Outsiders Thematic Essay

Have you ever felt judged or marginalized only because of the situation you were born in?Having to walk on the street wondering if you’re safe. Have you ever been the one that gets made fun of? The laughing stock? The uncool one? The one with the bad luck? In S.E Hinton's The Outsiders, the Greasers are all of those things. It’s a dark world they live in but they have no choice. Although the narrator, Ponyboy, may not lead the best life, he still tries to make the most of it. Heroism, social class and survival are some of the most transcendent themes demonstrated in S.E Hinton’s The Outsiders.
One of the most obvious themes in S.E Hinton’s The Outsiders is heroism. There is heroism in basically every chapter of the book. Heroism is a big part of The Outsiders because the greasers are like a family and they help each other out in moments of sorrow and need. One of my favorite moments of heroism in The Outsiders is when Ponyboy and Johnny raced back to the burning church to save the kids trapped inside. Talk about another act of fearlessness followed by another. After that fiasco, Dally went to pull Johnny out of the church when a piece of burning wood falls on him and burns him. Dally ends up in the hospital after the incident and unfortunately, he dies of major burns on his back after trying to save Johnny. For me a true hero is a person who puts other people’s needs before their own. Dally is an absolute hero because he ran into that burning church regardless of what could happen to him. In conclusion, the theme of heroism is present in The Outsiders alright. Heroism is a huge part of the foundation of the book. Heroism is not only about physical strength but also about fortitude, mental and emotional strength in facing diffi...

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...al is the fact that Johnny always carries a knife when he is out. The reason being is that once, he got jumped by a group of socs. That day, Johnny swore to always have a pocket knife on him. This is his way to survive. Greasers and Socs have a huge rivalry between each other. Thus putting the greasers in danger because the Socs are always picking fights with them.If you need another example of survival, you can just look on page 71. After Johnny kills a Soc at a park, he and Ponyboy had to run away in order to not get caught by the cops or the fuzz as they call it. The boys find a church to sleep in for the night. They would figure out what to do in the morning. They cut and dye their hair in order not to be identified. As you already probably know, they dyed their hair because of survival. If they wanted to survive, they knew they would have to disguise themselves.