The Outsiders

This book is The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. S.E. Hinton has written many books and each one that I have read I have thoroughly enjoyed. She has written books such as: Taming the Star Runner, Tex, Rumble Fish, and Thatwas Then, This is Now. All of her books that tell where the setting is, has been set somewhere in Oklahoma, although not all of them have explained where the story is set. The Outsiders does not tell where it is located, but by the way the story is told, one can assume that it is based in the 1960s. It tells the story about a boy named Ponyboy Curtis, and the gang of “Greasers” he hangs out with. Ponyboy’s parents died years before the book is set, and he is living with his older brother Darry, and his younger brother Sodapop. They all come from a poor home, and live on the East side of town. They associate themselves with a group of boys that stick together, not like a gang, but just a group of friends. The Greasers are in an everlasting battle with the Socs – rich kids from the West side that get all the breaks. The author is telling the story of Ponyboy Curtis, and his struggle as a young boy, a young Greaser. It shows how Ponyboy thinks throughout the entire story – he is the narrator – and just life is like as a Greaser that lives with his two older brothers.

Sodapop is a good-looking, blond-haired boy that is a high school dropout, and works at a local gas station with his best friend, Steve. Darry is the oldest of the Curtis brothers, and Ponyboy thinks he grew up too fast. Darry has been working to take care of the other two boys since their parents died in a car accident. Ponyboy is the youngest of the brothers, he gets good grades, and runs track. He is 14, and he loves sunsets, and he thinks him and Johnny are different than everybody else. The boys that Ponyboy and his brothers’ hangout with are troublesome, at times. There is Dallas Winston, who grew up on the streets of New York. He is a hardened delinquent, and has been in trouble with the police at many times, and he is very proud of it. Two-Bit is a wise-cracking thief. He steals things just because he can, and gets drunk quite a bit. Steve Randal is Sodapop’s best friend since grade school, and works at the local gas station with him; he loves to work on cars. Johnny Cade is 16 years old, and his Ponyboy’s best friend. He lives with his alcoholic mother and father, who beat him regularly.

               

The Greasers and the Socs are in an everlasting battle with each other. The Greasers are a gang of mostly poor and low class teenagers in the story. They live on the East side, put grease in their hair, and mostly carry switchblades. The Socs are a group of kids that live on the West side, they have lots of money, and many believe they get all the breaks. They commonly beat up the Greasers for fun, and love to throw parties. They are more socially accepted than the Greasers, and they get good grades in school.

               

Johnny and Ponyboy both get along great, they love to watch sunsets, and neither one of them care much for fights and trouble. They love to watch movies, and they both get really nervous around girls, especially Soc girls. One night they did manage to pick up Soc girls once, though. That was a mistake that would cost them dearly. All of the teenagers love rumbles; even Ponyboy likes to fight in a rumble. A rumble is a fight between Socs and Greasers, a big fight. Rules are usually set up, such as no weapons, or something similar.

               

The girl that Ponyboy picked up at the movies was a rather interesting girl to him. Her name was Cherry Valence, a Soc cheerleader that he goes to school with. She is not interested in the social levels of the Greasers and the Socs, she sees both sides. Cherry is kinder than the rest of the Socs, especially to Ponyboy and his family. She does care for her reputation, but she does not have any hatred towards the Greasers, and she does not feel as if she is superior to them. She and Ponyboy get along great, she loves to hear about Ponyboy’s family. Ponyboy is very happy to find someone that enjoys sunsets, and he learns that there are problems everywhere, not just on the East side. Pony boy asked Cherry ifshe can see the sunset good on the West side, and she said yes. He told her that he can see it really good on the East side, too.

               

Johnny and Ponyboy develop a very strong friendship throughout the story. They both like to read books, even though Johnny isn’t good at first. Ponyboy learns that Johnny is really smart, once you give him time.

               

I would recommend this book to anyone. It is a very thorough story, it shows lots of detail. The story tells about each and every character, and how all of their relationships are connected to one another. Anyone reading this has to read this book immediately if they have not done so already, it truly is an amazing book. It tells a story about an entire social class, not just the story about one individual. It shows vivid detail through the emotional struggles that both Johnny, and especially Ponyboy face. The plot keeps you hooked through the entire book; and you will get emotionally attached to the characters while reading The Outsiders. The book is very intriguing, and will keep you reading up until the very end. 

Book Review by Joe B.