If the message of S.E. Hinton’s 1967 novel The Outsiders is that “nothing gold can stay” than someone must have forgotten to mention that to her. Over 40 years after its release The Outsiders still carries with it a valuable lesson for adolescents today. The classic struggle of youthful alienation and the inevitability of change is still at the forefront of the adolescent experience to this day, and Ponyboy’s captivating narrative paints a vivid picture of two group of friends from different sides of the tracks, each struggling to find their way.
As the story opens up, we are introduced to the type of bullying and violence that the poor “greasers” face throughout the story at the hands of rich “socs”. Ponyboy is walking home from the theatre when he is jumped by a group of socs, luckily he is saved by his brothers and the rest of their gang. There are many more similar conflicts throughout the book, culminating in an all out gang fight between the greasers and the socs. The most important conflict happens when Ponyboy and his friend Johnny, who always carried a switchblade because of a beating he received by a group of socs, were confronted in a vacant lot by a group of drunken socs. As one of the socs was drowning Ponyboy in a fountain, Johnny pulled out his switchblade and killed him as the other socs fled. In one night everything would change for both sides.
Bullying and alienation have always been and most likely always will be an integral part of the adolescent experience, whether a student is on one side or the other. The Outsiders provides a valuable chance for students to engage in conversations about the violence and bullying they read about in the book and translate it to their own experiences. The kids that are often the target of such violence are likely to interpret it in a different way than the kids who are often the perpetrators of these acts. However, I don’t believe that either interpretation is more or less valuable than the other when it comes to examining their own adolescent experience.
Kids that are bullied in their school and even kids who simply feel alienated can look at the story Ponyboy tells and realize that they are not alone in their unfortunate circumstances. In fact, with such dramatic displays of violence in The Outsiders, these kids may be able to put their experiences into an even better perspective. On the other hand, kids that are often bullying others are offered the chance to see life from the perspective of the bullied, and hopefully realize that they are not so different. This theme of adolescent alienation provides a valuable opportunity to open up a discussion about bullying and alienation in their school in a non-threatening literary environment where real problems and concerns can be expressed.
It is also important as a teacher to make sure the students aren’t taking the story completely literally as the dynamics of these universal struggles in this day and age are probably not the same as they were for the “greasers” and “socs”. However, no matter the dynamics of the school there will undoubtedly be individuals who feel like an outsider in their own right. It’s difficult to imagine any school in this country being completely homogenized to the point that similar conflicts do not exist. Reading The Outsiders in class and discussing these themes could be an extremely valuable experience if mediated correctly.
The Outsiders also touches on another important theme relating to the adolescent experience, the reality that everything changes. “Nothing gold can stay,” as Ponyboy would say. This poem by Robert Frost seems to be the overarching theme of the text, and is played out brilliantly in the lives of the “greasers”. Dallas Winston is the toughest of the “greasers” and is kind of an allegory for youth lost. He’s seemed to have grown up too fast and made a lot of bad choices along the way. Ponyboy on the other hand is still 14 and holding on to his youthful innocence as much as possible. The incident in the vacant lot would drastically change the lives of everyone involved.
Johnny’s guilt allowed him the courage to run into a burning church to save the lives of a few younger children and was fatally wounded in the process. Looked at by the other “greasers” as their little brother, when Johnny finally succumbed in the hospital, it was too much for Dallas to bare. As the police gunned him down after pulling a gun on them, Dallas death signified the idea of youthfulness lost.
The inevitability of change can be a tough thing for adolescents to accept, and S.E. Hinton brilliantly portrays this struggle throughout the book. This theme provides another opportunity for a class discussion. Students can be asked to expand on this idea by writing a short sequel to The Outsiders and explain how they think the story played out after the ending. This gives students the opportunity to really dig in to the characters of the book by analyzing their actions throughout and creatively explaining how each character is handling his/her lives after the end of the book.
I unfortunately never read this book during school but reading it now really gave me a chance to look back at my adolescence and think about it in a different way. I think this book is perfect for English classes from 6th to 9th grade levels. The Outsiders is definitely a book I will consider reading as a class in my classroom. The fact that S.E. Hinton was only 15 when she began writing The Outsiders is another great aspect of the book in a classroom environment. Studentss can use her as an inspiration and set their goals accordingly. Perhaps one of my students will one day write a book that stays this golden 40 plus years after it’s published!
Hinton, S.E.. The Outsiders. New York: Penguin Books, 1967. Print.
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