The Outsiders
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, ISBN 0-670-53257-6, Viking Press 1967
Plot Summary:
Ponyboy Curtis is a member of a gang known as the Greasers and their rials in town are known as the Socs. One night, when he’s leaving a movie theater, Ponyboy is jumped by some members of the other gang and is only saved by his older brothers and some other members of the Greasers. After meeting and getting to know two of the Socs’ girlfriends, Ponyboy and his friend Johnny find themselves in a fight with the girls’ boyfriends. One night in a park, the fight escalates and Johnny ends up stabbing Bob, a Soc and one of the girls’ boyfriends. Bob dies from his injuries. The two boys hide out in a church outside town. As the tension between the Greasers and the Socs mounts, the boys form an unbreakable friendship that flourishes through both tragedy and triumph.
Critical Evaluation:
The book addresses some of the issues that teenagrers face generation after generation. The Socs are so named because Soc is short for social; the kids who have money and privilege. The Greasers are from blue collar families who have to work so much harder for their money, and there’s where the name of the novel comes in. The Greasers’ anger toward the other kids comes
from feelings of being outsiders, outcasts, and alienated--all things teenagers can relate to. The division of class based on socioeconomic status is one that any reader can appreciate and understand. The book’s main message is that no matter what kind of financial status you have, everybody’s the same in the end. The book makes this message pretty clear several times. The book’s language makes it easy for slow or reluctant readers. The fact that the main characters are fifties style gang members will help find an audience with teenage boys especially. One of the aspects that makes this book unique to young adult fiction is the the author was in her teen year when she wrote the novel, which gives the story more authenticity than most young adult novels, which are written by adults. This novel has had a following for its frank depiction of not only class issues, but also the major themes of friendship and learning how to accept and even appreciate those who are different from you.
Reader's Annotation:
Ponyboy and his friends have always thought of themselves as Outsiders. Can they learn to get along kids outside their gang?
Information about the Author:
Susan Eloise Hinton was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She has always enjoyed reading but wasn't satisfied with the literature that was being written for young adults, which influenced her to write novels like The Outsiders. That book, her first novel, was published in 1967 by Viking.
Once published, The Outsiders gave her a lot of publicity and fame, and also a lot of pressure. S.E. Hinton was becoming known as "The Voice of the Youth" among other titles. This kind of pressure and publicity resulted in a three year long writer's block.
Her boyfriend (and now, her husband),who had gotten sick of her being depressed all the time, eventually broke this block. He made her write two pages a day if she wanted to go anywhere. This eventually led to That Was Then, This Is Now.
That Was Then, This Is Now is known to be a much more well thought out book than The Outsiders. Because she read a lot of great literature and wanted to better herself, she made sure that she wrote each sentence exactly right. She continued to write her two pages a day until she finally felt it was finished in the summer of 1970, she got married a few months later. That Was Then, This is Now was published in 1971.
In 1975, S.E. Hinton published Rumble Fish as a novel (she had published a short story version in a 1968 edition of Nimrod, which was a literary supplement for the University of Tulsa Alumni Magazine).
Rumble Fish was the shortest novel she had published. It received a great deal of contrasting opinions, with one reviewer claiming it to be her best book and the next claiming it to be her last.
The latter was apparently wrong. Tex was published in 1979, four years after Rumble Fish. It received great reviews and people raved about how the writing style had matured since previous publications. Tex would be the last book S.E. Hinton published for nine years. After another span of four years, S.E. Hinton's son, Nick was born.
Four years after Tex was released, quite a few major events took place in S.E. Hinton's life. In March of 1983, the movie The Outsiders was released. The following August, Nicholas David was born. Two months later the movie Rumble Fish was released.
In 1985 the movie version of That Was Then, This Is Now was released. Three years later S.E. Hinton became the first person to receive the YASD/SLJ Author Achievement Award, which was given by the Young Adult Services Division of the American Library Association and School Library Journal.
Taming The Star Runner was released in October of that year. It was the first book that S.E. Hinton had published that wasn't in first person. With a seven-year wait, S.E. Hinton released another book in 1995. This time she did something that no one expected.
Big David, Little David was written for children around the kindergarten age. This deviation from Teen fiction seems to be a reflection of the current important things in S.E. Hinton's life: Family. The children's fiction trend continues with her latest release- The Puppy Sister, which is a fantasy book written for Elementary school level children.
S.E. Hinton currently lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma with her husband David. Her son Nick is away for college.
Genre:
Coming of age
Curriculum Ties:
Learning how to appreciate other kinds of people, friendship, class issues
Challenge Issues:
This book has been challenged because of gang violence and strong language.
Creating a Defense:
- Make sure you have thorough knowledge of the library’s selection policy as well as a copy on hand. Your insight as well as pointing out specific portions of the policy will be helpful in discussion with the patron.
- Always have the library Bill of Rights close to show the patron your library’s commitment to providing all kinds of information.
- Make sure you’re familiar with the books that might be challenged. Be prepared to discuss the book’s intended audience, its educational significance, purpose, and also some alternative titles to read.
- Don’t get defensive. The librarian can’t take the challenge personally and either party getting upset will cause the discussion to devolve into a fight.
- LISTEN. Even if you don’t agree with the patron, their views are as valid as yours and should be respected.
Reading Level:
Grades 8+
Booktalking Ideas:
Do you ever feel like an outsider? Do you feel like you’re different because you have more or less money than someone else?
Why is the material included?:
This novel is a classic and will probably be included on young adult fiction lists for years to come.
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