed to them, but they realize that socs have problems just as greasers do. Darry Curtis really sticks out in this story because he could have had a life as a soc .He could have taken a football scholarship and went to school for a well-paying job, but instead he gave that all up to raise his brothers after his parents’ death. He is round in which he is strict, but also likes to have fun when raising his brothers. His dynamic side comes out when he has to take new approaches when raising Ponyboy and Sodapop. We will find out Darry has many different sides, and struggles with man vs self, giving up his scholarship, and man vs man, raising the boys. Three adjectives can describe Darrel Curtis: proud, hardworking, and overprotective.

Ponyboys struggle with social classes, causes many altercations between the greasers and the socials (SOCS) throughout the novel. Ponyboy

Ponyboy is gold. He is helpful and smart, but he’s a greaser and well that’s fine to some people...to others it’s just not acceptable. Even though Ponyboy and Johnny hit the road after Bob was killed he still deserved better. Ponyboy had potential and he is going places, I can tell. Ponyboy has had many losses in his life, Mom, Dad, Johnny, and Dally, but he is strong. That’s all he is going to need to be.

"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" (Hinton, 137). Ponyboy's internal struggle is very much a part of this story. But what fuels his struggle? The answer to this question is what he sees in the world, or rather his viewpoint. But, sometimes those viewpoints are skewed by stereotypes, making the them of this book, stereotypes are powerful but often wrong.

In this essay I will be talking about a novel called “The Outsiders” by S E Hinton that we have been reading in class recently. This book was wrote in 1967 and talks about teenagers that were apparent in her life at that time as a seventeen year old girl teenager. In this essay, I intend to discuss techniques used by the author, such as plot,character, language and theme, which made this novel enjoyable. Briefly this novel it talk about 2 gangs, The Socs and The Greasers.

Most people strive to belong, to be someone or part of something important. People all around you experience different ways of belonging, such as cliques or social class. Others who are excluded, are simply left as outsiders, forced to make up their own groups, maybe just because of where they live, how much money they have, and the items they have and do not have. This is the case in author S.E. Hinton’s prominent novel The Outsiders. Within this well known book is a 2 week story of 14 year old Ponyboy, as he learns to mature in his rough, poor, East side neighborhood while also dealing with most of the rich, stuck up, West side kids known as the Socs. To rival the Socs are the Greasers, a tight-knit gang that includes many East side teens that have become almost like brothers to each other. Throughout this novel, Ponyboy learns many life lessons, while facing multiple obstacles and overcoming his own inner problems to finally realize a bigger picture in the end. S.E. Hinton focused deeply on symbolism to display these multiple themes.

In the book The Outsiders, by S.E Hinton, Ponyboy the main character, thinks he has everything figured out in life, he can count on his brothers, Darry and Sodapop and he can count on his friends too. But when it comes to the Soc’s who enjoys beating up Greasers like him and his friends, Ponyboy’s life starts to take a turn. Hinton uses character interactions to show the importance of loyalty. Ponyboy and his friends always protect and look out for each other. For example, friends always look out for each other. To add on to that, you should always stick by your friends even in hard times. In addition, most of the loyalty and friendship in the Outsiders is caused by differences from the Greasers and the Soc’s.

Ponyboy, Johnny, Sodapop, Darry are all a part of the unruly gang, the Greasers. S.E Hinton is writing these characters as rebellious young men, with a harsh background, who takes their anger and hardship out on gang fighting. These roles play an important part in this book because it shows that even though they nothing physically, they have a heart stronger than gold for each other and others mentally. Hinton use these characters to show prejudice leads to wrong conclusions, violence and oppression because these “poor” young men are getting beat up by the rich Socs who have never felt the feeling of being in poverty. “ You take up for your buddies, no matter what they do. When you’re in a gang, you stick up for the members. If you don’t stick up for them, stick together, make

Ponyboy Curtis is the famous character in S.E Hinton's novel “The Outsiders”. Ponyboy Curtis is academically smart, enjoys reading books watching movies, daydreaming and watching sunsets. Since both his parents have passed away, Ponyboy is under the authority of his older brother Darry who is twenty years of age along with his other brother Sodapop who is seventeen. There are other people in Ponyboy's life that he cares about too.

