SparkNotes - The Outsiders: SparkNotes Literature Guide

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S usan Eloise Hinton was born in the 1950 s in Tulsa, Oklahoma, a place that she describes as a pleasant place to live if you dont want to do anything. She began The Outsiders at the age of fifteen, inspired by her frustration with the social divisions in her high school and the lack of realistic fiction for high school readers. The Outsiders, first published in 1967 , tells the story of class conflict between the greasers, a group of low-class youths, and the Socs (short for Socials), a group of privileged rich kids who live on the wealthy West Side of town. The novel broke ground in the genre of Young Adult fiction, transcending established boundaries in its portrayal of violence, class conflict, and prejudice.

Hintons publishers decided that Hinton should publish her novel under the name S. E. Hinton in order to cloak her gender. They worried that readers would not respect The Outsiders, which features male protagonists and violent situations, if they knew a female wrote it. Hinton has said that she does not mind using an authorial name that is gender neutral.

The language and details of the novel root the story in the sixties. Characters call fights rumbles, and people listen to the Beatles and Elvis Presley. The novel is set in the Southwest, as evidenced by the fact that many greasers ride in local rodeos. Despite its location in a specific time and place, however, the novel is remarkable for its ability to transcend location. The Outsiders examines the universal urge to form factions, compete, and unite for survival. With only a few minor cosmetic changes, the novel could easily take place in a contemporary setting. This fact has given it universal appeal for the last few decades.

Hinton attempts to humanize the greasers, the outsiders of the storys title, by showing that their exterior toughness masks vulnerability and emotion. She makes both the greasers and the Socs sympathetic and refuses to cast blame on one group over the other. As one character tells another, Things are rough all over.

After the publication of her first novel, Hinton felt pressure to turn out a successful sophomore effort. She had difficulty writing under this stress, and her boyfriend (who later become her husband) nudged her along by taking her out only if she had completed two pages per day. Hinton successfully finished her second novel, titled That Was Then, This is Now, published in 1971 . In all, she has written eight novels for young adults. The Outsiders is Hintons best-selling novel. A film version of the novel, starring C. Thomas Howell, Patrick Swayze, Emilio Estevez, Tom Cruise, Matt Dillon, Rob Lowe, and Ralph Macchio, was released in 1983 .

P onyboy Curtis belongs to a lower-class group of Oklahoma youths who call themselves greasers because of their greasy long hair. Walking home from a movie, Ponyboy is attacked by a group of Socs, the greasers rivals, who are upper-class youths from the West Side of town. The Socs, short for Socials, gang up on Ponyboy and threaten to slit his throat. A group of greasers comes and chases the bullies away, saving Ponyboy. Ponyboys rescuers include his brother Sodapop, a charming, handsome high-school dropout, and Darry, Ponyboys oldest brother (Darry assumed responsibility for his brothers when their parents were killed in a car crash). The rest of the greasers who come to Ponyboys rescue are Johnny, a sensitive sixteen-year-old; Dally, a hardened street hood with a long criminal record; Steve, Sodapops best friend; and Two-Bit, the oldest and funniest group member.

The next night, Ponyboy and Johnny go to a movie with Dally. They sit behind a pair of attractive Soc girls. Dally flirts with the girls obnoxiously. After Johnny tells Dally to stop harassing the Soc girls, Dally walks away. Johnny and Ponyboy sit with the girls, who are named Cherry and Marcia, and Ponyboy and Cherry discover that they have a lot in common. Two-Bit arrives, and the three greasers begin to walk the Soc girls to Two-Bits house so he can drive them home. On the way to Two-Bits house, they run into Bob and Randy, the girls drunken boyfriends. The girls must leave with their boyfriends in order to prevent a fight between the Socs and the greasers.

Ponyboy is late getting home, and his brother Darry is furious with him. Sick of Darrys constant scrutiny and criticism, Ponyboy yells at Darry. The brothers begin to fight, and Darry slaps Ponyboy across the face. Ponyboy flees, determined to run away. He finds Johnny, and the two boys heads for the park. There they encounter Bob and Randy with a group of Soc boys. The Socs attack Johnny and Ponyboy, and one of them holds Ponyboys head under the frigid water of a fountain until Ponyboy blacks out. Ponyboy regains consciousness to find himself lying on the ground. He is next to Johnnyand next to Bobs corpse. Johnny tells Ponyboy that he (Johnny) killed Bob because the Socs were going to drown Ponyboy and beat up Johnny.

Desperate and terrified, Ponyboy and Johnny hurry to find Dally Winston, the one person they think might be able to help them. Dally gives them a gun and some money and sends them to an abandoned church near the neighboring town of Windrixville. They hide out in the church for a week, cutting and dying their hair to disguise themselves, reading Gone with the Wind aloud, and discussing poetry. After several days, Dally comes to check on Ponyboy and Johnny. He tells the boys that, since Bobs death, tensions between the greasers and the Socs have escalated. A rumble is to take place the next night to settle matters. He says that Cherry, who feels partially responsible for Bobs death, has been acting as a spy for the greasers. Johnny shocks Dally by declaring his intention to go back and turn himself in.

Dally agrees to drive Ponyboy and Johnny back home. However, as the boys leave, they notice that the abandoned church where Ponyboy and Johnny have been staying has caught fire. They discover that a group of schoolchildren has wandered inside. Ponyboy and Johnny rush into the inferno to save the children. Just as they get the last child through the window, the roof caves in, and Ponyboy blacks out. He regains consciousness in an ambulance. At the hospital, he is diagnosed with minor burns and bruises. Dally is not badly hurt either, but Johnnys back was broken by the falling roof, and he is in critical condition. Darry and Sodapop come to get Ponyboy, and Darry and Ponyboy make up. The following morning, the newspapers proclaim Ponyboy and Johnny heroes. They also report that, because of Bobs death, Johnny will be charged with manslaughter. Finally, the papers also state that both Ponyboy and Johnny will have to go to juvenile court so that a judge can decide if they should be sent to a boys home.

Ponyboy and Two-Bit go to get a Coke and run into Randy. Randy tells Ponyboy that he is sick of all the fighting and does not plan to go to the rumble that night. When Ponyboy and Two-Bit visit Johnny in the hospital, Johnny seems weak. He asks Ponyboy for a new copy of