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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, but did most of the work when she was sixteen and a junior in high school. Hinton was 18 when the book was published. The book follows two rival groups, the Greasers and the Socs (pronounced by the author as /soʊˈʃəz/, short for Socials), who are divided by their socioeconomic status. The story was based on a friend of Hinton's who was jumped for being a "Greaser," which upset her so much she went home that day and started writing the book.

The book takes place in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1965, but it is never stated in the book.

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

Plot summary

As a young greaser named Ponyboy Curtis is exiting a movie theater one evening, he is cornered and threatened with a knife by a group of malicious, wealthy local teenagers known as the "Socs." Luckily, Ponyboy successfully manages to flee from the Socs and make it back to his home, where he lives with his two elder brothers Darry and Sodapop after having been orphaned in a car accident. Ponyboy finds himself frequently being domineered by his strict brother Darry, who slaps him for the first time for returning home late and brings him to flee from the house. He meets up with a fellow greaser named Johnny Cade, who is abused by his parents, and they decide to spend the night together outdoors. However, they find themselves threatened by a pair of Socs, Bob and Randy, who attempt to seek vengeance upon them for socializing with two of their girlfriends, Marcia and Cherry, earlier. Antagonized in recalling the events of a night that had taken place before the events of the story in which he was beaten bloody by Socs, and out of self defense, Johnny stabs Bob. In order to avoid the penalty for murder, the two greasers decide to run away from home and seek refuge in a dilapidated Church under the guidance of a greaser named Dally. They dye and cut their hair in order to remain unrecognizable, and after spending a rather torturous week residing in the Church Ponyboy receives a letter through Dally from his gentler brother Sodapop asking that he return home. Ponyboy is unsure, but not long afterward the Church catches on fire with several misled children within, and it is up to the boys to guide them to sanctuary. However, during the fire, Dally knocks Ponyboy unconscious for his own safety, and he awakens later on to learn that he and Dally have high hopes of recovery; however, Johnny's injuries from the fire were so severe that his chances of survival are slim, or even if he did live, he would be left permanently paralyzed. The greasers try to spend time at their friend's side and try to fulfill any requests that he might have, and it is decided that a brutal brawl between the Socs and greasers will take place over Bob's passing. However, Randy, one of the Socs involved on the night of Bob's murder, tries to speak with Ponyboy and the pair decide that violence would not help with anything, though Ponyboy winds up fighting for the greasers anyway. After a triumphant victory, the greasers visit Johnny on his deathbed, where he passes away shortly after bidding his friends farewell. Shortly after, a grief-stricken, reckless Dally robs a convenience store and is shot by the police, as Johnny was the only person for whom he ever felt any affection. A traumatized Ponyboy is reminded of his slipping English grades, and is assigned to hand in a composition in order to receive a good grade. After taking some time to recover from the emotional damage from which he has been suffering due to the deaths of his friends, Ponyboy starts to write his essay in the same words that were used to start the novel, revealing that the whole book was Ponyboy's recount of the events of that week.

Characters

Greasers

• Ponyboy Curtis: The youngest Curtis brother, 14 years old, gets good grades and runs track. He is the narrator.
• Sodapop Curtis: The middle Curtis brother, 16 years old, a high school dropout who works at a gas station.
• Darrel "Darry" Curtis: The oldest of the Curtis brothers, 20 years old, has been caring for his brothers since their parents died in a car crash.
• Dallas "Dally" Winston: The roughest of the Greasers, who lived on the streets of New York City for three years.
• Keith "Two-Bit" Mathews: A wise-cracking kleptomaniac.
• Steve Randle: Sodapop's best friend since grade school.
• Johnny Cade: Ponyboy's best friend, 16 years old, lives with his alcoholic and abusive mother and father.

Socs

• Sherri "Cherry" Valance: Bob's girlfriend, attends the same high school as Ponyboy.
• Marcia: Cherry's best friend.
• Robert "Bob" Sheldon: Cherry's boyfriend, he is stabbed by Johnny.
• Randy Adderson: A friend of Bob's and Marcia's boyfriend.
• David: A member of Bob and Randy's gang, he attempted to drown Ponyboy in the fountain.

Others

• Jerry Wood: The schoolteacher responsible for the children that were in the abandoned church.
• Mr. Syme: Ponyboy's English teacher who assigns him a theme to write.

Controversy

The Outsiders was a controversial book at the time of its publication and is still a frequently challenged book nowadays. It was ranked #38 on the American Library Association’s Top 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990-1999 . This book has been banned from some schools and libraries because of the portrayal of gang violence, underage smoking and drinking, as well as strong language/slang and family dysfunction. However, in many schools today, the book is part of the curriculum for middle school and/or high school.

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. http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/frequentlychallenged/challengedbydecade/1990_1999/index.cfm
4. http://world.edu/worldedu_posts/banned-books-awareness-outsiders/

External links

• S.E. Hinton's Website
• "‘The Outsiders’: 40 Years Later" By Dale Peck The New York Times September 23, 2007

• 1967 novels
• American young adult novels
• American novels adapted into films
• Debut novels
• Novels set in Oklahoma
• 1965 in fiction
• American bildungsromans
• Culture of Tulsa, Oklahoma
• BILBY Award winning works