Culture In The Outsiders

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“The Outsiders”, by S.E. Hinton was published in 1987, a time of ending wars, new styles, social gangs, and rebellion. All of these aspects were impacting daily life at the time, and one could argue that it impacted young-adults, or the youth of this era the most. To Hinton, at this time there weren’t enough books geared toward that affected youth, so she wrote the book “The Outsiders” to tell the story of what was happening in the world right in front of her. S.E. Hinton accurately portrays the culture of the 60’s in the novel “The Outsiders”, by including different aspects of the everyday lives of one gang in particular. One major component of life in the 60’s were the different social groups, or gangs. They influenced the way people …show more content…
There were new cars coming out, new styles of clothing becoming more popular, and the ways people wore their hair defined who they were. For example, Greasers wore their hair “..slicked back..” and it was “..kept in place with a wax or petroleum-based styling agent” (“What Did Greasers…”, 2). This hairstyle was what defined a Greaser, and if anyone else saw it, they would immediately know that the person under the hair was in fact a Greaser. In the novel, Ponyboy explains that his hair is “..longer than a lot of boys wear theirs, squared off in back and long at the front and sides..”, and that most of the Greasers “..rarely bother to get a haircut” (Hinton, 1). Also, at the time “Americans’ need for speed was met by such cars as the Camaro, the Mustang and the super charged Road Runner”, or in the case of this book, it’s a Corvair (Waters, 2). In the novel, Ponyboy describes the car the Socs came in as a “red Corvair” (Hinton, 4). The style of the 60’s is well represented in the novel, in the way characters look, and what they …show more content…
Hinton very fittingly showcased life in the 60’s in her novel, “The Outsiders”. She showed how different social groups, as well as the different style of the time affected the way people acted, dressed, and everyday life in general. She does this in a way that makes it very easy for the young-adults of the time to relate to the story, and give them a sense of comfort. The book leaves out the topic of war and segregation, but for good reason- the reader does not need to be reminded of it. S.E. Hinton is a very powerful writer, whose novel, which was initially intended to give the youth of that time basic reading material, has shined a light on the era of the 60’s and has inspired and will inspire generations to
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