The Outsiders Theme Essay

In the book The Outsiders, written by S.E. Hinton, it tells the story of a young boy named Ponyboy, who is a greaser that feels like he is on the outside of society. The book which is fiction focuses on how Johnny killed Bob, and how the cops are after him and ponyboy. It also focuses on how they both feel like they are looked down upon by the world. The three topics addressed in this adventurous novel our the fight between the rich and poor, the power of friendship, and what it means to be a hero. To begin, one the themes that is displayed in the book is the fight between the rich and the poor. ” We get jumped by the Socs. I’m not sure how you spell it, but it’s the abbreviation for Socials, the jet set, the West-side rich kids.”(Pg.2) This means that the rich kids are the ones who are fighting and jumping the Greasers. It shows the fight between the rich and the poor is between the Greasers and the Socs. “It wasn’t just that they had beaten him half to death-he could take that. They had scared him.”(Pg.33) This is a good representation of the fight between the rich and the poor because it shows how that the Socs did horrible things to the Greasers for no good
“Since Mom and Dad were killed in an auto wreck, the three of us get to stay together only as long as we behave.”(Pg.3) This means that the three of them have to support each other and help each other provide what a parent normally would. This means that their lives are held together with friendship between them to keep going. “‘Stay gold Ponyboy. Stay gold…’ The pillow seemed to sink a little, and Johnny died.”(Pg.148) This demonstrates the strong friendship that Ponyboy had with Johnny. This also shows that Johnny wanted Ponyboy to stay gold, and that their friendship was so strong that Johnny was trying to help Ponyboy down to his last breath. The power of friendship is shown in the book through Darry, Soda, Ponyboy, and