Self Discovery In S. E. Hinton's The Outsiders

What does the phrase “opposites attract” really mean? The two characters, Johnny Cade and Dallas Winston demonstrate the true meaning in The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton. Johnny and Dally are opposites because Johnny is law abiding while Dally deliberately breaks laws. Also when Johnny dies, he dies a hero while Dally dies a hoodlum. They do have similarities though. Johnny and Dally’s parents do not care for them. Also, Johnny and Dally care for one another. Johnny and Dally may seem very different, but they do have attributes in common.

Johnny last words to Ponyboy were “stay gold ponyboy stay gold”,I think Johnny meant that Ponyboy should stay like he is because he isn 't as violent as the other gang members.The text states “you ain’t like the rest of the gang.I mean i couldn 't tell Two Bit or Steve or even darry about the sunrise and clouds and stuff.Just you and Sodapop . And maybe Cherry Valance.”(pg.78) Also Ponyboy ask all the gang members why they like to fight but he doesn 't know why he likes to fight.

In S.E Hinton's book The Outsiders, If there wasn’t a difference moneywise between the greasers and the socs they might be friends. Money separated the socs are higher class and are treated differently. For example, if Bob and Johnny were friends then Bob might not be dead as well as Johnny and Dally. Because then there wouldn’t be a reason for Ponyboy and Johnny to run away. So that would save at least three lives just with a change in money.

"When I was young, all these books were about Mary Jane and the football player and the prom and ending up with the quiet guy and making your mom happy." S.E. Hinton wanted to write about stuff that depicted the real lives of teenagers and not the typical boy meets girl or the girl meets boy stories that people always wrote. Hinton has written over 20 books and some of them were made into movies, she also has received 19 awards. S.E. Hinton was influenced by her childhood of being a tomboy and playing with all her male cousins. As well as experiencing being a female teen in Oklahoma. S.E. Hinton’s personal life and how things were portrayed for boys and girls back then led her to write the reality, creating some of her famous works of “The

Both gangs agree on having a rumble because the Greasers were treated unfairly and The Socs were trying to be somewhat fair. All of The Greasers were thinking“ We gotta win that fight tonight, We gotta get even with the Socs. For Johnny. “ (125). This shows that the only reason why the Greasers participated in the rumble was to get even with the Socs and to take that win for Johnny’s death. The only reason why they wanted to become even with the Socs was because the Socs always pick on them and treat them like garbage. Instead of the Greasers fighting with weapons to kill Socs, they wanted to be fair and asked for the rumble to not include weapons because “ A fair fight isn't rough, Blades are rough. So are chains and heaters and pool sticks and rumbles. Skin fighting isn't rough. It blows off steam better than anything.”

Ponyboy’s feelings and attitude towards the Socs changes in many different ways throughout the novel. His initial attitude towards the Socs was all about looking cool and tuff all the time. It was how things were. The forces behind his change in attitude are the softer sides of the Socs. His final attitude towards the Socs were softened, even though his gang still hate them.

The novel The Outsiders, by S.E. Hinton illustrates a theme of stereotyping and its effect on the characters. The protagonist, Ponyboy Curtis is the most affected by stereotyping. Ponyboy is stereotyped as a greaser. He accepts this stereotype, but is negatively affected by it, because society views greasers as poor, bellicose, delinquents from the East Side. While some may state that Ponyboy is a normal person, I view Ponyboy as a greaser, because of the way he acts and relates to other greasers.

Symbolism can be shown in objects, actions, and places. Chapter 4 of The Outsiders shows the outrageous act that Johnny and Ponyboy committed. Symbolism is shown by Bob’s rings, the park, and the church.

Family is an important component in everyone’s life. S.E Hinton this The Outsiders there is contradiction between the gang’s biological family and their “family”. Johnny is a member of the gang that is not wanted and cared for by his parents but musters to find a strong bond with the gang. The Outsiders, a realistic fiction book by S.E Hinton, shows the importance that family is the one that cares about you even though many people say that your biological family can understand you more.

Throughout the novel we see the Greasers and the Soc in constant conflict, fighting and rumbling for gang dominance. Ponyboy is greatly affected by this and is already questioning the point of violence. Close to the end of the text the Greasers and the Socs plan a rumble to occur one night. Before the fight, Ponyboy meets Randy Anderson (a Soc) at the Tasty Freeze Diner where they have a conversation. Ponyboy realises that Randy is, “not going to show at the rumble” and that he is, “sick of rumbles because they don't do any good.” This comes to a shock to Pony and at this moment he realises that violence really isn't necessary and it does no

When you change the way you look at something the things you look at change, to give you a wider perspective of what you see. Ponyboy Curtis learns this the hard way. One theme in The Outsiders by S.E Hinton is that as people grow up experiences force them to see life in different perspectives and look beyond their bias. This essay will demonstrate how Ponyboy’s point of view changes throughout the book. You first start to see a slight change in Ponyboy’s point of view when he meets Cherry (Sherri) Valance, furthermore when he speaks to Randy in the car, as well as when he reads Johnny's letter.

In the text it states, “I snatched up another kid, hoping he didn 't bite, and dropped him without waiting too see if he landed okay or not.” (93) Ponyboy saves the local children from a fire. This is heroic because he did that without any regards to his health or safety. Moreover, “Johnny shoved me toward the window. ‘Get out!’” (93) This shows that Johnny has learned what it takes to be hero. He saved the children without any consideration for his health and safety, and he also saved Ponyboy for the cost of his own life. The two learn what it means to be a

In S.E Hinton's novel, The Outsiders, the author explores the idea that communities of people help each other like family. Johnny's real family acted like he didn't exist, so to him the gang was his family. Without the gang Johnny wouldn't be the the way he is. The gang acted like his family by caring for him, always being there for him, and treating him like a brother.

To illustrate, it is said in the book that “Then there were shouts and the pounding of feet, and the Socs jumped up and left me lying there, gasping …. By then I had figured that all the noise I had heard was the gang coming to rescue me” (6-7). This shows that Ponyboy’s friends came to the rescue and saved him from the Socs when they heard him yelling. If not for these friends, Ponyboy could have been seriously injured, or even killed. Moreover, S.E. Hinton wrote, “Johnny asked no questions. We ran for several blocks … I finally sat down on the curb and cried, burying my face in my arms. Johnny sat down beside me, one hand on my shoulder. ‘Easy, Ponyboy,’ he said softly, ‘we’ll be okay’” (51). This truly demonstrates friendship at its best, with Johnny saying nothing and simply following when Ponyboy tells him that they are running away. Johnny knows that his friend is very upset and needs him to be there to help and comfort him, and Johnny does just this. Ultimately, this book illustrates that friendship will keep someone going, even at the hardest times, as abundantly shown by the