IS Literature

The Outsiders (by SE Hinton)

The Outsiders is a witty, startling honest, and moving novel that plunges you straight into the lives of the Greasers and the Socs, two gangs separated by their status in society. A remarkably insightful story about a fourteen year old Ponyboy who is friends with a group of Greasers named Sodapop (his older brother), Darry (his oldest brother), Dally, Two-Bit Matthews, Steve, and Johnny, finds himself in a society where violence is common, and the glaringly unjustified differences between Greasers and Socs are showcased daily through their rivalry with each other.

The book deals with issues such as social groups, abuse, youth, violence, and the controversies of it all. Not only that, but it touches heavily on morality and society, and how at the end of the day, there are things more important than the violence and conflict of their lifestyle and social gangs.

Ponyboy lives a fairly normal lifestyle, and the story opens with him going to the movies and musing about it on his way home when he gets jumped by a group of Socs on the road. Throughout the intense scenes and moments, we get glimpses of life on the street and in the life of not only the Greasers but also the richer and aggressive Socs. Streaked with suspense and a startling turn for the worse during the middle of the novel, SE Hinton started writing the book when she was fifteen, and it was published three years later.

Still a classic but also controversial novel, this can be recommended for any older reader who wishes to take a look into the world and life of a completely different society.

-Yuyan