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Analysis Of The Book ' The Outsiders '

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Analysis of Disenfranchisement in The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

Survival instincts allow individuals to persevere during times of hardship and struggle. Unfortunately, many families in America are struggling lower-middle class or live in poverty. It’s nice to think a person can easily go from being dirt poor to filthy rich, but it doesn’t usually work that way. The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton depicts the hardships and struggles experienced by two rival gangs, “The Greasers” from the lower middle class and “The Socs” from the upper class. Thesis: In The Outsiders, the Greasers experience disenfranchisement mostly due to socioeconomic class and appearance. However, other types of disenfranchisement such as drug, alcohol use and gang participation are also present in the novel. S. E. Hinton focuses writing about teenage problems in society. While growing up in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the concept of high school cliques was senseless to Hinton. She states, “I was mad about the social situation in my high school where everyone got in their little group and wouldn’t make friends outside of it.” (SEHinton.com) The Outsiders was published in 1967 when Hinton was only 17 years old. Hinton’s wrote the novel to fill a gap in the existing teenage literature available at the time. Hinton is credited with changing the way young adult fiction is written (Peck). She wanted to read realistic stories about teenagers and based The Outsiders on events in her own life. Hinton states, “One

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