Hinton,
S.E. (1967). The outsiders. New York:
Penguin Putnam. 014038572X. 180 p.
Summary:
For
this group of “greasers” who think of each other as family, getting into fights
with the Socs across town is unavoidable.
After a fun night goes bad, it gets even worse when someone ends up
dead. The faithful group of boys will
have to stick together to make it through.
Analysis:
Published
in 1967 and considered by many to be one of the original “players” in the
beginning of the Young Adult book category, The
Outsiders by S.E. (Susan Eloise) Hinton, remains a favorite read even 45
years later (Nilsen & Donelson, 2009).
Readers across different age groups enjoy the book because of its fast
pace, viewpoint, protagonist spirit, and relatability.
The
story does an incredible job at identifying and personalizing each character,
the setting, and the primary issue without slowing down the story. By page six, Hinton (1967) has already
grabbed the reader’s attention; the protagonist named Ponyboy has already been
in the first fight of the story. She has
also managed to thoughtfully describe the main characters, “It drives my
brother Darry nuts when I do stuff like that, ‘cause I’m supposed to be smart…”
and “Johnny was scared of his own shadow after that” (p. 4). The book continues
to keep the reader on edge as fights, twists, and turns happen without
delay. Written in first person, the
viewpoint of The Outsiders comes
directly from Ponyboy as he tells the reader his account of the events that
happened.
Ponyboy
exhibits a spirit that is different from the rest of his gang and is one that
readers will admire. With his parents
dying and his oldest brother working long hours, Ponyboy is left to make
choices and take situations on his own.
He gets plenty of help from his two brothers and fellow greasers from
the gang but Ponyboy is different. He is
smart, a bookworm, dislikes fighting, and is sensitive to others. These qualities fuel the story and in the
end, he’ll get the credit.
All of
these things and more make Ponyboy and the story relatable to young readers.
Ponyboy, barely a teenager himself, is surrounded by other teens throughout the
book. The plot tackles the issue of
being an outsider; a poor, dirty greaser versus the rich and lucky socialite
across town, an issue all young readers can identify. The plot also highlights cultural differences
like smoking at a young age, clothing differences, and even hair! “But those
two girls weren’t our kind. They were tuff-looking girls – dressed sharp and
really good-looking” (p. 21). And if
readers haven’t identified with these characteristics, the emotions dealt with
in the book are important to this age group.
The greasers are bullied, threatened and looked down upon. Ponyboy deals with losing his parents,
dealing with a difficult oldest brother, loving his other brother, and avoiding
inappropriate situations without ruining important relationships. When the events of his life take another bad
turn, Ponyboy must anxiously face sticking with his buddy and facing failure,
defeat, and disappointment.
Despite
the strengths in this book, The Outsiders
is not without controversy. According to
Diane Kelly for School Library Journal (2012), “some schools and libraries have banned The
Outsiders for the portrayal of gang violence, underage smoking and drinking, as
well as strong language/ slang and family dysfunction.” These topics are the very things that make
this story relatable but one could argue that the characters are not positive
role models and that finally doing his homework after an evening brawl is not a
worthwhile accomplishment. Readers
will have to decide for themselves, but for most of us, the themes of loyalty
and trust win out!
Reference
List
Hinton, S.E. (1967). The
outsiders. New York: Penguin Putnam.
Kelly, D. (2012, April 15). Top
teen titles #2 [Review of the book The
Outsiders]. School Library Journal.
Retrieved from http://blog.schoollibraryjournal.com/practicallyparadise/2012/04/15/top-teen-titles-2/
Nilsen, A. P. & Donelson, K.L. (2009). Literature for today’s young adults (8th ed.). Boston:
Pearson.
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