Should The 8th Graders Study The Outsiders

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8th graders should study the novel The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton because the story, characters, and ideas are very relatable and realistic to teens. The book follows the protagonist Ponyboy Curtis as he struggles with topics like bullying, identity, loss, and divided communities, in a society where he feels like an outsider. In the novel, Ponyboy is a greaser. Greasers are a group of lower-class youths in Oklahoma. Their rivals are the Socs, they are the upperclassmen who make more money and get handed more breaks. 8th graders should study the novel The Outsiders by S.E Hinton because of how relatable the diverse themes, the relatable characters, and the problems that can apply to teens today. The Outsiders has many themes, such as divided …show more content…

Divided community is the primary conflict. The conflict between the Socs and greasers, 8th graders can relate to this topic, might it be different cliques in school or a divide in their family. There are also many relatable characters, and everyone can relate to at least one character. Soda­pop, who dropped out of high school and feels caught in the middle between Darry and Ponyboy. Darry, an older brother, gave up college and now works two jobs to keep his family together. Now some people believe 8th graders should not study The Outsiders because the book doesn't cover the same issues we deal with now, like racism, and because it glorifies gangs and violence. The Outsiders doesn’t deal with issues we have to deal with as regularly as a society. Nevertheless, the book still has the same effect on people as it would if the book had been about racism. In the book, the greasers got jumped by the Socs because they were bored, and they could, but that doesn’t mean that someone who gets bullied and jumped can’t relate to the greasers getting called names and getting physically hurt when they walked home alone. Even if the reason the person is being jumped is different. In the novel, you could easily compare the experiences the greasers went through,

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