...Sixteen years after a sixteen-year-old wrote this book, Francis Ford Coppola turned this novel into a movie. The book is a coming-of-age novel, but the movie focuses on the characters' loss of innocence. The movie follows the story line very closely. The reader is only told that this story takes place in the southwest, but the movie places it in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in the year 1966. It also changes the conflict from the East Side versus the West side to the northside versus the southside. This minor directional change was probably made due to the relative time proximity to the musical West Side Story, which won the best picture Academy Award in l961. However, as with all movies, character insight that is critical to understanding the story is lost when the format goes from the written word to the screen. Ponyboy is telling us the story, the same as in the book, but the 91-minute film only glosses over many character relationships. <a href="http://ad.doubleclick.net/jump/CNSite/;navArea=CLIFFSNOTES2_LITERATURE;type=Lit_Note;kword=SE_Hinton;kword=The_Outsiders;contentItemId=139;tile=3;sz=300x250;ord=123456789?" target="_blank"><img src="http://ad.doubleclick.net/ad/CNSite/;navArea=CLIFFSNOTES2_LITERATURE;type=Lit_Note;kword=SE_Hinton;kword=The_Outsiders;contentItemId=139;tile=3;sz=300x250;ord=123456789?" width="300" height="250" border="0" alt="" /></a> With the exception of Ponyboy, the viewer misses out on knowing most of the novel's characters. Darry and Soda...
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...Throughout the novel The Outsiders, Ponyboy Curtis probably changes more throughout the course of the Outsiders than any other character. Ponyboy’s innocence plays a major part of the novel. In the course of the novel Ponyboy matures and feels many different types of feelings in certain events. One example of this is when Johnny and him saved the kids from the burning church and were part heroes part criminals. In this example Ponyboy’s actions describe how he is maturing and how he is witnessing important events unfold in the book. Towards the start of the Outsiders Ponyboy is an intelligent young teen, who is part of the track team. Although, he lacks the perspective to understand everyone around him. This means he can only see his part of the story and fails to see why others act the way they do. One example of this is how Darry, Ponyboy’s older brother, is always treating him bad. Ponyboy is constantly always thinking about how Darry bully’s him and is mean to him for no reason. Also,...
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...Staying Gold What is the theme of The Outsiders, a novel written by S.E. Hinton? The main character, Ponyboy, is a greaser that lives in a society where the rich kids, or Socs, are different from the poorer kids, or greasers. He reveals that life is worth living, no matter what difficulties he faces. Darry, Ponyboy’s oldest brother, shows that family is important. Sodapop, Ponyboy’s other brother, communicates that an understanding person should be kept close. Cherry, a Soc, shows Ponyboy that a stereotypical Soc is not that different from the stereotypical greaser. These are all minor themes, but the main theme of The Outsiders is that innocence should be treasured. Ponyboy memorizes the poem “Nothing Gold Can Stay” by Robert Frost. He remembers...
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...In The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, Ponyboy is introduced and develops a wide imagination and organized personality to a dull-like and disorderly personality through his actions and feelings towards someone. The Outsiders is a novel about Ponyboy’s and his greaser friend’s journey about their life living as a greaser. Greaser is a term for poorer boys than the Socs and the middle class on the East Side. They wouldn’t walk by themselves or they will get jumped on by the Socs, or the abbreviation for the Socials, the jet set, and the rich West-side kids. One evidence from the book that shows us that Ponyboy had a wide imagination are on pages 1-2, and it reads, “I had a long walk home and no company, but usually lone it anyway, for no reason except that I like to watch movies undisturbed so I can get into them and live them with the actors….I mean, my second-oldest brother, Soda, who is sixteen-going-on-seventeen, never cracks a book at all, and my oldest brother, Darrel, who we call Darry, works too long and hard to be interested in a story or drawing a picture, so I’m not like them....
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...The Outsiders shows that teens join social groups to help create their identities. In joining these cliques, the adolescents take on both the positive and negative characteristics of them. Looking at life as an outsider and feeling as though one is being treated as an outsider is a matter of perspective or point of view. Adolescence is a time when teenagers may consider themselves to be adults, but in reality teens are still under the control of others. Parents, teachers, and other authority figures are always telling them how to live their lives. This loss of control inevitably leads to the feeling that life isn't fair. For example, Ponyboy knows that he is not safe walking the streets in his own neighborhood. He could be attacked solely...
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...Outsider Themes Have you ever thought that something as little as a theme can change the entire plot of a book? In the novel, The Outsiders, by S.E Hinton, life is divided by the two main social groups: the Greasers, who are known to cause trouble and have a reputation of being dangerous, and the Socs, the people who are known to get all the breaks and are able to get away with anything they do. Ponyboy and his gang live their daily life rivaling against their enemy, the Socs, until things turn and events change the way they live their lives. People then realize things are not the way it seems to be and they find out the true meaning of life, the hard way. Throughout the story, many different themes are displayed, yet the two main and effective themes are changes over time and loyalty. First of all, changes over time can be found through each scene and event in the book. The first example is...
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...Around 1981, Francis Ford Coppola received a letter from a librarian at Lone Star middle school. The text stated, “ We are all so impressed with the book, The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, that a petition has been circulated asking that it be made into a movie. We have chosen you to send it to. In hopes that you might also see the possibilities of a movie, we have enclosed a copy of the book.” The written document was signed by 110 little signatures who were eager for Coppola to make a film. Since he couldn’t resist it, he decided to make one. Two years later, on March 25 The Outsiders was released. As any film director should, he tried to keep the movie close to the original novel by S.E Hinton. However, movies and books are two different ways...
