Coming Of Age In The Outsiders And The Fifth Wave

Since the first spark of human life, coming-of-age has even occurred at the time of Adam and Eve. Many people think that the only part of maturing is puberty. However, one of the greatest parts of growing up is not, surprisingly, going through puberty. Coming-of-age involves recognizing different perspectives.

Have you ever asked yourself what experiences have guided you to maturity? S.E. Hinton’s “coming of age” novel The Outsiders, was published in 1967 and is set in the 1960’s Southern United States. The book is about a boy named Ponyboy, who gradually reaches maturity. As well as reaching maturity, Ponyboy has to deal with social differences too. In the novel, the last chapters show that Ponyboy is growing up and becoming more mature.

The Prince of Los Cocuyos certainly touches upon the topic of “Coming of Age”. Everyone experiences it at some point of his or her life. “Coming of Age” is the transition from one’s childhood to adulthood. While this transition is taking place, one gains more responsibility and privileges. It may affect a person both, physically and emotionally. Everyone experiences it differently. During this transition, you develop as a human being.

“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”.

In The Outsiders, Johnny and Darry find themselves struggling with the stereotype society has labeled them with. While in the park, Johnny and his friend Ponyboy are jumped by five Socs. Unexpectedly, Johnny stands up for himself and protects his friend. On page 56, the text states, “‘I killed him,’ he said slowly. ‘I killed that boy’. Bob the handsome Soc, was lying there in the moonlight, doubled up and still.” This demonstrates that although Johnny is considered a timid and innocent person, he proves that how he acts in the gang is different from how he acts in the outside world. This is unexpected because Johnny is always the one being cared for in the gang. However, he protected his friend by killing someone. Johnny’s actions prove that our assumptions about others are wrong. This matters because society needs to realize that based on stereotypes, we incorrectly judge others before getting to know them. Johnny is a clear example of what happens when one is judged based on assumptions. Another example of this theme is reflected when Darry breaks down at a hospital after finding out that his younger brother, Ponyboy, is going to be okay. On pages 98-99, the text states, “‘Darry,

The novel The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton is an obvious example of the struggles of coping with life and maturity. The novel is mainly about two small groups (the socials and the greasers) and the physical and emotional battles between them. The book follows Ponyboy and his small gang which consists of 7 boys; Sodapop and Darrel, Ponyboy's brothers, Johnny, Ponyboy's best friend, Dallas, the worst member of the gang (worst in the sense that he breaks law for fun and gets into the most trouble), Keith/ Two-Bit, the joker of the group, and Steve, Sodapops longtime best friend. Certain members of this gang are showing obvious signs that maturing is difficult, such as Ponyboy acting tough around people but in his thoughts and small indications we can see he is not the same Pony. Another obvious sign is that the entire Curtis family (Ponyboy, Sodapop, Darrel) seems to act older and more mature than really are. The most prominent form of Pony specifically is that he is completely different at the beginning then he is at the end of the book.

Everyone has a courageous moment in their life, but Johnny has multiple moments where he shows a true act of courage. The first event that shows that Johnny is courageous is when he saved Ponyboy from the Socs. There has been this rivalry between the Socs and the Greasers (the rich and the poor) which has caused a lot of fights. When Johnny’s best friend Ponyboy and him were in the park they were jumped by Bob and his group of Socs. They were drowning Ponyboy in the fountain and Johnny decided to take a courageous action and stab Bob to save Ponyboy. If it was not for Johnny, Ponyboy would be dead. Johnny knew that stabbing Bob would get him in trouble with the police, but he took the chance. “ You really killed him, huh, Johnny ?...

