Literary Analysis Essay On The Outsiders

The Outsiders, a coming-of-age novel, written by S.E. Hinton who was a teenager at the time of writing is firmly based upon groups of teenagers divided amongst their social classes. The novel takes on the rival battles of the Socials and the Greasers.

(Chapter 6) Ponyboy

This story is about a guy names Ponyboy who is a “greaser”, a member of a group of lower-class youths who wear their hair long and greasy, wear jeans and ripped-up T-shirt, and are at odds with the rich-kid bullies known as the “Socs”, shorter name for socials. One day, as Ponyboy is walking home from a movie, he is jumper and beaten by a gang of Socs. At the last minute, his gang of greasers (including his brothers Darry and Sodapop, who raised Ponyboy now that their parents are dead,) the hardened hood Dally

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

There are two groups in this book, the lower income families on the east side called greasers and the higher income paid families who live on the West side of town called Socs. One night the protagonist, Ponyboy Curtis and friend Johnny Cade were making their way back from a movie, they decide to lay down and talk for a little bit before they go home. His older brother, Darry, is waiting when Pony walks in. They instantly start arguing and Darry smacks Ponyboy across the face. Ponyboy and Johnny runaway moments later and find themselves in a park with drunk Socs who attack Ponyboy. Ponyboy regains consciousness to find himself lying on the ground next to an Socs dead body. Johnny had stabbed a Soc in the back with his switchblade. They hang low at an abandon church for a long week. Then, Dally arrives to check up on them and takes them out to lunch. He

In the outsiders, the first chapter introduces the main character, Ponyboy and gives a short history about him and his family. He designates the difference between the relationships between the members in his gang, and the relationship between both of his brothers. His parents were killed in a car accident, so that’s why he was just left alone to live with his older 2 brothers.

The Outsiders is a story regarding the privation and accomplishments experienced by the Greasers and the Socs, two rival gangs living in the inner city in the early 1960’s. The novel The Outsiders is about two groups of teenagers of bitter rivalry which was due to socio-economic differences.The Outsiders takes us through a journey of violence, struggle and death. It examines the life of a recently orphaned young man born into poverty confronted with the prejudices that he could not change. The novel tells the story of Ponyboy Curtis and his conflicts between the lower and the upper class youths and struggles and with the right and wrong in a society in which he considers himself an outsider. The society is divided in two groups Greasers and Socs, ‘Greasers’ are those who are from East side and belongs to a poor section of the society and ‘Socs’ a short word for society used in the novel, means those who are from West side and belongs to a richer section of a society. The greasers and Socs also have somethings in common like Cherry Valance, a member of Socs, and Ponyboy Curtis, a geaser discuss their love for literature, for popular music, and sunsets. A view of honorable action appears throughout the novel, which works as an important element of the geasers behavioral code.

Ponyboy does not know where he wants to go with his life. At first he thinks he could never hurt anyone physically. He was once handed a broken bottle to defend himself but did not have too and later he states “I never could have used it anyway”. As the story progresses he losses his close friends. Later after losing them he breaks a bottle and threatens some Socs at a gas station. After they leave he picks up the broken glass so no one gets a flat tire. He does not know whether he should follow Johnny’s advice and stay golden or take Dally’s and toughen up so he wont get hurt anymore. However, he realizes that he needs to follow Johnny’s advice and learn for these mistakes and share with everyone what really happened and let it better him not tear him apart. Ponyboy’s feelings are not strange or rare. Tennagers all over have difficulty figuring out who they are in this world. Everyone has second thoughts on what to do next and how to do it. As kids grow up and realize how they want to live their lives they change. Something they may have done one month ago they would never do

In Chapter 3, another conversation is brought into play. In this Chapter the conversation between Ponyboy and

In chapter 10, Johnny died, this helped Ponyboy learn about love, even though he also learned about death. The last words Johnny said to Ponyboy where “Stay gold, Ponyboy. Stay gold…” (148). Johnny had taken script from one of Ponyboy’s favorite books because he knew it meant a great deal to him. He repeated those words to him to show that he is loved.

In the letter that Johnny wrote he said “ saving those kids was worth it “. By saving those kids he was showing that it doesn’t matter who you are you can always change. Ponyboy took from this and realized that he can still be a greaser and a good person and can break that stereotype. By this happening it taught ponyboy to see things for what they are and to not take anything for granted. So by Johnny making that sacrifice for the kids it showed that doing the right thing might not be the easiest thing do.

Dally may not have said or did the best option for Ponyboy and if he had parents, they would probably give him a better option. Ponyboy becomes very lonely and needs the feeling of friends or family. As a result of him being lonely, he joins a gang to fill in the space of a family. When Ponyboy’s parents died, Ponyboy had a new identity where he was lonely, made bad choices and had no

Pony and Johnny decide to go back home because they feel guilty and can’t deal with the chaos of being on the run. So, they learn that running away did nothing for them.

He continued to stay like that throughout the book. He changed his way on how he saw the world and how the two different societies could maybe just be almost similar “It seemed funny to me that the sunset she 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.” (41) Pony is a greaser and thats all he will ever be known as, but that doesn't stop him from doing whatever makes him feel

A young adult novel’s audience often desires relatable characters and a meaningful plot that helps them to find resolutions to their own uncertainties concerning life. Many authors employ the literary technique realism to satiate these cravings. Today, there are some popular novels that attempt to imitate this, such as the coveted The Fault in Our Stars or Divergent. These selections, while widespread in the hands of young adult readers today, will not stand the test of time in the way that The Outsiders has, written by S. E. Hinton in 1967, has. This novel, both produced by and intended for teenagers, instead is a better candidate of realistic young adult fiction. Other selections, from Hinton’s era and from today, do not radiate the same