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| eBook cover, courtesy of Amazon.com |
For many
years, "The Outsiders" by
S.E. Hinton has been a common sight in middle schools as required reading. What
is it about this tale, first published in the 1960s, that gives it the power to
be so timeless? A story that begins with a young man being ambushed on his way
home from the movies has a powerful message at its core: be true to who you are
and don't let outer forces pressure you into being someone else. This moral is
frequently applied to characters through the book, showing the consequences of
betraying yourself and the cleansing nature of staying true to yourself.
Ponyboy, the main character, frequently struggles with himself, trying to
figure out who he is while being assailed on all sides by other people who seek
to define him by their terms, like Greaser and Hood and, towards the end, Hero.
He resents the titles and stereotypes that society imposes on him while at the
same time embracing these traits as a means of giving himself an identity and a
way to feel like he belongs somewhere.
It is only
after reading his deceased friend Johnny's final words that Ponyboy begins to
understand what being true to himself means. Only he, Ponyboy, can truly decide
what it means to be Ponyboy. No matter how much he may think he has become a
"hood," he is the one who decides whether or not that he will do
things to help others, from grand actions like saving children from a burning
building or small gestures like picking up glass in a parking lot so nobody
will have to replace a damaged tire.
This book has won the following awards:
New York Herald Tribune Best Teenage Books List, 1967
Chicago Tribune Book World Spring Book Festival Honor Book, 1967
Media and Methods Maxi Award, 1975
ALA Best Young Adult Books, 1975
Massachusetts Children’s Book Award, 1979
Official Trailer for Warner Brother's film rendition of "The Outsiders": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tgJqnVMAtc
Hinton, S. E. The Outsiders,. New York: Viking, 1967. Web.
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