Examples Of Sunset In The Outsiders

Connie Cai
01/23/2023
Period 1/2
Connecting Sunsets

How can sunsets, something we have no power over, connect two people from different worlds? Sunsets in The Outsiders are used to show relationships and similarities between different people from very different places. In The Outsiders, a realistic fiction novel by S.E. Hinton, greasers, like Ponyboy, and Socs, like Cherry may be very different people that come from very different backgrounds. From lifestyle differences to clothes, many differences between Cherry and Ponyboy are made clear. However, sunsets are an important aspect in The Outsiders that shows a common bridge between the two. For example, when Ponyboy and his friends are walking to Two-Bit’s car to drive home from the movies,

We saw the same sunset,” (Hinton, 40-41). This associates with the idea that sunsets can be viewed by everyone and can connect two people who look at it the same way. It also illustrates how Ponyboy and Cherry are breaking away from their stereotypical world. Throughout the story, we see constant quibbles between the two classes. In this conversation, we see how they are opening up to each other. Later in the story, Ponyboy, Two-Bit, Marcia, and Cherry are confronted by Bob and Randy, as well as other Socs. They have come to pick up Cherry and Marcia, and Cherry has to say goodbye to Pony. When she brings up the problem of social classes between the two and how that affects how they can interact with each other, Pony says to Cherry “It’s okay. We aren’t in the same class. Just don’t forget some of us watch the sunset too,” (Hinton, 46). Again, this shows the sunsets connecting them. It means something how Pony chose to remind Cherry that he watches the sunset too when he said goodbye, reinforcing the importance of sunsets in their relationship. Sunsets might not be a common thing to bond over, especially when the two people from two different classes have a long history of disputes, However, like how beautiful sunsets are, they could