There were constant fights either between family or friends that affected the way Ponyboy, let alone the whole gang, grew up-not to mention how they connect to the poem’s themes.“‘Hey, grease,’ one said in an over-friendly voice. ‘We’re gonna do you a favor, greaser. We’re gonna cut all that long greasy hair off.’” Excerpts like these are evidence that Ponyboy was never accepted by other crowds, let alone his older brother Darry. Hints are dropped, like those within the poem explaining how the life was “not as ideal” as the Socs on the other side of town. During his youth, Ponyboy had to undergo some very painstaking experiences including the loss of his parents and the emotional complications within his siblings. In my opinion, the quote from “Poverty and Wealth” that best symbolizes Ponyboy’s maturity levels increasing and how he learns to deal with the struggles but still push through with a positive attitude.“His wants were simple, and simple his creed, To trust God fully: it served his need,” Almost afraid of what was to come from the future,

“The Outsiders”, by S.E. Hinton, is centered around Ponyboy’s path to maturity and the life lessons he learns along the way. The novel follows Ponyboy, a greaser, and his gang’s conflict with the Socials, a rival gang. In it, he learns to not judge people hastily and reject gang mentality. Ponyboy also loses his innocence. The following paragraphs will explore his growth throughout “The Outsiders”.

Later, Johnny conveys his guilt to Ponyboy when he says: “‘There sure is a lot of blood in people.’”(Hinton 74), nearly quoting Shakespeare in Macbeth. In a later conversation with Johnny, Ponyboy gets thinking about this new world he has been thrust into. In the text he says: “I liked my books and clouds and sunsets. Dally was so real he scared me.”(Hinton 76) This shows how Ponyboy likes when the hero can beat the villain and get a pretty sunset at the end. But now Ponyboy has to deal with the real-world effects of violence, and he doesn’t like it. This marks one of Ponyboy’s first major changes of his mindset on violence.

After Johnny’s death, Ponyboy finds a letter written by Johnny that reads, “When you’re a kid everything’s new, dawn. It’s just when you get used to everything that it’s day. Like the way you dig sunsets, Pony. That’s gold. Keep it that way, it’s a good way to be,” (178). Johnny urges Ponyboy to embrace his youth and innocence by not yielding to the greaser lifestyle. He insists on Ponyboy seeking his full potential. Ponyboy acknowledges that there are different stories beyond one’s appearance like himself because although the society previously consider him a nuisance to the community, they are proved wrong after he transforms into a hero after saving children from a church fire, which contributes to his dynamic change. Even the close-minded public are subject to their own change of mind. Johnny’s letter also leaves a lifelong impact on Ponyboy’s perspective on the importance of family because the absence of family in Johnny’s life makes Ponyboy treasure the atypical family he has, whether it may the greasers as a whole. In all, a number of people influence Pony to change his views on people and his

The difference in social class definitely took its toll on the two of these gangs. The Soc’s and Greaser’s opinion would change from with experiences, but for the most part it was a clash for who owned the town. The Socs were the “good guys” and the Greasers were the “troublemakers” of town, although this was definitely not the case but because of the unchanging prejudice opinions were placed on both of the groups it would not change. For example, Ponyboy explained that maybe the Greasers and Socs aren’t so different after all. On page 40, Ponyboy starts to wonder how different he is from any of the Socs, “It seemed funny to me that the sunset she saw from her patio and the one I saw from the back steps was the

“The functions of intellect are insufficient and useless if you are without courage, love, friendship, compassion, and empathy,” says a quote by Dean Koontz. Throughout S.E. Hinton’s book The Outsiders, there are many themes that she conveys in the book as she narrates the experiences of a greaser named Ponyboy who is a member of the Social group (Socs). Ponyboy meets many people and witnesses many difficult situations throughout the book. This inspirational book teaches the reader crucial lessons that are very important for everyone, even if their lives are not anything like Ponyboy’s. Three important themes in the book include friendship, courage and empathy.