The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton192 pages
Publisher: Viking Juvenile; April, 1967
ISBN: 0670532576
Reading Level/Lexile: 7th and up/750L
Annotation/Teaser: Ponyboy Curtis lives in a world where he considers himself an outsider. Can Ponyboy make the right decisions to rise above the senseless violence, grief and frustration?
Plot Summary: Ponyboy Curtis is a 14 year old boy whose parents were killed in a car accident. He and his brother, Sodapop, who is 16, are allowed to stay with their 20 year old brother Darrel (Darry) as long as they all behave. In this world they live in, this is a hard feat to accomplish. They are all members of a gang called the Greasers. Greasers is a name given to boys who live on the "poor side of town". While the rival gang, the Socs (Socials), is made up of the rich boys on the west side. Ponyboy struggles with making the right decisions but is always willing to fight the opposing gang members for the sake of this friends. And then his best friend Johnny kills one of the Socs to save Ponyboy's life. These boys are forced to runaway and hide in an abandoned church. Just as Ponyboy decides to turn himself him, a fire starts in the church with a group of children trapped inside. The roof caves in on Johnny and the boys are declared heroes. Unfortunately this excitement is short lived for Ponyboy. After a big gang fight between the Socs and the Greasers, Johnny dies at the hospital of his burn injuries. Dallas is then shot by the police after a robbery. Over the course of his grief and frustration, Ponyboy learns to value his family and the memories of his friends. He decides the best way to deal with all that he has gone through is to write about it.
About the
Author: Susan Eloise Hinton was born in
1950 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The Outsiders was published in 1967, when
Hinton was only 17 years old and attending Will Rogers High School. She began
writing the first draft of the novel when she was 15, and writing and rewriting
took a year and a half before she was happy with the final copy. The publisher — believing that the book would
have more credibility if people assumed that a male had written it — advised
her to use her initials, S. E. Hinton
was not a member of a gang when she wrote The Outsiders, but she
was a friend to many greasers. She has stated that her biggest compliment was
that her greaser friends liked the book. Although she also had friends who were
Socs, she definitely did not consider herself a part of that group.
The success of The Outsiders
enabled Hinton to attend the University of Tulsa where she earned a degree in
education in 1970. However, during her student teaching, she decided that she
did not have the physical stamina to be a teacher. She found herself teaching
all day and then worrying about the kids all night. Hinton did meet her future husband, David
Inhofe, in a freshman biology class, and it was due to him that she finished
her second book, That Was Then, This is Now. Hinton was suffering from
writer's block, and he forced her to write two pages a day. If she failed to
produce two pages during the day, they wouldn't go out that night. They were
married in 1970, and That Was Then, This is Now was published in 1971. S. E. Hinton has
received numerous honors and awards.
S.
E. Hinton Biography (n.d.) Retrieved
from: http://www.cliffsnotes.com
Critical Evaluation: One of the major themes in The Outsiders is the theme of commonality. While the Socs and the Greasers feel like they are from two different worlds, Hinton implies that the two groups are really not so different. One example of this is the love of literature, movies, music and sunsets that Ponyboy, a Greaser and Cherry, a Socs share. Another example is the need to feel accepted in their own groups. While Ponyboy and Dally are smart, they still have the pressures of living up to the Greaser image. Randy, a Soc, also feels pressure to conform to his group of friends. Randy eventually sees that there is no point in fighting and tries to befriend Ponyboy. This theme is seen throughout the book and works well to allow Hinton to make the point that the groups are really not that different.
Another element that I thought worked well in The Outsiders is the use of literary references. The first is an allusion to Pip in Great Expectations. Ponyboy compares himself to Pip because Pip is very poor and people think less of him because of his lack of money. Ponyboy feels the same way about himself. He feels lonely and feels that he is identified by his lack of money. Another reference is the poem, "Nothing Gold Can Stay" by Robert Frost. Before Ponyboy's best friend, Johnny dies in the hospital, he pulls him close and says," Stay gold, Ponyboy, stay gold". When Robert Frost wrote the poem I believe that he meant we cannot stay innocent and young forever. So when Johnny says this, he is telling Ponyboy to stay innocent. The use of these two great literary classics give the reader insight into how smart Ponyboy is and how deep his love for literature is. It allows the reader to see that Ponyboy does not fit the image of the typical Greaser.
