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The outsiders literary analysis
The outsiders literary analysis
Society problems in the outsiders
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“The Outsiders” is a very thought-provoking novel that will leave one wondering always what will happen next. Not only is it suspenseful but full of twist and turns; even more than the most intricate of mazes. The narrator and main character is Ponyboy Curtis, a 14-year-old kid who gets good grades and runs track. Seems like a perfect life, right? Well he is a greaser the lower class in this society, no parents, and lives with his two brothers Sodapop and Darrel “Darry” Curtis in the ruthless city of Tulsa Oklahoma. This young boy will go through one of the most dramatic chapters of his life with his brothers and best friend Johnny Cade. The book also uses many characters that are equally interesting to tell the story. These characters include Ponyboy Michael Curtis, Darrel “Darry” Shaynne Curtis, and …show more content…
He could be described as having big black eyes, a dark tanned face, jet black hair, and to Ponyboy he looks kind of like a lost puppy. Ponyboy Curtis – a 14-year-old greaser that lives with his 2 older brothers and could be described as having long dark hair, lacking common sense, heroic, and according to Sherri "Cherry" Valance sweet and dreamy. Darrel “Darry” Shaynne Curtis – is the brother of Ponyboy and can be described as broad-shouldered, smart, athletic, and ponyboy says his eyes are as cold as ice. As said earlier this is a thought provoking novel and may leave one with questions such as these. “these characters all look tough and rough to the look, are they on the inside as they are on the outside?”. Another might be, “how did a seemingly nice quaint town in Oklahoma become this violent and divided between two distinct social groups?”. Finally, another could be “what happens to all the beloved characters now, what is next to come, and will we ever know what did happen to them?”. Overall the book can provoke and inspire many thoughts and
Ponyboy Curtis - Ponyboy is a fourteen-year-old member of a gang called the Greasers. His parents died in a car accident, so he lives alone with his two older brothers, Darry and Soda. He is a good student and athlete, but most people at school consider him a vagrant like his Greaser friends.
The main character of this book is Ponyboy. Ponyboy was a Greaser he was different from all the others he liked books and movies. Nobody in the Greasers digged books and movies the way Ponyboy did. Ponyboy was fourteen years old and he had two brothers that he lived with his older brother Darrel who they call Darry and his second older brother Sodapop who was sixteen going on seventeen. Ponyboy only live with his brothers because they mother and father was killed in a car accident. Ponyboy wanted to be like a movie star Paul Newman he wished he looked like him. Ponyboy always thought his brother Darry never cared about him or anything else. Ponyboy had a friend Jonny. Johnny was a Greaser too but he was the softest one but after he got jumped that changed he always carried a switchblade on him.
Ponyboy talks about him as having ", an elfish face with high cheekbones and a pointed chin, small, sharp animal teeth, and ears like a lynx. His hair was so blond, and he didn't like haircuts, or hair oil either, so it fell over his forehead in wisps and kicked out in the back in tufts and curled behind his ears and along the nape of his neck. His eyes were blue, blazing ice, cold with a hatred of the whole world. “He works as a jockey, and funnily doesn't rig his races; it's "the only thing Dally did honestly." Even though he is only seventeen years old, "the fight for self-preservation had hardened him beyond caring." He set the stereotype for the greasers its scary to the others how scary he is. In the events when Johnny killed Bob dally helped out the boys and gifted them one handgun and $100. Ponyboy realizes the truth after Johnny's death. When he tries to make sense of Dally's reaction to Johnny's death, it dawns on him, "Johnny was the only thing that Dally
Ponyboy was described as sensitive and emotional for many reasons. One example is when Ponyboy, Darry, and Soda find out that Johnny may die. On page 102, Ponyboy says, “I was trembling. A pain was growing in my throat, and I wanted to cry, but greasers don’t cry in front of strangers.” Clearly, this shows that Ponyboy is emotional when it comes to losing people close to him. Another example is when he picks up the pieces of glass from the bottle he broke, to threaten the Socs. On page 171, Two-Bit tells Ponyboy that he is not like the rest of the Greasers, he isn’t hard or tough. Therefore, it shows that Ponyboy is caring and not as mean and hard as the rest of the Greasers. From these examples, it is clear that Pony is sensitive and softer than the rest of the gang.
Throughout the course of The Outsiders, Ponyboy goes from a greaser that tries harder than the others, but goes on to mature even more than you think he would. This fact makes him a dynamic character, as a dynamic character is a character in a storyline that goes through big changes, whether good or bad. You may be confused as to what I am talking about, even though you should have read, but let me explain. Ponyboy Curtis, the main character of The Outsiders, matures throughout the course of the novel. With the actions that take place, Ponyboy experiences the way of life and how it works. While he does not become “tough” like Dallas or Two-Bit, or even his own brother Darrel, and while he does not mature in physical terms, he does in mental terms. Let me start from the beginning.