He sacrifices himself to save his friends and innocent children, and also shows no regret for it, despite losing his own life, shown in his dialogue ‘It’s worth saving those kids, their lives are worth more than ours’ (page 216) This demonstrates that he no longer fears death and that he feels that his life was not wasted because he saved the children. Johnny also ran into the church with Ponyboy, demonstrating that he would do anything at the side of his friends. This helps the reader to understand many of the key themes in the novels, as it shows that the bond that the gang shares is stronger than any other bond they

Ponyboy said he would be dead if he didn't have the gang members. Johnny is the youngest in the gang. He was jumped by Socs and was seriously injured that he almost died. He had psychology impact on the Socs, he would shiver and be frighten whenever he sees a Soc. On the day he left with Ponyboy, they met a group of Socs. Since the Soc called Bob almost drowned Ponyboy to death, he killed Bob. Johnny admired Dally a lot. He wishes Dally could be proud of him for even just once. He wanted to be as tough and cool as Dally but he never succeeds. Johnny was kicked out of school and that was how Ponyboy thought he wasn't clever. Sometimes Johnny understood things better than Ponyboy in the book which was called Gone with the Wind. Johnny had the interest and talent in reading books but no one in the gang except Ponyboy was good enough to talk about these. He wasn't really close with Ponyboy before they ran away together so they didn't have a talk. Johnny also loved to watch sunsets and sunrises but no one in the gang could have spared time to watch or even talk about this. All Johnny couldn't express mad him alienated from the gang members. The only one he was close to was Dally. Dally cared for his all time and would risk his life for whatever happens on Johnny. Such as lending a gun or killing a Soc. Dally wouldn't hesitate as long as it was for

When coming-of-age a person will be continually experiencing, and learning new things. As this happens that person will develop and gain new perspectives on life and the world around them. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout is found gaining new perspectives while she comes-of-age. In David Dobbs’ article “Beautiful Brains”, he shows and explains how gaining new perspectives is a part of coming-of-age. Developing different perspectives is really what coming-of-age is all about. It causes an individual to see the world in a new light, which widens their knowledge and helps them to fully come-of-age and grow

To begin with, Johnny stabs Bob, the Soc, with his switchblade because Bob was about to brutally beat Johnny up with his rings on his bare hands and his hurtful words from his crude, deceptive mouth. Johnny also stabs Bob because Bob’s gang was trying to drown Ponyboy, so if he was able to stab Bob then his nasty and cruel gang would leave Ponyboy alone. When Johnny stabs Bob, his plan ends up working and the other socs runaway because they got frightened at the sight of Johnny stabbing and killing their what used to be alive friend. “ I killed him, he said slowly. I killed that boy. (56)” Johnny says this to Ponyboy as he awakens; coughing up water from nearly being drowned by Bob’s gang. When the socs runaway they go and try to find police. Because of this, Johnny and Ponyboy now have to run away in order for them not to be caught and punished by

If society was asked what defines “coming of age,” what would it say? Some would say people come of age when they act more mature, think grown up thoughts, or do certain actions. This quote by someone unknown helps form an explanation of what coming of age is: “Maturity doesn’t mean age; it means sensitivity, manners, and how you react.” In the literature piece “The First Part Last,” the author Angela Johnson writes about two teenagers, Bobby and Nia, who struggle with the difficulties of teen pregnancy. Throughout the book, they both face many hardships that put their relationship, patience, and responsibility to the test. With the help of a red balloon, a basketball, and family pictures in a doctor’s office, Bobby comes of age after paying attention to these symbols and signs throughout the novel.

Dally gets in dangerous fights and slashes tires knowing if he will get beat up or caught it's not like his parents will care. Dally thinks there's no good in the world and will not care if he goes to jail. Ponyboy thinks “You blasted fool. They don't know you’re only bluffing. And even as the policemen's guns spit fire into the night i knew that was what Dally wanted”(154). By Dally wanting to get killed, he is putting little value on his live. Likewise Dally, Johnny also puts little value on his live. Johnny wants to turn himself in when he kills the soc because he knows if he does it won't matter, because he thinks no one would be worrying about him. Johnny writes in his letter to Ponyboy “ Listen, i don't mind dying now. It's worth it. It's worth saving those kids. Their lives are worth more than mine”(178). By Johnny saying there lives are worth more than mine means that he doesn't place value on his live as he doesn't mind dying. In the end Johnny and Dally place little value on their lives.

I do not believe that age has anything to do with maturity. I believe that the experiences someone has makes them mature;in addition, I also believe that what a person has been through has a lot to do with it.

Coming of age is our minds and bodies evolving into a more mature person. It isn’t based off age, but more of experience and knowledge. Most of the time, coming of age is more profound in the young due to the transition from childhood to adulthood. During this transition, they have their first experience of