Class Novel 1 ‘Outsiders’ but sharing a common connection

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

Based around a 14 year old boy (Ponyboy) who lives with his older brothers in the poor area in a small town . It is made clear early on the Ponybot is very intelligent, with a chance to continue his education and leave the town. They are all a part of a gang, known as greasers. The main antagonists in the story are the Socs, or the rich kids in town, fights are a regular occurrence. After one fight, a Soc ends up dead, and Ponyboy and a friend flee the town to avoid arrest. At the end of that week, the church that they had been staying in catches on fire, they had not been present when it started, they found out that some young children were inside, and rush in to save them. Ponyboy escapes with a few burns, while his close friend is seriously injured, dyeing in the hospital after hearing that the greasers had won the last big fight with the Socs. During all of this Ponyboy begins to talk to a few of the Socs, finding out that they are like him in many ways, just wanting to get away from the town and hating the animosity between the groups. Ponyboy is hit hard by the events of the last weeks, however the book ends on a higher note of hope of his brothers helping him deal and becoming closer. The end of the book ends with Ponyboy beginning to write about the events for a paper for his English class.

This book would appeal to young adults as it deals primarily with teens, there are few adults present in the book, and only play secondary rolls or are only mentioned. The novel shows that teens can live and operate by themselves, with no need for authority, a common meal includes chocolate milk and cake. The language when the boys talk to each other is very simple and full of slang, with being ‘tuff’ and ‘tough’ being words of praise. Another connection that some teens may find is the close connection between brothers and friends, their understanding of each other far surpassing what any adult or parent could ever understand.

In the notes section of the book, it was surprising to find out that the author was female, and she had began writing the book as a teen, as the subject material of the books as well as the language gives the allusion that the author is make and experienced some of the events, which is true to a degree, as the author witnessed a boy being beaten up by a rival gang while walking home one day. It is easy to see why this book fits into the YA firsts category as well as it creating into a movie later on.