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...The Outsiders” takes you through a journey of struggle, violence, and death. It examines the life of a recently orphaned young man born into poverty confronted with the prejudices that he could not change. He struggles with the many conflicts between the lower class and the upper class youths. The Outsiders focuses on the life of Ponyboy Curtis who has two brothers, Darry and Sodapop, which belong to a group of young people that were called greasers. The Greasers defined as a group of hoodlums with a background of being poor, mean, and violent. Ponyboy’s brother, Darry, stepped in to support his family after their parents died in an automobile accident. Darry was a smart and serious person that worked most of the time, and was very hard on Ponyboy .He often yelled at Ponyboy to do better in school. Soda, the middle brother considered very handsome and likeable, was happy most of the time. The brothers often fought over Ponyboy’s future. They closely associated with two members of the greasers, Dally who was one of the oldest gang members and certainly the toughest, and Johnny who was shyer than Ponyboy. Dally seemed to enjoy being a criminal and thought the law was a joke. Johnny’s parents abused him, so he always seemed scared which made him the pet of the group. This story has many tragedies. The first tragedy in the story was when the socs jumped Ponyboy, who was walking home from the movies by himself. He was two blocks from home when he saw a red Corvair following him...
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...In The Outsiders, a book about the rivalry between two social classes (the socs and the greasers), written by S.E. Hinton, shows a lot of characteristic traits because it is in first person point of view. This allows for more of the characters thoughts and feelings to be felt. Ponyboy is affectionate towards his brothers. In the beginning of the book, Ponyboy shows that he does not care for his older brother, Darry, that much by telling Cherry- a rich west side girl who is a spy for the greasers- that Darry would like to put him in another home. At another point in the story Ponyboy shows his affection for his two friends Johnny and Dally when they each die by saying “Please not him, not him and Johnny both”. Another character trait that...
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...In The Outsiders by S.E Hinton, conformity plays a major role. In Tulsa, Oklahoma, there are two rival gangs, the greasers and the Socs. The greasers are considered hoods and delinquents, while the Socs are considered nice, responsible children, even though they often are just as bad as the greasers. Ponyboy Curtis, a greaser, is not like everyone else, while the other greasers beat up strangers and rob gas stations, Ponyboy likes to read books, watch movies, and look at sunsets. Through the actions of the greasers, Hinton shows that a teenager will tend to hide his differences ad will do what is expected of him, rather than what he wants, proving that conformity can be beneficial. Darry, Ponyboy’s older brother, is different from the rest of the greasers. While in school, Darry was a football star, a great student, and a well-behaved child. When his parents die, leaving him in charge of his brothers, he has to leave everything behind to become a...
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..."Nothing Gold Can Stay" When in the church on Jay Mountain, Ponyboy recites the poem, "Nothing Gold Can Stay" written by Robert Frost. He remembered the poem, but couldn't recall the meaning of it. Johnny finds out the meaning of the poem at the end of the book, and tells everyone in his gang the meaning and how it connects to the greaser gang. Even though Robert Frost talks about plants in this poem, its figurative meaning is about babies and how they lose their innocence over time. “Nothing Gold Can Stay” symbolizes pony in the outsiders. The first line in the poem is “Natures First Green Is Gold” . This means that when the plants start budding, they are very beautiful. Ponys life can be compared to “natures first green is gold”. Pony is the...
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...One little act can change Ponyboy’s life. In the novel The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, Ponyboy’s brother Darry becomes his new gardien after their parents die tragically in a car accident. Darry canceled his plans to go to college to support Ponyboy. Darry is a father figure after he stepped up to care for his brothers. Ponyboy should go into the system because Darry lets violent acts occur, he also lets him wander the streets. Darry cancels his plans to go to college. For example in the article “Alarming Number of Teens” states, “Many are going to work so they can make money to help their families.” Darry is doing the right thing and he is acting like a father figure. Darry is taking the responsibility of caring for his family after the crash. Also, “ On Average, what else teenagers earned made up almost a quarter of the money their families...
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...One day a little girl came home from school to a list of chores to do from her parents, this showed that she had expectations from her parents. Many people have expectations for another person. Sometimes the expectations may come from your own goals or what you want for yourself. In the book The Outsiders by S.E Hinton the Greasers and Socs have expectations from many people including themselves. The expectations from the Socs and Greasers families, friends, and themselves affect the choices and decisions they make. The expectations of the Greasers and Socs from their families are very different and affects they their decisions. The Soc’s families don't really care about what they do and have no expectations for their son or daughter. Having...
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...Everyone has those they consider family, even though they may not share blood. In literature, family often provides interesting conflicts for protagonists, from internal to external. The authors SE Hinton, Toni Cade Bambara and Walter Dean Myers all explore the central idea of family and identity in their respective works, The Outsiders, “Raymond’s Run” and “The Treasure of Lemon Brown”. Ponyboy Curtis’s internal turmoil over being a Greaser exemplifies this point elegantly: Ponyboy is born to a family of Greasers, lives among Greasers and loves his Greaser gang, though his identity ostracizes him in the Greaser world. Because of this, Ponyboy feels misunderstood and alone, saying, “[N]obody in [his] gang digs movies and books the way [he]...
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...In the novel The Outsiders by S.E Hinton, The main character Ponyboy Curtis is looked upon as an “outsider” or someone who doesn’t belong in a normal group. In the novel, Hinton takes Ponyboy’s character one step further by putting him in different situations that show him as an outsider. The novel is about two different groups, the greasers, which are known as the outsiders, hence the name of the novel, and the Soc’s which is short for Socials or the socially accepted crowd. These two groups hate one another, constantly fighting each other throughout the whole novel. Ponyboy is a big reason these two groups fight. Even though Ponyboy deep down inside of him is really intellectual he puts up an act and carries on the greaser’s attitude so that nobody can really see who he truly is, “There isn't any real good reason for fighting except self-defense” (Hinton, 143)...
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