Hinton, S.E. 1967. THE OUTSIDERS. New York, New York: Viking Press. ISBN 0670532576
2. PLOT SUMMARY/CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Ponyboy is a 14 year old boy who lives with his two brothers after the death of his parents. His parents died at least six months prior to the start of the book. He makes good grades, but can’t seem to stay out of trouble. He and his group of friends call themselves the “greasers” which is a term used for the boys from the poorer side of town who wear their hair long and greasy. The greasers are repeatedly having difficulty with the “socs” which are the kids who coming from richer families and are privileged. The greasers have generally had rough lives and seem to be angry at the world while the socs have always had everything go their way and everything handed to them. It is almost as if the soc have a sense of entitlement but yet a sense of emptiness. These two groups can’t seem to get along, and one night things get out of hand. Things go too far and both groups are feeling the consequences.
With Pony’s parents being deceased his oldest brother takes care of the family. Darry, the oldest brother, works most of the time in order to support the family. The family frequently fights over Pony’s future because they want what is best for him. Darry is hard on Pony, wants him to do better in school, and tries to keep him on the right track.
One evening Dally, Johnny, and Pony met some beautiful girls who turned out to be two of the socs girlfriends. The socs saw the greasers in the park with the girls, and that is when things turned from bad to worse. One of the socs, Bob, turned out to be the same guy who had recently beat up Johnny. Pony went home late causing Darry to be angry. Pony and Darry got into a fight about him being late, and that is when Pony stormed out of the house in anger. He runs to the park with Johnny to get away, this is when the boys run into Bob and his friends. Bob nearly drowns Pony in a nearby fountain making Johnny so angry he ends up stabbing Bob to death.
Not knowing what to do the boys run to find Dally hoping he will be able to help them. The boys hide out in a church for a few days. The boys decide they want to turn themselves in but before they can the church catches on fire with people trapped inside. While rescuing the people from the church a piece of wood falls on Johnny injuring him. The greasers and socs get into another fight. After the fight Pony and Dally go to visit Johnny who dies. Dally is so distraught that he runs out of the hospital and shortly after commits a robbery. The boys run to his rescue trying to hide him from the police however the police catch up to him, Dally pulls a gun out, and the police shoot and kill him. Pony pretends he is the one who murdered Bob, but after his trial the judge sets him free.
After going through all of these trials and tribulations Pony decides to complete a class assignment by writing about himself to let people know what life is like as a greaser. Through his actions he wants people to know his story and know if they are in his same situation that there are other people like them. From all that has gone on Pony realizes that Darry truly loves him and only wants what is best for him.
This story is told from the point of view of Pony making the reader feel like they are almost in his shoes. Students will get a since of what life can be like from a different perspective or feel like they are not alone in the life they are dealing with. This book will make people either understand where others are coming from or will show people they are not alone in what they are going through in life.
4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
*HORN BOOK: “...we meet powerful characters in a book with a powerful message.”
5. Exemplary or Favorite Lines
*"And you can't win against them no matter how hard you try, because they've got all the breaks and even whipping them isn't going to change that fact." (11)
*"I wanted to cry, but Greasers don't cry in front of strangers. Some of us never cry at all. Like Dally and Two-Bit and Tim Shepard--they forgot how at an early age." (102)
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