Book Covre Photo Source, Barnes and Noble: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-Outsiders/S-E-Hinton/e/9780439903462/?itm=1, accessed September 14, 2009.Bibliography:
Hinton, S. E. 1967. THE OUTSIDERS. New York: Viking. ISBN 9780670062515
Critical Analysis:
THE OUTSIDERS, by S. E. Hinton, was published in 1967 and is as popular today as it was then. It is the story of three brothers Ponyboy, Sodapop and Darry and their fight to stay together as a family. It is also the book which is credited for starting the revolution of modern young adult literature and remains the best-selling YA novel of all time.
The story is told from Ponyboy's perspective and includes the three bothers as well as Steve Randle, Soda's best friend, Two-Bit Mathews, the oldest of the bunch, Dallas Winston, the character of the gang, and Johnny Cade. "If you can picture a little dark puppy that has been kicked too many times and is lost in a crowd of strangers, you'll have Johnny." Ponyboy and the others belong to a group of poor teenage boys called greasers. Many of these boys come from broken families where abuse is not uncommon. They are resilient teens who live a sometimes turbulent life but always make it through what comes their way because they have each other. They are often antagonized by the socials, or "socs", a group of affluent, indulged boys who beat them up for fun. It is during one of these fights that Johnny kills a soc that is trying to drown Ponyboy. This action sets up a chain of events that is out of their control.
Told in candid detail, Susan Eloise Hinton brings the reader into this world with superb dialog and profound realism. The characteristics are credited for forever changing the way that Young Adult fiction was written. Hinton's novel also changed the way that teenagers read, enabling a generation to demand stories that reflected their actuality.
Since its publication, Ponyboy has become a hero for generations of teenagers across the nation and continues to impact their lives today.
"When I stepped out into the bright sunlight from the darkness of the movie house, I had only two things on my mind: Paul Newman and a ride home...." ~ Ponyboy Curtis
Review Excerpt:
THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW: "Few books come steeped in an aura as rich as S. E. Hinton's novel "The Outsiders," which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. At a time when the average young-adult novel was, in Hinton's characterization, "Mary Jane Went to the Prom," "The Outsiders" shocked readers with its frank depictions of adolescents smoking, drinking and "rumbling." Although other pop culture offerings had dealt with these themes--most notably "Rebel Without a Cause" and "West Side Story"--their intended audience was adult. By contrast, "The Outsiders" was a story "for teenagers, about teenagers, written by a teenager.""
Classroom Connections:
This novel can be read in any High School English class as a classic and the first Young Adult novel of the 20th century. Some of the discussion questions that could be introduced are:
Compare and contrast the Curtis brothers Darry, Sodapop, and Ponyboy. How does their relationship change over the course of the novel?
Think about the role of physical violence in the novel. Is the violence shocking, predictable or boring? Do you think that such violence has a different effect on readers today than it did when the novel wa first published?
How is "Nothing Gold Can Stay," the Robert Frost poem that Ponyboy recites to Johnny at the church, relevant to Ponyboy and Johnny's story?
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