Ponyboy The Outsiders

Ponyboy Curtis, along with his gang- The Greasers- are in a heap of a strife. Their contender - The Socs- are having a rumble against-The Greasers- a bunch of vile ‘hoods’ although not all Greasers are vicious ‘hoods’ , some may be heroes. Ponyboy’s got to determine where he wants to go in life, and if that’s not grim enough, the ‘fuzz’ are after him and his best buddy Johnny. It wasn’t always this toilsome; it all happened on that fateful night at the park, forcing Ponyboy & Johnny out of their hometown Oklahoma, making them both feel like a pair of ‘Outsiders’. S.E Hinton inscribes a thrilling plot admirably well for the breathtaking novel ‘The Outsider’.

In ‘The Outsiders’, the protagonist- Ponyboy- is jumped by the Socs in the beginning

of the book. This is an example of the conflict. I know this Ponyboy went to the movies alone, when he know that the Socs would jump him if he was alone. This shows us that Ponyboy is not street smart and he reflects on this and whether he wants to be a repulsive ‘hood’ and street smart, or someone who has a job along with their life in a stable position and is book smart. This introduces the burdening conflict of Ponyboy choosing which life he wants. And as always, conflicts always lead to the dreadful climax.
The conflict at its highest point is right before the rumble is about to begin.

As the Greasers prepare for the rumble, Ponyboy asks around why each Greaser fights, Sodapop and Steve are playing poker, and Darry- as usual- is showing off his muscles while getting dressed. Soon the Greasers are hyping themselves up and cartwheeling off the steps as they head to the rumble. When the rumble is about to generate, Ponyboy starts to realize that he wants a normal life without any gangs or rumbles, because deep down he knew he wasn’t a ruthless ‘hood’. I know this because he says he wants to be like Darry and that he’s not a Greaser before the rumble was about to start. Another example of him choosing which life he wants around the time of the climax, was when Dally and Ponyboy went to go see Johnny in the hospital after the rumble. During the car ride there, Dally was telling Ponyboy to not become a ‘hood’ like him and the rest of the Greasers, because Dally thought if anyone had potential of becoming more than just a ruffian and get a life it would be Ponyboy. This aids Ponyboy in the decision making of which life he wants to follow. When Ponyboy does choose which life he wants, this is what we call the

resolution.
When the conflict is resolved or diminished, we call this the resolution.

In The Outsiders, the resolution would occur when Ponyboy finally chooses which life he wants to pursue. This happens shortly after the court case against Johnny and him. After Johnny’s death, he leaves somethings behind for the Greasers, and Johnny left a copy of his favourite book for Ponyboy, with a note hidden inside of it. In the letter Johnny references Robert Frost’s poem ‘Nothing Gold can Stay’, which they had previously talked about. Johnny explains that the colour gold represents innocence and when you grow up, you lose the colour gold and become less innocent, he then proceeds to tell Ponyboy, in the letter, that he should stay gold/innocent and not to rush growing up. He also mentions that he shouldn’t become ‘hood’ like the rest of the Greasers, and he should go out and do something with his life that is meaningful. At this moment Ponyboy fully realizes what he wants to do with his life, and this concludes the story along with him writing the book as an essay about his personal life. I know this is the resolution because Ponyboy finally chooses which life he wants, which finally diminishes the long running

conflict.
‘The Outsiders’ was written remarkably well by S.E Hinton reflecting on teenage problems, along with the conflict of growing up and choosing your life path. Everything goes to anguish when disaster strikes, which the end results leave Johnny, and their tough guy friend Dally, in bad condition. How will the Socs react to the murder of their friend? Does this disaster leave The Greasers in horrible condition? How will Ponyboy’s brothers react to him running away? There’s only one way to find out.