The Outsiders

The Outsiders

INTRODUCTION:

"The Outsiders" by S. E Hinton is an early novel based on two waring juvenile gangs, divided by economical and social background, the lower East side Greasers and the upper West side Socs. The novel is set in 1966 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It is a novel written in first person by a 14 year old Greaser, Ponyboy Curtis who allows us an insight into the lifestyles of these distinct worlds.

I chose the novel "The Outsiders" as a text for year 10 for the following reasons: It is a novel which draws the reader in and allows the reader to understand a lifestyle alien to them. Even though the novel is set in 1966, it is a novel that's theme can be found in any society and time period. The student can relate to this novel as the narrator of the story is of their own age group and reflects many issues that they themselves may face.

The language of the text is easily understood as are the themes in the story. It contains themes that would interest a young mind, showing many students the seedier side of life. What it would be like to live under such circumstances in constant fear of their lives. It deals with gang warfare, alcohol, drugs, child abuse, murder, survival and growing up. These are areas that a pubescent teenager can easily lose themselves in. It forces the reader to realise that in many cases teenagers have no choice in what lifestyles that are born into in this case either becoming the rich kid or the kid from the wrong side of the tracks. The novel has been incorporated into a Francis Ford Coppola's 1983 movie adaptation, starring many popular young actors of our time. The use of both text and movie creates a more vivid understanding and appreciation of the novel for there are no major variations between the two texts.

I believe "The Outsiders" is a relevant novel to study as in today's society the concept of violence is an ever present theme. It is a theme that dominates adolescents all over the world. As to survive in today's society many adolescents are faced with the turbulence of growing up in a volatile society and many face the prospect of dealing with some form violence or gang warfare or know of a friend who has.

I believe students would enjoy this novel because it is about "people roughly their own age, contemporary time, the obvious, but none the less potent, parental relationsh...

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...culties or problems.

4)Direct students to appropriate areas of help for those with family problems.

ADAPTATIONS AND MODIFICATIONS

The class that this unit has been designed for is a mixed ability class. The unit of work allows for the incorporation of class/group and individual work.

However, it is an area that could possess some problems as the set texts deals with social conflicts and violence - an early instance of gang warfare that in today's society extends to racial areas and genders. I intended to use a range of resources from many eras and cultures. As "The Outsiders" is a late 1960's version of gang warfare. I want to relate this to a more modern text such as the

1993 Romper Stomper an Australian film of neo-Nazism vs Asians or the film Boys in the Hood, Negro gang warfare in American in the 1990's. This might pose a problem if ethnicity or racial discrimination existed in the classroom.

Another obvious problem would be is if gangs existed in the mythical school, however both problems do not occur. The only problem to deal with is gender as females do not tend to dominate in gang warfare, they are considered as the prize of a gang or a reason to cause a war.