The Outsiders Text Response

Text Response Option 2- “The Outsiders” S.E. Hinton
What are the lessons that S.E. Hinton wants to teach us through the story of “The
Outsiders’?
A number of lessons can be learnt from reading S.E. Hinton’s debut novel “The Outsiders”.
By naming the novel “The Outsiders” yet writing it from the greasers perspective, we feel more like an insider in this group society seem to be pushing out. We identify with the underdog from the opening page. We find ourselves seeing life through the eyes of the greasers, hating their circumstances, feeling their terror and sharing their pain. We also ask the question often attributed to the Australian singer Kamahl “Why are people so unkind?” The most obvious lesson to be learnt from the novel is the one about the futility of violence. We learn that the greasers have all been both victims and participants in beatings/rumbles as part of their way of life. Johnny has been beaten badly prior to the beginning of the story “I remembered Johnny- his face all cut up and bruised, and I remembered how he had cried when we found him, half-conscious, in the corner lot.” p5.
Ponyboy is beaten on his way home from the movie theatre for no reason. It seems that the Socs beat up the greasers purely for their own entertainment. Just when we begin to think that there can be friendships formed between Socs Cherry and Marcia and Ponyboy and Johnny; the night ends tragically with the killing of Bob. Unfortunately this is not where the violence ends.
We are clearly shown that violence does not ever solve anything, rather that if the cycle of violence continues it leaves a trail of destruction behind it. “Useless.....fightings’s no good....” p 180 and “There isn’t any really good reason for fighting except self-defence.” p166. The old saying, you shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover is another lesson S.E. Hinton teaches in The Outsiders.
“half of the hoods I know are pretty decent guys underneath all that grease, and from what
I’ve heard, a lot of Socs are just cold-blooded mean - but people usually go by looks” p
172.
S.E. Hinton expertly takes us on the journey from the greasers perspective and she therefore makes us identify with the underdog or societies bad boys right from the first page. I find the title of the book “The Outsiders” an interesting one, a riddle of sorts, simply because it’s the story of societies outsiders but told from an insiders perspective.
Ponyboy reflects “Someone should tell their side of the story, and maybe people would understand them and wouldn’t be so quick to judge a boy by the amount of hair oil he wore.” p 217
Another lesson that we learn through the story is that ultimately we all seek love and affection. Poor Johnny, the empathy we feel for Johnny is overwhelming. His home life is tragic.”Johnny had it awful rough at home -it took a lot to make him cry.”p 5. A father who has beaten him his entire life and a mother who ignores him. Poor Johnny doesn’t go looking for trouble but in the unjust world created by S.E. Hinton it finds him. After he kills
Randy in self-defense and goes on the run all he still really cares about is if his parents are concerned about him. “ I don’t guess my parent’s are worried about me or anything?” p107 and again on the same page “My parents,” Johnny repeated doggedly, “did they ask about me?” All Johnny ever wanted from his parents was their love, something even at the end of his life, he never felt.

Even though the Curtis brothers have experienced tragedy in the premature death of their parents, they have each other. Darry left school to support his two brothers and Soda dropped out of school to work to help provide an income. “We’re all we’ve got left. We ought to be able to stick together against everything. If we don’t have each other, we don’t have anything” p 213.
The Curtis brothers never lock their house just incase one of their gang needs a place to stay. “It was usually Steve, whose father told him about once week to get out and never come back.” p128. The greasers are in many ways closer than many families. Maybe because of what is sorely lacking in their own. A sign that no matter how tough or tuff you think you are, you still seek love and acceptance.
In conclusion, while being a tragic but riveting novel, I find on reflection that there are many lessons to be learned and many characters we can identify with. Despite never having lost my parents at an early age or being subjected to unsolicited violence or being a teenage boy it is easy to understand Ponyboy Curtis - simply by the eloquent style in which his story is told. Thank you S.E. Hinton for one of my favourite novels of all time.