preview

Symbols In The Outsiders

Decent Essays

Symbolism is when an author gives an object in a story a deeper abstract meaning that is universally understood. S.E. Hinton uses symbolism a lot in “The Outsiders” to put a deeper meaning on everything she writes about. The three main symbols I’d like to talk about is the puddle of blood, the moonlight, and lastly how the cement looks. A symbolic object used in the novel is the puddle of blood. Above the surface all you think is Bob has lost a lot of blood. Beneath the surface the symbolic reason is to show how far gone the boy’s deed has become. A cite that demonstrates my reasoning behind this is, “A dark pool was growing from him spreading slowly”(Hinton 51). This also explains that Ponyboy and Johnny can’t cry over spilt milk. The blood has already left Bob, they can’t do nothing to …show more content…

Hinton had signified was how the cement look, after Johnny just stabbed Bob. I originally thought of a bloody-no-good-mess. Although, it wasn’t that anymore. The color white signifies peace and purity. The color red signifies danger and power. When the red blood stains the white cement is showing it will be stained forever like this moment will be stained in the boys mind for the rest of their lives. It says in the novel, “A dark pool was spreading slowly over the blue-white cement”(Hinton 51). These boy’s have now killed a guy and will have to die knowing they took another individual human-being’s life. They will never be able to change what they have done. I have proven S.E. Hinton symbolises the puddle of blood, the moonlight, and the cement. The text has taught me that there is more to everything in life. Don’t go through, just reading the surface of things, you need to dig deeper to find the true meaning of life . I have learned many ways to read symbols through this writing that I will from here on out take a deeper perspective on many things.
One question I have remaining is where did S.E. Hinton learn so well to put deeper meaning in her

Get Access