happea 's review for:

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

4.75

emotional reflective sad fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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"Nothing gold can stay." - Robert Frost 

A reread from junior high, The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton didn't leave much of a lasting impression on me then, but it does now. Written and set in the 1960's when greasers were extremely prevalent in youth subculture (think leather jackets, jeans, slicked back hair), the book portrays a gang of friends simply trying to survive their socioeconomic struggles and the assumptions society has held on them as good-for-nothing misfits. This coming-of-age story details the rivalry between two gangs: the Greasers versus the upper-class Socs, but within the violence of it all there lies a raw vulnerability and desire for a better, brighter future.

Things are rough all over, but it was better that way. That way you could tell the other guy was human too.

[...] you're gold when you're a kid, like green. When you're a kid everything's new, dawn. It's just when you get used to everything that it's day. 

Ponyboy Curtis, the book's protagonist and the youngest in a gang of greasers, stands out for his abhorrent displeasure for violence. Unlike the rest of his gang, he does well academically but 'doesn't use his head' so-to-speak when it comes to acting on impulse, making him an easy-target.  Ponyboy to me represents innocence, optimism, and virtue, something golden.

Perceived as a weakness, we learn just how much the gang cherishes and wants to preserve his golden outlook on life, one that admires sunsets and finds shared humanity with the Socs. But like Frost's poem, this never stays. His character inevitably grows and hardens to the harsh realities of his environment and the untimely death of both his friends, Johnny and Dally. And yet, even after all of it, his family, friends, and even society at large all seemingly cling to the hope that his golden perspective remains.

 

[...] you get tough like me and you don't get hurt. 

In a world where you're just trying to survive, we meet Dallas Winston, a member of Ponyboy's gang and quite a turbulent character with a criminal past. Yet his familial love for Johnny

when it came to helping him escape and his inability to accept Johnny's death shows just how much he treasured morality and the good. Even if he himself had lost it.

I like to think of Dally as an

unloaded gun, the very weapon he used in his demise against the cops. His entire persona is a bluff, one disguised with an air of volatility.

 My only criticisms were wishing to have seen more of Cherry's character growth after everything.

Unfortunately, her last appearance in the book was simply of her offering testimony at Ponyboy's hearing, but I'm curious to learn if she began acknowledging Ponyboy at school.

I'd also say Ponyboy appeared to have a lot of health issues that were emphasized in the moment but were unaddressed in the end such as his

recurring severe night terrors, memory deterioration, and failing academic performance.

Stay gold