Book Review: ‘The Outsiders’ by S.E. Hinton
In every town, at every moment in time, there has also been a struggle between the haves and the have-nots. This classic story takes on a particularly potent life in S.E. Hinton’s classic novel, The Outsiders. Ponyboy is the kid from the wrong side of the tracks. But what his life lacks in things, it more than makes up for in people. He has two brothers who love him and want only the best for him. And he has his greaser friends who would do anything for him. Life isn’t perfect, but it is good. Then one night, his world gets turned upside down when the “socs”, the rich gang, attack him and a friend, and things go too far.
[Warning: My review of The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton contains some spoilers!]
The Outsiders deals with the classic dichotomy of the haves and the have-nots
Ponyboy is a greaser. They’re your stereotypical blue-collar lower-class characters. They don’t have much money, but they’re the most loyal friends you could ever hope for. Most of them know that they’ll never make it out; they’re trapped by their circumstances. But Ponyboy is smart, and his brothers hope for more for him.
The Socs are the rich gang from the other side of town. You would think that with all their money, they could find something better to do with their time than pick fights with the greasers, but they apparently can’t. It’s not enough for them to have so much more than the greasers; they need to physically dominate them, too. Then one night, the unthinkable happens, one of the fights goes too far. Ponyboy’s friend Johnny kills one of the socs. Terrified, Ponyboy and Jonny make a run for it. As the boys come to terms with what happened and what it means, they’ll also discover who they truly are and gain a deeper understanding of, and empathy for, not only themselves but also others.
An incredibly insightful book from S.E. Hinton for teenagers
The Outsiders is an American classic that is taught in almost every middle school across the country. Hinton’s socioeconomic commentary is spot-on. Cherry and Ponyboy’s realization that behind the trapping of money, we’re pretty much the same is pretty accurate. So is the realization that money is the main thing that divides us. And the sad truth is that climbing from one rung of the ladder to another is almost impossible.
While The Outsiders focuses on Ponyboy and his greaser friends, we also get a few glimpses into the affluent world of the Socs. Cherry and her friend Randy help humanize the upper class for readers who don’t come from wealthy backgrounds. And of course, all the different greasers make the poor crowd more than just faceless blurs for richer readers. They all can see the same sunset after all.
The truly remarkable thing about these exceptional characters and profound insights is that they came from a sixteen-year-old. That’s right, S.E. Hinton was only sixteen when she wrote the majority of The Outsiders. She started it when she was fifteen! While she was inspired by a real-life attack on a greaser friend of hers, the story itself is fictional, and the characters, both real and fictional, are and aren’t friends she hung out with. There was no real-life Ponyboy, Johnny, or Dallas. But there are real-life Ponyboys, Johnnies, and Dallases in every neighborhood. And that’s what makes The Outsiders so relatable. These characters are people we all know. We see ourselves, our brothers, our friends when we read The Outsiders, and that helps us relate to the messages of tolerance, understanding, and family that Hinton is sharing.
Staying golden
There are several messages buried in The Outsiders, but the one that everyone remembers and quotes is “Stay gold”. This is the last thing that Johnny tells Ponyboy before he dies. People love to repeat these words, but I don’t think they really take the message to heart. Johnny is telling Ponyboy not to let the harsh realities of life change him. The poem from which their idea originates, “Nothing Gold Can Stay” by Robert Frost, ruminates on how the beautiful things in life are eventually ruined and destroyed by the passage of time and the harsh realities of life. They are meant to be enjoyed for just a little bit and then let go. But Johnny sees the kindness in Ponyboy and doesn’t want him to lose it. So Johnny reminds him, before he dies, not to let go of that kindness, to stay true to himself despite the horrors of the world.
It is a lot for Johnny to ask after everything. It seems impossible to Ponyboy that he could stay golden when the world had treated Johnny the way that it had. But then he sees a way to be both golden and possibly save the Johnnies of the world. And the Dallases, and the Bobs, and the Ponyboys too. He realizes that just sharing their stories might do that, and so he sets out to write about the week that changed everything. Which is exactly what S.E. Hinton set out to do when she wrote The Outsiders. There’s a beautiful symmetry in that ending that I really like.
So did S.E. Hinton’s plan work?
Well, calling it a plan might be a little grand. By her own admission, Hinton wrote The Outsiders to let out frustration over her friend being hurt and didn’t have any bigger plans. So let’s ask if her message gets across. She conveys her message beautifully. There are plenty of kids who see themselves in her book and finally feel seen. They can relate to the struggle between the “in-group” and the “out-group” (whatever the exact labels are that each generation has given them). Does it help them to see members of the other group as unique humans? For some, it does. And if even just one kid gets the message, then Hinton is a success.
Has it solved all our problems and erased class lines? Of course not. Because we are human, and what touches us deeply one minute is forgotten the next in the struggle to provide a life for ourselves and our loved ones. But maybe if we revisit those lessons more often, they’ll make a deeper impression each time until eventually we don’t forget them. And maybe then we can finally be a society that “stays gold”.
Rating: 9/10
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton is available now! Have you read this novel before? Have you seen the Broadway Musical inspired by the book? Let us know @BoxSeatBabes on all social media platforms!
The Outsiders are “Staying Gold” on Broadway