One last element that we see in The Outsiders is the symbolism. One of the symbols we see is the long hair that the Greasers possess. While the Socs have cars, money, and clothes to identify themselves, the Greasers have nothing of material worth. In the 1960's it was thought that men should keep their hair short. The long hair of the Greasers symbolizes the attitude of rebellion to societal norms. It is the way the Greasers are identified. When the Socs jump Ponyboy in the park, one of the Socs says, "How'd you like that haircut to begin just below the chin?" They would not only be cutting his hair, they would be taking away his identity. One more symbol that I found was Twobit's switchblade. The switchblade is his prized possession and represents the Greasers' contempt and disrespect for authority. In the book, Dally borrows the knife to break out of the hospital to join the last rumble. When Dally dies, the switchblade is taken off of Dally's body by the police and is never returned to Twobit. This symbolizes the loss of Dally, the most powerful and most respected Greaser. All of these literary elements work together to create a realistic and memorable story with strong characters.
Curriculum Ties: English and History
Book Talk Ideas: Read a quote from Ponyboy and talk about what it is like to have to deal with so much at such a young age.
Controversial Issues: Underage alcohol and smoking, Violence, Death
Defense:
*I will confirm
the library's position to provide intellectual freedom as stated in the Library
Bill of Rights and keep a copy of this.
Why I Included This Book : I chose this book because it is a classic and one of my favorite books. I also included this book because it is still included in a lot middle school curriculum and is still very popular in young adult literature.
Critical Evaluation: One of the major themes in The Outsiders is the theme of commonality. While the Socs and the Greasers feel like they are from two different worlds, Hinton implies that the two groups are really not so different. One example of this is the love of literature, movies, music and sunsets that Ponyboy, a Greaser and Cherry, a Socs share. Another example is the need to feel accepted in their own groups. While Ponyboy and Dally are smart, they still have the pressures of living up to the Greaser image. Randy, a Soc, also feels pressure to conform to his group of friends. Randy eventually sees that there is no point in fighting and tries to befriend Ponyboy. This theme is seen throughout the book and works well to allow Hinton to make the point that the groups are really not that different.
Another element that I thought worked well in The Outsiders is the use of literary references. The first is an allusion to Pip in Great Expectations. Ponyboy compares himself to Pip because Pip is very poor and people think less of him because of his lack of money. Ponyboy feels the same way about himself. He feels lonely and feels that he is identified by his lack of money. Another reference is the poem, "Nothing Gold Can Stay" by Robert Frost. Before Ponyboy's best friend, Johnny dies in the hospital, he pulls him close and says," Stay gold, Ponyboy, stay gold". When Robert Frost wrote the poem I believe that he meant we cannot stay innocent and young forever. So when Johnny says this, he is telling Ponyboy to stay innocent. The use of these two great literary classics give the reader insight into how smart Ponyboy is and how deep his love for literature is. It allows the reader to see that Ponyboy does not fit the image of the typical Greaser.
One last element that we see in The Outsiders is the symbolism. One of the symbols we see is the long hair that the Greasers possess. While the Socs have cars, money, and clothes to identify themselves, the Greasers have nothing of material worth. In the 1960's it was thought that men should keep their hair short. The long hair of the Greasers symbolizes the attitude of rebellion to societal norms. It is the way the Greasers are identified. When the Socs jump Ponyboy in the park, one of the Socs says, "How'd you like that haircut to begin just below the chin?" They would not only be cutting his hair, they would be taking away his identity. One more symbol that I found was Twobit's switchblade. The switchblade is his prized possession and represents the Greasers' contempt and disrespect for authority. In the book, Dally borrows the knife to break out of the hospital to join the last rumble. When Dally dies, the switchblade is taken off of Dally's body by the police and is never returned to Twobit. This symbolizes the loss of Dally, the most powerful and most respected Greaser. All of these literary elements work together to create a realistic and memorable story with strong characters.
Curriculum Ties: English and History
Book Talk Ideas: Read a quote from Ponyboy and talk about what it is like to have to deal with so much at such a young age.
Controversial Issues: Underage alcohol and smoking, Violence, Death
Defense:
*I will keep
the library's selection policy on hand and memorized with a good
understanding of the standards and
policies to show that the selection meets the standards.
*I will keep
good and bad reviews (both electronic and print) and make sure they are from
reliable and respected sources such as School of Library Journal, Booklist, and
YALSA. I will have copies of these reviews to give away.
*I will keep
a written rationale to justify the reasons this material is included in the
collection, such as educational significance and curriculum ties.
*I will be
respectful and calm and practice "active listening".
*I will make
sure I read the material and are very familiar with it.
* I will keep a reconsideration form on file just in case all my other strategies didn't work.
Why I Included This Book : I chose this book because it is a classic and one of my favorite books. I also included this book because it is still included in a lot middle school curriculum and is still very popular in young adult literature.
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