The Outsiders

The Outsiders  

           -S.E Hinton

The Outsiders is a heartfelt ‘coming of age’ tale narrated through the eyes of an innocent fourteen-year old boy, Ponyboy Curtis. The book is set against the backdrop of the blood-curdling rivalry within the two segments of the story’s-crafted society, the Greasers and the Socs. The Socs are the rich and spoiled kids, whilst the Greasers are the poverty-stricken ones and who are presumed to be bad. The story lifts differences hidden within one’s social status, how one can take a lifetime growing up or you might grow up with a snap of a finger, finding who you are, and what it means to revolt against the mundane norms.

The protagonist, a silent voice with the loud mind - a greaser, a diligent and meticulous student, feels like he is submerged under immense pressure. 

The Greasers are more than just plain friends: they are an entwined unit, like blood brothers and sisters. ‘The gang’ as they call themselves consists of: Darry, Sodapop and Ponyboy (our main narrator), Dallas, Two-Bit, Steve, and Johnny. 

Each group finds chances to bully and torment the other, with the Greasers being the ones to get hurt in most of their violent bickers. One of such fight kills a soc - Bob and Pony gets sucked into this along with poor Johnny, who dies later after getting badly injured. Dally is later shot. These two incidents stirs Ponyboy deeply and forces him to re-assess his position in the society. In the end he decides to keep the good this with him and deals with his grief and pain by becoming a voice for all of the "Dallys" in the world who are never really known by the world.

There is such a humongous amount of power behind the words that paint and weave through this touching young-adult fiction. It’s an anecdote that can resonate with every individual who tries to interpret it. It’s not just about social class, but finding your own ground and absorbing a significant lesson - we are more alike than we are different – we all see the same sunset and we all must  learn to stand when we fall.

               - by  Anjali Dimri

                    First Year, MBBS.