Isolation In S. E. Hinton's The Outsider

“‘. . . they got enough to put up with.’ [he said.] I was surprised. I don’t surprise easy. ‘But that ain’t fair,’ I said finally. ‘When the [expletive] did you start expecting anything to be fair?’ he asked. He didn’t sound bitter, only a little bit curious;” modern author S. E. Hinton, like many of her characters, has been given an unfair life (32, ch. 3). From her father dying of cancer to ____, Hinton is a victim of circumstance. Her contemporary writings have been the portrayals of all of the unfortunate circumstances that she has survived. Many know that she found herself while writing The Outsiders, but through Rumble Fish, Hinton strengthened her writing in both voice and appeal. On July 22, 1950, Susan Eloise Hinton was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Growing up in such a small town, there was not much for a young girl like Hinton to do. Her interests revolved around reading, writing, and horses; however, she
Likewise, The Motorcycle Boy, who is known for ending organized gangs, disappearing for days at a time, and stealing motorcycles, lives with the same isolation. The narrator's older brother has been called The Motorcycle Boy for so long that no one even remembers his real name. Because of his differences, many see him as insane, but his father begs to differ:
“Your mother,” he said distinctly [to the narrator, Rusty-James], “is not crazy. Neither, contrary to popular belief, is your brother [The Motorcycle Boy]. He is merely miscast in a play. He would have made a perfect knight, in a different century, or a very good pagan prince in a time of heroes. He was born in the wrong era, on the wrong side of the river, with the ability to do anything and finding nothing he wants to do” (115, ch. 11)
Few individuals can do anything, and even fewer find nothing to do. Motorcycle Boy is said to be isolated from his peers, yet he has no