The Outsiders Movie Vs Book

The Outsiders is a very well known book written by S. E. Hinton when she was 15 and in high school. Because she was 15, the book had some incorrect grammar, but this was accepted due to the fact that it was from a 14 year old’s perspective. Hinton wrote the novel mainly for herself and never intended it to be published, until her mother read it (Notable Biographies) The book The Outsiders was published in April 24, 1967. The movie of The Outsiders was released on March 25, 1983 and directed by Francis Ford Coppola (IMBd). The main character in the book and movie was 14 year old Ponyboy Curtis. Ponyboy hung out with “bad boys” who were considered juvenile delinquents or hoods by the society. The main conflict in both the book and the movie is

that there are two major gangs and they are rivals. “The gangs belonged to two different classes of the society; the lower middle class ‘greasers’ and the upper class ‘Socs’” (famousauthors.org). Pony’s family includes his brothers Darrell (Darry) and Sodapop Curtis, because his parents died in an auto accident. Luckily, they find a new family in their gang and they stick by each other no matter what. Pony’s life is simple until one major events flips it all upside down. This happens when he gets involved in a murder while attacked with his friend Johnny Cade. Pony and Johnny run away to an old church in fear of the consequences they will face, only to decide later that they want to turn themselves in. Before they could, the church catches on fire so Pony, Johnny and their friend Dally save a group of children inside. Johnny gets badly burnt so he tragically passes away. Because of grief, later Dally commits suicide by tricking the cops into killing him (ENotes). Mainly, Pony stays strong throughout all of the events in his life. The book and the movie both had similarities and differences.
The book was narrated in first person and started off with Ponyboy walking home from the movies.

In the novel, Dallas Winston was said to have very bright blonde hair. Another difference is that the socs lived on the west side and the greasers lived on the east side of town. Also, Ponyboy goes into detail Soda, his girlfriend Sandy and his old horse Mickey (SparkNotes). When Pony comes home after curfew, Darry slaps him which leads to Pony running away. The murder was focused on a lot as it showed how Soda and Ponyboy could be put in a boy’s home. This was a big deal because the Curtis family would be separated. Another difference is that in the book, when Ponyboy and Johnny run away to the countryside, they ask a farmer for directions to Jay Mountain. When the cops are running after Dally, he calls Pony’s house and says that he is not hurt. After all this, Pony gets sick and after he recovered, he goes to court to testify information on the murder. The book closes up with the whole book being a report to Pony’s English teacher in order to raise his grade. The book goes very deep into the character’s thoughts and feelings and makes one feel like they personally know each

character.
Although the movie was very close to the book, there were also some differences. The movie was narrated in third person and started off with the greasers going to the movie. The movie skipped over the first chapter of the book in order to shorten the film. Also in the movie, Dally has very dark black hair. In the film, Soc’s live on the south side and greasers live on the north side of town. Soda is less developed in the film in order to focus on more important characters. When Ponyboy comes home late, Darry shoves Ponyboy (Shmoop). In the film, Johnny and Pony find the church without having to ask for any directions. Also, Johnny passing away affects Ponyboy but not very much. When Dally calls the Curtis house in the movie after he robs the store, he is shown wounded. The movie doesn’t mention Pony’s English teacher and him having to write a report. The movie summarizes the book very well while still keeping the key points.
Although there were many differences between the book and the movie there were even more similarities.

One of the biggest similarities was that the movie followed very close to the book’s script. Sometimes it was so close that the dialogue in the book was repeated word for word by the movie characters. The sentence “Things are rough all over” was a quote said by Cherry Valance and was important in both the book and movie. Another quote that was monumental was “Nothing gold can stay” written by Robert Frost and said by Pony when he and Johnny were at the church. This poem explained that nothing good can last. Johnny told Ponyboy to “Stay gold” before he died. (Coppola, The Outsiders). Both the movie and book are saying that if one stays innocent, then their life will be a lot safer and easier. An example of this is that if Johnny hadn’t killed the Soc, he wouldn’t have had to run away. This way, they wouldn’t have started the fire in the church and Johnny would still be

alive.
Both the movie and book were extremely well written. The movie made it easier to picture each character and the setting, while on the other hand, the book gave the reader information on the character’s thoughts and feelings. The theme throughout both the movie and book was bridging the gap between rich and poor. The tone was youthful and slangy. Both the book and movie portrayed the immensely strong connection between the gang members and that even when times are tough, keep going.