The Outsiders By S. E. Hinton
Poverty strikes the streets you live in. Everywhere around you you see people starving, crying or begging for money. This is what Ponyboy has to live with being a greaser. “The Outsiders” is a book by S.E Hinton. The poem “Poverty and Wealth” is a poem by Ella Wheeler Wilcox. What do these two pieces of literature have in common? Well, more than you’d initially think, because I’m here to share with you some of the similarities with “The Outsiders” and “Poverty and Wealth”
First the king’s son is a lot like the Socs. In the poem it states “My son shall be a lordly ruler o’er land and sea.” Which relates to the Socs in the book because they are the more powerful. The socs don’t have to try to get wealthy or have the upper class. This is just
like the king’s son, who was born into a royal family which makes him automatically a pince.
The king’s labourer has to earn everything he has from food to his clothes. This is similar to the situation we see ponyboy and a lot of the greasers in the book. In the poem we see the labourer push his son to be the best he can be, and in return his son grows up to have a happy life with a wife and children. The greasers have to push and work for their good life too. Such as in the book where we see that Dally got a job at the age of 17 to help support Ponyboy and his brothers.
Perhaps the most striking part of the book and the poem is the immense discontent shown through the higher classes. We can see that the king’s son is unsatisfied with his life from the line “But discontent his heart lay curled Like a serpent hidden in leaves and moss, And life seemed hollow and gold was dross.” We see this same feeling with the Socs in “The Outsiders” They have everything they could ever want, but they still feel like something is missing in their lives.
So, in conclusion, “The Outsiders” By S.E Hinton and “Poverty and Wealth” by Ella Wheeler Wilcox have a lot of similarities with each other. Both of these stories share a themes of wealthiness does not equal happiness. I predict that in the future people will realize this and break away from wealth and focus on happiness in their lives.
First the king’s son is a lot like the Socs. In the poem it states “My son shall be a lordly ruler o’er land and sea.” Which relates to the Socs in the book because they are the more powerful. The socs don’t have to try to get wealthy or have the upper class. This is just
like the king’s son, who was born into a royal family which makes him automatically a pince.
The king’s labourer has to earn everything he has from food to his clothes. This is similar to the situation we see ponyboy and a lot of the greasers in the book. In the poem we see the labourer push his son to be the best he can be, and in return his son grows up to have a happy life with a wife and children. The greasers have to push and work for their good life too. Such as in the book where we see that Dally got a job at the age of 17 to help support Ponyboy and his brothers.
Perhaps the most striking part of the book and the poem is the immense discontent shown through the higher classes. We can see that the king’s son is unsatisfied with his life from the line “But discontent his heart lay curled Like a serpent hidden in leaves and moss, And life seemed hollow and gold was dross.” We see this same feeling with the Socs in “The Outsiders” They have everything they could ever want, but they still feel like something is missing in their lives.
So, in conclusion, “The Outsiders” By S.E Hinton and “Poverty and Wealth” by Ella Wheeler Wilcox have a lot of similarities with each other. Both of these stories share a themes of wealthiness does not equal happiness. I predict that in the future people will realize this and break away from wealth and focus on happiness in their lives.