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The Outsiders is a coming-of-age novel based in 1965 by S. E. Hinton, first published in 1967 by Viking Press. Hinton was 15 when she started writing the novel, and 18 when it was published. The book follows two rival groups, the Greasers and the Socs (pronounced by the author as "so-shez", short for Socials), who are divided by their socioeconomic status.

A film adaptation was produced in 1983, and a short-lived television series appeared in 1990, picking up where the movie left off.

Plot summary

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The Outsiders is set in 1965 and is about a teenage boy named Pony Boy. The story follows Poney Boy as he comes to understand who he is and what he wants from life. He struggles with his relationship with his brothers and the pressures and stereo typing that comes from 'living on the wrong side of the tracks.' One of the challenges he must deal with center on a group of socially privledged young peaple. Through a series of events, Pony Boy finds himself on the run and hiding with his friend and fellow gang member. When their hiding place burns down Pony Boy shows his true nature and must face the legal system and his brothers. The story ends where it started with Pony Boy telling his story in a term paper.

Characters

Character List

Ponyboy Curtis - The novel’s fourteen-year-old narrator and protagonist.

Darrel Curtis - Ponyboy’s oldest brother. Darrel.

Sodapop Curtis - Ponyboy’s happy-go-lucky, handsome brother. Sodapop is the middle Curtis boy. Two-Bit Mathews - The joker of Ponyboy’s group. Steve Randle - Sodapop’s best friend since grade school. Dallas Winston - The toughest hood in Ponyboy’s group of greasers. Johnny Cade - A sixteen-year-old greaser with black hair and large, fearful eyes. Sandy - Sodapop’s girlfriend. Sandy is pregnant with another man’s child and moves to Florida to live with her grandmother. Cherry Valance - Bob’s girlfriend, she is a Soc cheerleader. Marcia - Cherry’s friend and Randy’s girlfriend. Randy Adderson - Marcia’s boyfriend and Bob’s best friend. Bob Sheldon - Cherry’s boyfriend. Paul Holden - Paul and Darry were friends and football teammates in high school. Jerry Wood - The teacher who accompanies Ponyboy to the hospital. Tim Shepard - The leader of another band of greasers and a friend of Dally. Curly Shepard - The fifteen-year-old brother of Tim Shepard. Mr. Syme - Ponyboy’s English teacher. Mr. Syme offers to raise Ponyboy’s grade if he turns in a well-written autobiographical theme. This assignment inspires Ponyboy to write about the greasers and the Socs, and his autobiographical theme turns into the novel The Outsiders.

Theme

The main theme centers on stereo typing based on socioeconomic differences. However, Hinton implies that differences in social class are a surface distinction that is not real. She proposes that beneath these surface divisions that people can find shared interests and goals. Cherry Valance, a Soc, and Pony Boy Curtis, a greaser, learn they share a love of literature, popular music, and sunsets, which bridges the differences between their socio- economic groups.

A secondary theme emerges throughout the story. In this one Hinton proposes that honourable people, no matter what role they are in, have a “code of honour.” Spark Notes’ article on the Outsiders states that: “In particular, we see acts of honourable duty from Dally Winston, a character who is primarily defined by his delinquency and lack of refinement. Pony Boy informs us that once, in a show of group solidarity, Dally let himself be arrested for a crime that Two-Bit had committed. Furthermore, when discussing Gone with the Wind, Johnny says that he views Dally as a Southern gentleman, as a man with a fixed personal code of behaviour. Statements like Johnny’s, coupled with acts of honourable sacrifice throughout the narrative, demonstrate that courtesy and propriety can exist even among the most lawless of social groups.”

Finally there is the under laying theme that females are not to be trusted. Throughout the story the male characters seem comfortable with the surety of how their friends and enemies will react in any given situation. In contrast, when female characters come into play, the dynamics change. For instance, when Cherry behaves in a friendly towards Pony Boy and Johhny the lines blur and problems arise. Even on the greaser side, Sodapop discovers that his girlfriend is pregnant with another man’s child. With these conflicts, Hinton communicates the idea that females are unpredictable and create erratic results. This theme reinforces the idea that males have a code of conduct and honour while females do not. This could be seen as a frightening indicator of social beliefs as it is a theme developed by a young female.

See also

• Continuity within S.E. Hinton Novels

References

1. Frequently Asked Questions at sehinton.com
2. Hinton, S. E. (2005) . "speaking with S. E. Hinton... p. 162". The Outsiders. Speak/Penguin Putnam. ISBN 0-14-038572-X.
3. Frequently Asked Questions at sehinton.com

External links

• S.E. Hinton's Website
• "‘The Outsiders’: 40 Years Later" By Dale Peck The New York Times September 23, 2007
• The Outsiders guide for teachers and students; themes, quotes, character analyses, study questions

• Misplaced Pages articles with plot summary needing attention from July 2010
• 1967 novels
• American novels
• Debut novels
• Young adult novels