October 8 2024
By Juha (Lucy) Kim
Summary
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton tells the story of 14-year-old Ponyboy Curtis and his gang, the Greasers. It is the story of two worlds: the world of the Socs and the Greasers. Socs are the west side rich kids—the kind of kids who drive Mustangs and wear madras and jump greasers. The greasers are the east side hoods who wear jeans and white t-shirts and put grease in their hair. Ponyboy is a greaser and one of a whole bunch of kids struggling to get by in a society that labels them as outsiders.
Review
It's funny that I'm writing a review of this book because I never thought I would read it. As a reader, I've always known this book to be a well-loved, well-written favourite. But I never actually thought of picking it up and reading it for myself. Reading the summary, I thought it sounded boring. How wrong I was...
Last semester, for my American literature class, my teacher chose The Outsiders and The Hate U Give for the two class novels we were to read. I was disappointed by the choices and hoped bleatingly that we would at least read The Hate U Give first. We didn't, however, and started immediately with The Outsiders.
I wasn't expecting much, but as soon as I started reading, I could not put it down. I finished it in hours. The Outsiders may be a book most people read in middle school, but I enjoyed it immensely. Coincidentally, The Outsiders and The Book Thief are books most people read in middle school, and both are two of my favorite books to ever exist.
Ponyboy is one of the greatest narrators I've ever read. His internal voice and the nuanced way he showcased and depicted what was going on (as a teenager), as well as who the characters were, will never be replicated. The way he thinks and perceives things is so original, and I think that has a lot to do with the fact that the author is a woman. A man could never have written the characters and their relationships so beautifully and intricately.
In just a matter of pages, all of the characters became so near and dear to my heart. They became real to me. I remember when it happened too; it happened just after Pony had gotten jumped—when all the greasers came dashing out the Curtis home to save him from the socs.
There's something about people loving each other that will never fail to do it for me.
Rather than the bigger themes of the book or even the larger, dramatic scenes, it was the small moments that had the biggest effect on me. That's another reason why I'm so incredibly glad a woman wrote this book. Johnny letting Pony sleep on his lap for hours, Darry calling Pony ‘baby’, Ponyboy bounding outside to meet Johnny, almost falling on top of him, etc.
It feels strange to say this and actually mean it, but as I read, I felt loved. Maybe it's because I felt so connected with Ponyboy that his growth felt like my own. He, along with many of the other characters; their hurt, love, and playfulness—it all felt real. I will never forget this book. Johnny's last words to Pony will likely ring in my ears forever.