The Outsiders, an enthralling novel by S.E Hinton, is an excellent story about the hardships and triumphs experienced by the Greasers and the Socs two rival gangs. S.E Hinton tells a thrilling tale about the Socs and the Greasers that are two gangs and she characterize how they live. Ponyboy, his brother and his friends have to deal with the challenges relating to their environment. The three most important topics of The Outsiders are survival, social class and family support.
The Outsiders is a novel by S.E Hinton, that follows a young boy named Ponyboy who grows up in a gang. Johnny, Sodapop and Darry help him find how he fits into the world and without them he would have a hard time finding his own identity. Without having a close group of friends he would have a tough way of life, especially with the Socs. Being in a group that you associate with, that have different values to yourself can lead you to disregard your own ethics and do things you wouldn’t normally do, but at the same time this can assist and reinforce your own values…
Ponyboy Curtis struggles growing up as a poor youth with his two brothers. One night while he is out with Johnny, Ponyboy is attacked by the Socs. Johnny ends up killing one of the Socs. They both flee from the scene before the news gets out. They are caught in a fire and Johnny and Ponyboy become heroes for saving some children. The story has a tragic end for Johnny but Ponyboy realises that he is fortunate, having family and friends that love him
After the church fire Ponyboy comes to the realization of many things. Two-Bit and Ponyboy are eating at a restaurant known as Tasty Freeze when Randy asks to speak with him. Ponyboy tells Randy, ¨Maybe you would have done the same thing, maybe a friend of yours wouldn’t have. It’s the individual¨(115). He finds out that you cannot define someone based on of they are part of the Socs or the greasers. Furthermore, he finds out that every one is a individual and that means that just because he is a part of a certain group it does not mean that they are all going to react or perceive a situation in the same exact way. In addition, he say this to Randy because when there was a fire in the church Dally was not willing to risk his life to save someone else's when Johnny and Ponyboy were more than willing to help the kids. This shows event shows how all Greasers and Socs are not the same. In the beginning of the novel Ponyboy believed Darry disliked him and thought he was a nuisance. However, later on at the hospital Ponyboy tells Darry, “I’m sorry” (98). Ponyboy’s words expose how he feels bad for thinking Darry disliked him all along when in truth he loved him more than words could describe. He realizes that Darry fears losing another family member that is why he is so overprotective of Ponyboy. Hence, proving Ponyboy is clearly a dynamic character.
The Outsiders is about the life of a 14-year-old boy. The book tells the story of Ponyboy “Curtis” and his struggles with right and wrong in a society in which he believes that he is an outsider. Ponyboy and his two brothers, Darrel (Darry), who is 20, and Sodapop, who is 16, have recently lost their parents in an automobile accident. Pony and Soda are allowed to stay under Darry's guardianship as long as they all behave themselves. The boys are greasers, a class term that refers to the young men on the East Side, the poor side of town. The greasers' rivals are the Socs, short for Socials, who are the "West-side rich kids."
This started to happen when he was in the church trying to hide away from the police because of the murder of one of the Soc’s. “I was trembling, and it wasn’t all from cold” (Hilton p.57). This shows that Ponyboy was scared, starting to break, and noticed that maybe this “hard bad boy” life isn't for him. Ponyboy put more and more thought about what it takes to be a greaser, which made him realize that maybe the gang life wasn’t good for him. “We were good fighters and could play cool, but we were sensitive and that isn’t a good way to be when you’re a greaser” (Hinton, p.88). Ponyboy is expressing that it is hard to be as strong as the other boys and sometimes he just couldn't or he couldn't be ok with what they were doing. “It drives my brother Darry nuts when I do stuff like that, ‘cause I’m supposed to be smart’ I make good grades and have a high IQ and everything, but I don't use my head” (Hinton, p.4). Ponyboy knows he has the potential to be something else and while being in hiding in the church it helps him realize that if he really wanted to he could be whatever he puts his mind
As well as that he is part of a gang which includes of Two-Bit, Johnny, Dally, and Steve. Ponyboy likes to read and watch movies. He’s also pretty good in school. Unfortunately for him he isn't like other greasers, he doesn't work cars, pick fights, or flucks out of school. Ponyboy feels like an outsider because he likes the read books, watch movies and does well in school, but greaser aren’t
Ponyboy is an honor roll student and a good athlete in track. Pony also thought that his older brother Darry hated him...
The Outsiders is phenomenal because of its unique type of emotional impact. Authors use perspective point of view to demonstrate more detailed explanations of scenarios. In the story the outsiders they use this method on the main character, Ponyboy Curtis. Ponyboy Curtis is a 14-year-old who is the youngest member in the gang, the greasers. They used this character to help readers relate to the
Ponyboy is the main character and narrator of this novel. He faces two major conflicts: the conflict between the two groups the Socs and the Greasers,