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Impermanence In The Outsiders By S. E. Hinton

669 Words3 Pages

We do not realize how much someone else can affect our own life, and Ponyboy is about to find out. The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton is a coming-of-age novel where the 13 year old main character Ponyboy Curtis runs away with his best friend Johnny. Ponyboy experiences a lot of death and impermanence in this story. From his parents, to his enemies, to his best friends. He is forced to let all these people go. Let go of the memories, and the friendships, and the good times. Impermanence is an important part of becoming older, and Ponyboy is ready for it. The first death mentioned in this story is Ponyboy’s parents. The eldest Curtis, Darry, is left to care for Ponyboy and the middle brother Sodapop. The book mentions their parents multiple times, but never really mentions how the kids felt when their parents died in that tragic car crash, or how they feel about the situation now. Although, when Ponyboy’s English teacher assigns him an essay that can be about anything, …show more content…

They went to Dairy Queen to get some lunch, and when they came back, the church was on fire and there were kids inside of it. Unfortunately, this leads the third and fourth deaths in this book. Two of Ponyboy’s closest friends, Johnny and Dally. Ponyboy and Johnny decided to go help the kids that were trapped in the fire. A burning timber fell on Johnny’s back. Johnny lives a couple more days before his depressing death. And Dally, the only thing keeping him alive was Johnny. Once Johnny was dead, Dally felt as though he had no point in being alive anymore. He robbed a grocery store and just let the cops chase him. He eventually turned around and held up a gun. It wasn't loaded, but the policemen did not know that. They shot Dally, which was exactly what he wanted. Dally always found a way to get what he wanted. Ponyboy handled Johnny and Dally’s death exceptionally well. He got over it almost

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