Jennifer Young
Mrs. Williams
6th Period
16 October 2017
The True Themes of The Outsiders
What are some of the themes in the life of average people? Is it heritage, love for family, persevering through all life’s struggles, loyalty to oneself or other people. It could possibly be all of those; maybe even none of them. In S. E. Hinton’s The Outsiders many of the characters live hard lives that contain complex themes. Three of the most important themes in S.E. Hinton’s The Outsiders are loyalty to oneself or other people, love for family and friends, and perseverance through all of life’s struggles.
One of the prevalent themes in The Outsiders is loyalty to oneself and others. Loyalty is everything for the Greasers. Whether it was right or wrong,
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According to Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary, perseverance is “a continued effort to do or achieve something despite difficulties, failure, or opposition.” It took perseverance for Johnny to survive getting jumped or for the Curtis brothers to stay together when all odds were against them, but those are some of the main reasons perseverance is a truly significant theme in the book. Ponyboy states "It ain't fair!" I cried passionately. "It ain't fair that we have all the rough breaks!" I didn't know exactly what I meant, but I was thinking about Johnny's father being a drunk and his mother a selfish slob, and Two-Bit's mother being a barmaid to support him and his kid sister after their father ran out on them, and Dally--- wild, cunning Dally- -- turning into a hoodlum because he'd die if he didn't, and Steve--- his hatred for his father coming out in his soft, bitter voice and the violence of his temper. Sodapop... a drop out so he could get a job and keep me in school, and Darry, getting old before his time trying to run a family and hold on to two jobs and never having any fun--- while the Socs had so much spare time and money that they jumped us and each other for kicks, had beer blasts and river-bottom parties because they didn't know what else to do. Things were rough all over, all right. All over the East Side. It just didn't seem right to me”(Hinton 38). This statement made by Ponyboy …show more content…
Loyalty is one of the strongest elements that make up the Greaser’s characters; love is shown throughout the book whether it be helping the children out of the burning church or yelling because they are worried about one another, and perseverance is displayed through the burning desire to be better than the stereotypes into which they are forced. Love, loyalty, and perseverance are all traits one needs in life: love instead of loneliness, loyalty so one knows where others stand, and perseverance to get through tough times against all odds.Which value is most important to
The Greasers feel emotions so harshly. Throughout the novel, Ponyboy loses two very close friends, almost dies himself, and he is almost taken away from Darry and put in a boys’ home. With those things happening to anyone it would be emotional. But Greasers feel more emotion that the Socs do. Socs are “... sophisticated- cool to the point of not feeling anything” (38). But when you compare Greasers and Socs it’s a different story. “That’s why we’re separated … It’s not money, it’s feeling- you don’t feel anything
In the book The Outsiders, written by S.E. Hinton, is about two separate groups. One group is called the socs, and the other one is called the greasers. They have some difficulties getting along. The poem is called, “Nothing Gold Can Stay”, written by Robert Frost. The poem is about that sometimes we have had a long, busy day and then the next day will be a brand new day. These are some ideas between the book and the book.
On the other hand family support is one of the strongest themes in The Outsiders, because if people did not have family support everyone would be living on the streets. Family support is one of the major things everyone needs for his psychological and social balance. Family support is key in confidence building for every person. An example of this in S.E Hinton The Outsider is when Ponyboy says: “A paperback of Gone With The Wind ! How’d you know I always wanted one”(page 71). If Ponyboy had family support from his parents, they would have known that he requested this book. They ...
The movie, The Outsiders, starts with the Curtis parents on their weekly, Saturday evening drive to the baking store to buy some ingredients for their boys’ favorite Sunday morning, breakfast treat: chocolate cake. The Curtis boys love their chocolate cake for Sunday breakfast not only because they love it, but also because they appreciate how hard their parents have to work to save the monies necessary for the morsels that put smiles on their faces!
