The Outsiders Book Report

The book “The Outsiders’’ is written by S.E. Hinton. The Outsiders is about two weeks in the life of a 14-year-old boy. The novel tells the story of Ponyboy Curtis and his struggles with right and wrong in a society in which he believes that he is an outsider. Ponyboy and his two brothers Darrell who is 20, and Sodapop, who is 16 have recently lost their parents in an automobile accident. Pony and Soda are allowed to stay under Darry's guardianship as long as they all behave themselves. The boys are greasers, a class term that refers to the young men on the East Side, the poor side of town. The greasers' rivals are the Socs, short for Socials, who are the "West-side rich kids." Johnny is a dynamic character because in the beginning he is afraid …show more content…
Johnny had been severely beaten by a group of Socs before this story begins. This beating puts him almost over the edge; in fact, the Socs scared him so much that he even carries a switchblade in his pocket. His parents abuse him both physically and verbally, and he often opts to go anywhere but home. The theme of family love is clarified by him many times, because his eyes have seen what family love isn't. Johnny idolizes gang member Dallas Winston. Dally is living proof that one can survive without parents or family. Johnny needs to follow in the footsteps of someone in his life and Dally, his hero, is the one he chooses. The relationship between these two boys is very interdependent. Just before Johnny dies, his relationship with Dally is clarified when he tells Johnny that he is proud of him: "Johnny's eyes glowed. Dally was proud of him. That was all Johnny had ever wanted." And Dally needs Johnny as much as Johnny needs Dally. In Chapter 3, Johnny said “ Well I won't. But I gotta do something. It seems like there's gotta be someplace without greasers or Socs, with just people. Plain, ordinary people.”(Hinton, Page 48) because Johnny was taking back his threat to commit suicide, but he was still showing the depths of his …show more content…
At the time, Pony has no idea what he's talking about. Astute readers will remember the Robert Frost poem, "Nothing Gold Can Stay," that Pony recited when he and Johnny watched the sun rise on top of Jay Mountain. In the poem, the speaker suggests that the sunrise (gold) is the most innocent, pure part of the day. As the day goes on, it loses that innocence, just as human beings lose a lot of their innocence and purity when they grow up. Johnny explains that Ponyboy's love of nature is part of his innocence, and that by holding on to this love, Pony can "stay gold." Sadly, Johnny seems to feel that his own innocence has been so completely lost that other more innocent people have more of a right to life than he

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