The Outsiders Themes

The Outsiders, a novel by S.E. Hinton, may be an old book, but it still could teach many of us a lesson or two. The story has many unique themes, as there are several conflicts in the story. A theme is basically the underlying message of a book. The themes portrayed in this story include “Things are rough all over”, “Don’t judge a book by its cover”, and “True friendship can survive anything.”

Ever felt like that kid gets all the good breaks, like nothing ever goes wrong for him or her? Well, you think that because you’ve never been in their shoes. “Things are rough all over” is what Cherry said to Ponyboy after he had told her Johnny’s story. At first, Ponyboy didn’t really think about it, but after he heard how Randy felt, it dawned on him. The Socs often didn’t feel satisfied with their lives, and were clueless; that’s probably why they were mean to the Greasers. Even though Randy was a Soc, and supposedly “had it good”, he didn’t want to fight, but he had no choice. And, who knows how the lives of really were like; we never truly heard of their perspective. This phrase is true in real life as well. You will never know how somebody else lives unless you’re them.

Ponyboy is probably the least Greaser-like Greaser in the book; he’s passive, very intelligent, and incredibly

Even though they went through a lot, their friendship endured. And, even though Johnny died, their friendship lasted. Friendship is an amazing thing. It’s what the Greasers had, and it was what kept them together. And not just any friendship, true friendship. Johnny stabs Bob only because he was worried about his friend, and Pony spent time with Johnny after Marcia, Cherry, and Two-Bit left instead of at home. Johnny thought of suicide, but Ponyboy told him not to; if it weren’t for him, Johnny may have done it. They totally trusted each other and cared for each other a great deal. All of us should try to make our friendships more like