2.9 Response 3 - The Outsiders
Reading Response 3
Title: The Outsiders
Author: S. E. Hinton
Text Type: Novel
The novel “The Outsiders” by S. E. Hinton is about the importance and influence of family and friends, and tells the reader how society stereotypes social classes and the effects this has on each member. The Outsiders is a coming of age novel with the main conflict being two gangs rivalry; the upper class west side ‘Socials’, and the lower class east side ‘Greasers’. At the beginning of the novel, the protagonist Ponyboy, (a Greaser), gets beaten up by a group of Socials within the first three pages. My first thoughts on this was I feared for Ponyboy, and was worried about how violent the rest of the book was going to be considering the main character almost got stabbed. I immediately related the book to myself because I was in a run-down part of Auckland City when I began reading the book, so the fear Ponyboy had and the tension built up as he was walking home alone was something I could directly relate to because I was feeling anxious walking back to the ferry terminal alone.
An idea I found interesting in the novel is the idea that the social class you belong to influences the actions you take, the way you view the rest of society, and also the way society views them. In the novel the Socials and the Greasers have been raised to despise one another. They are known to have rumbles (fistfights) and bully and harass each other throughout the story. I think this is important for readers because it shows how two opposing groups can openly judge and abuse each other simply because of different social status. An example of this in the text is when Randy (a Social) is speaking to Ponyboy about the similarity between the Socials and the Greasers he says, “Greasers will still be greasers and Socs will still be socs. I think it’s the ones in the middle that are really the lucky stiffs.” When Randy says this it expresses the idea by addressing that even if the Socials and Greasers do make up, it is likely each group will treat each other the same, and society will treat the groups the same. (He also acknowledges a third party (“the ones in the middle”), which I believe he thinks are lucky to have no involvement and no peer pressure to look down on another social class). He also believes there is no escape from the gangs. Once you are part of the gang, you will always be in the gang and there is little you can do to change your status. This supports the idea by indicating the characters behave the way they do because of who they are and where they come from. The impression they have as individuals on society is based on the impression the gang as a whole has on society.
Another idea I found interesting in the text is the idea that we all have a need to belong, whether that be with family or friends. The entire book addresses the idea that support is crucial to a child's development, and where the parents are absent or inadequate, the peer bonds (i.e gangs) become a substitute. I found it interesting because it shows the reader how important close relationships are to young people and where that is not parents, they seek out people they can rely on. An example of this in the text is the character of Johnny, whose parents are abusive and neglectful towards him. When Johnny is on his deathbed and his mother comes in, he refuses to see her, wanting instead to be with his gang members, who have always had his back and a safe place for him to stay. This expresses the idea that we all have a need to belong because Johnny truly feels he belongs with the gang after his parents’ treatment of him, and would rather spend his last moments with the gang, his true family, as opposed to his biological family. Another example of the idea in the text is with the Curtis brothers (Ponyboy, Sodapop and Darry). Their parents died in a car crash before the story begins so they rely on the gang as a substitute family to provide support and companionship in times of need. This is evident after the rumble when Ponyboy is concussed and in a daze. Though the book doesn't mention the gang coming to see him, it is inferred when Sodapop says “Two-Bit came blubberin’ over here with some tale […] ”. This means members of the gang have come to see him but I think that because it is regular for them to be at the Curtis brothers’ house it doesn’t need to be mentioned. I think Ponyboy knows he has gangs support throughout his concussion even if it isn’t stated, which I can relate directly to myself because I know I have the support of my friends and family during my concussion, regardless of how often I see them.
I think this novel would be important to other Year 12 students because it describes society stereotypes that I believe Takapuna Grammar students could really learn from. I think we live in a more affluent suburb, much like the Social gang in the novel. And much like the Socials look down on the Greasers, I think we look down on poorer suburbs such as West Auckland. I see this happen through sports when I am playing a team from out west and part of my team talk is about the westies playing dirty and how we need to watch out and that we are better people than them and deserve to win. I think we do this not only to hype us up, but because subconsciously we feel like it is part of the expectation of the upper class to create/participate in conflict with lower classes. I think there is a similar reason the socials look down on the greasers; they feel they should make the most of their ‘superiority’ over the greasers because of their level in society. Year 12 students at TGS could really from this novel that it is not okay to disrespect the lower classes of Auckland like we do, and since the protagonist is a member of the lower class it teaches Year 12 students to open their eyes to the world around them and realise that classes are a social construct, meaning it has been drilled into the minds of society and become normal to judge people and stereotype them into classes. Ponyboy, being from the lower class society, gives an insight into lower class struggles, and bringing to light the stereotype of poorer classes being ‘rougher’ helps Year 12’s to understand the difficulties and meaning behind this stereotype, and that we are all people faced with different battles and that it is senseless to create more.
The author of this book wants to show us society’s divide between rich and poor, and wants to show the reader that class conflict is unnecessary and damaging to all parties involved. An example of the damage this does is indicated in one of the early chapters of the novel when Johnny kills Bob in defence, and then when, in turn, Johnny dies.
I think Hinton also tries to defeat the stereotype that low class gangs always start the fight, and shows that both sides have good people. She does this by casting a different perspective on gang rivalry by speaking from the point of view of the low class members. Hinton uses this perspective to show the reader just how hard it is to be a lower class member, and how easily lower class adolescents can be influenced into gangs, for positive reasons, i.e. the gangs can help their health/wellbeing (such as Johnny) or be a stand in family (the Curtis brothers). Before reading this book I never thought there could be a positive reason to join a gang. I think Hinton shows that it doesn’t matter which group we are in, we are all human and face similar challenges. We all have friendships, all have capacities to love, all have capacities to hate. “same people different place” - we aren't that different after all. An example of this is Randy and Bob, and Soda and Steve. Ponyboy compares Soda and Steve’s relationship to Randy and Bobs by comparing what each would do in the same situation. This helps the reader acknowledge that we greasers and socs aren't so different after all. This book has shown me that our reactions to different societal groups are influenced by our upbringing which can often stop us from seeing that we aren’t that different after all. Finally, the author inspires me as she was only 17 when she wrote The Outsiders. I think knowing this fact can inspire young readers to pursue writing or even pursue any of their dreams by knowing that someone else has done just that at a similar age.
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