Character Analysis: The Outsiders By S. E. Hinton

In the novel The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton a teenage boy named Ponyboy lives with his two older brothers named Soda and Darry, and there is some controversy on whether or not his brothers are able to take proper care of Ponyboy. All three of the brothers are apart of the neighborhood gang called “The Greasers”, which is more like a brotherhood of underprivileged boys that have eachother’s backs rather than a gang. Ponyboy finds himself involved with the murder of an egotistical “Soc” named Bob, and is at risk of being taken away from his family and friends. Ponyboy should be able to stay with his brothers, because he is a well-rounded student that obeys the law for the most part, and his brothers are able to provide financial and emotional

“ But we just didn't have the money for him to go to college, even with the athletic scholarship he won. And now he didn't have time between jobs to even think about college. So he never went anywhere and never did anything anymore, except work out at gyms and go skiing with some old friends of his sometimes,”(15). This shows that Darry puts Ponyboy’s and Soda’s needs above his own, and that he is willing to sacrifice his social life in order to have financial stability for his two younger brothers. Also it demonstrates that Darry obtains two jobs in order to give Ponyboy the chance to make something of himself, and not be stuck in the slums for the rest of his life. Even though Ponyboy staying with his brothers is the obvious choice, others may argue that Ponyboy should be put into a boys home. “...but he can't stand me. I bet he wishes he could stick me in a home somewhere, and he'd do it, too, if Soda'd let him,”(37) This shows that Ponyboy thinks that Darry doesn’t love him, and that he would get rid of him if he got the chance. However, this perception was proven wrong when Darry was crying when Ponyboy finally came home,