Differences Between The Outsiders Book And Movie

Book or movie? This seems to be a pretty common debate, especially seeing there are so many differences between the two. Ranging from the beginning of the story to the visual aspects of the characters as compared to their descriptions, the differences are quite apparent. The book “The Outsiders” is a wonderful story, and has been read year after year by the youths in schools. But, how does it really compare to its later made movie version?

First, the beginnings are quite different. In the book, the story begins with Ponyboy leaving the theater, thinking to himself while walking home. He chose to walk alone, which in this story, is beyond being a bad idea! This results in Ponyboy getting jumped by the wealthier kids, known as the “Soc's”.

Now let's compare this to the movie version. This begins nearly the same, but with a close eye, the differences are noticeable. There is a scene where Ponyboy is shown writing, and then he is leaving the theater, but he does not get jumped. To me, the beginning where he gets jumped is an imperative part to the story. This opening, as they had it in the book, lays the groundwork for the relationship between the Greasers and the Socials. It shows the raw emotions and severity of the situation that these young men live day to day in.
Another big difference is the roles of Darry and Sodapop. In the book, these two characters played major roles. The extra time was taken to build both Darry and Soda's characters and allowed a look into the personal lives of these characters. It helped to make them into larger, expanded roles. The movie did not take that extra time necessary for the viewer to develop a “relationship” with those characters. They played a fairly miniscule role in the movie as compared to the book. Although they played an obvious role, it was far smaller and much less in-depth. There was no mention of Sodapop's horse, Mickey Mouse and there was only a slight mention of his relationship with Sandy. These are both highly important as they build up Soda's character and give back information allowing the reader to make a more personal connection with the character.
Next is the fact that the book led the reader into the understanding that Ponyboy was failing his class and had to write an essay in order to pass. Hence, him writing “The Outsiders”. The book gave reason to why Ponyboy was sitting down to write a novel. Meanwhile, in the movie, it shows Ponyboy in his class, but there is no explanation as to why he wrote this story. In my opinion, this leads us to believe that the death of his friends, or more correctly, his family, has deeply affected him and maybe that is why he wrote this story. Although that very well may have also been a reason, that is not how the book directs our understanding. Without explanation, the movie version removes the importance of why Ponyboy is writing this story.
Finally, and to me, most importantly, the visual aspects.

The book version of “The Outsiders” describes all of the characters in beautifully done, clear, vivid detail. This allows the reader to easily visualize these characters in their “minds eye”. For example, Ponyboy was said to have light brown, almost red hair. Sodapop was believed to have dark blond hair. Dallas was described to have elfish features accompanied with blond, almost white hair. This flawlessly gives us a very comprehensible description of these characters. Now, taking a glimpse at the movie version, the viewer would be easily confused as to who is who! In the film, the actors that were chosen held no resemblance to the clear descriptions given of their characters. Ponyboy had dark hair, but not much tinting of red, as described in the book. Sodapop, portrayed by Rob Lowe in the film, was not the dark blonde-haired image that was expected. The most erroneous description fell on Dallas Winston, played by Matt Dillon. This specific character held no similarity to the description in the book. Where the book claimed elfish features and white/blonde hair, we all know Matt Dillon is neither of those. While he is a handsome man, he is neither elfish in appearance nor does he have light

features!
Although there were many similarities, the differences highly overshadowed them. While the movie is always fun to watch, the book was undoubtedly the better option. Books can be as long as they need, allowing clear, precise descriptions and in-depth detail to explain situations, people, and backstories. Whereas movies have a limited time expectency and tend to skip those key portions found in its counterpart, the book. The book of “The Outsiders” is unequivocally the version that came out on top!