For instance, “It had taken more than nerve for him to say what he'd said to Dally—Johnny worshiped the ground Dallas walked on, and I had never heard Johnny talk back to anyone, much less his hero.” (pg. 24) This means that even though Johnny respected Dally because he was there for him when his parents weren’t, he took a risky step and stopped him from doing something wrong. By doing this, it shows that Johnny isn’t afraid to protect others like Cherry when the situation involved his friend Dally. More importantly, “I swear, you three are the bravest kids I’ve seen in a long time. First you and the blacked-haired kid climbing in that window, and then the tough-looking kid going back in to save him. Mrs. O'Briant and I think you were sent straight from heaven. Or are you just professional heroes or something?” (pg. 95) As shown, it is important to realize that Johnny, Ponyboy, and Dally wouldn’t only defend their gang members, but they would also endanger their own lives in order to save others. It proves that their act of heroism can be used in all situations. No matter what situation they are in, the Greasers use their heroic actions towards not only their gang members but other people
Greasers are expected to be bad people that are rude because of Greaser reputations. The Greasers are always being watched to see if they do anything wrong. Greasers are expected to do wrong by the the public. “On the front page of the second section was the headline: Juvenile Delinquents Turn Heroes.”(107). This shows that even though Ponyboy and Johnny saved those kids, they were expected to be Juvenile delinquents because they are Greasers, even though the only thing Johnny ever did to be a juvenile delinquent is kill Bob and that was in self defence.
I feel as though the novel The outsiders has many themes, but the most important one is belonging. The greasers are a group of poor, low class youth that don’t have much and live on the wrong side of town. They are always held accountable for their actions. On the other hand, the Socs are a bunch of high class youth that are very privileged and aren’t held accountable for their immature actions.
Ponyboy and others know subconsciously that they need to hammer away. Through dreadful living conditions, family issues, and the deaths of friends, they just chip away until they can’t no more. When the end is there in the distance they all lean on each other and support the others. Ponyboy and his family endure through the thick and the thin. S.E. Hinton shows this so perfectly and inspires the rest of the world to do so. At the end of the day, the reader can understand how important it is to persevere through
All in all, the permeating theme of S. E. Hinton’s The Outsiders is Your personal decisions can always affect the people closest to you. I Picked this Theme because I think i fits the best with the book Many people Kill and get killed because of one dumb decision/
When living sometimes we are faced with difficult decisions that affect our friendships. If you knew you were in a jam, what would you do? Who would you run to? Despite the greasers’ reputation as heartless young criminals, they live by a specific code of friendship and honour. In the novel The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, there are many instances in which the gang members make selfless choices by putting the needs of others ahead of their own. Three examples are, when the gang has each other’s back, Johnny and Ponyboy’s friendship, and Dally risking his life for Johnny.
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…
Many heroes appear in the book The Outsiders. The characters that I think are heroes are Ponyboy, Johnny, and Dally. The definition of a hero for me is a person who is brave enough to do things to help someone even if it is a dangerous thing to do.A hero also cares for others and people can rely on them. Ponyboy was a hero because he saved peoples’ lives. Johnny died as a hero because he also saved the kids from the burning church and he was also relied on by his gang members. Dally was hero mainly because he cared for his gang and people relied on him. These three characters were heroes in this book according to my definition of a hero.
The first theme uncovered in the movie is isolation, this theme is present throughout the entire movie. The viewer is introduced to the main character and narrator of the movie, whose name we are never told. By not providing his name this gives us the idea that he represents the average working class male. He never speaks of any family members,
Determination and a strong connection with the natural world can uphold a person's sense of hope. Throughout the book The Outsiders it is demonstrated that through being confronted with arduous situations Ponyboy and the gang using determination and courage establish a sense of hope through each other. As shown in “no rival gangs only socs and you can't win against them no matter how hard you try” it displays that Ponyboy at the opening of the story does not believe anything can change therefore he has disbelief in hope. However after encountering two socials Cherry and Marcia they
It is a great example of how persevering through life’s obstacles can make life even better than before. Being different creates many challenges for Forrest, however, he shows inner strength as he fights through these challenges. Along with this, Forrest Gump shows how having support while trying to escape a dark path will make success easier. Therefore, the movie reveals that life will not always be perfect, but it is important to persevere through the adversity that it is filled with. Ultimately, no matter the circumstances, any obstacle can be