When I was 14 I fell in love. He was smart and sensitive. He was loyal and kind. He saved kids from a burning church. He was entirely fictional. His name was Ponyboy Curtis, protagonist of the Y A novel The Outsiders. The only other book boy who had ever lit up my book nerd girl heart was Gilbert Blythe. I knew I had no chance with Gilbert as he belonged to his beloved "Carrots." But Ponyboy was his own person, despite belonging to the Greasers. I pined for a real life Ponyboy, a boy who loved poetry and saw good in the world where others saw hate and strife. Ponyboy didn't dress like Vanilla Ice. (Class of 93 - Go LHS Tigers!) So what if he existed in another era and came to life in 1967, 8 years before I was born? I still, at 49 (in March,) wish I had a real life ADULT Ponyboy, who could quote poetry and take me to the movies - again as a full grown adult, not as a sensitive 14 year old Greaser.
Author Susan Eloise Hinton, born 1948 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, was troubled by how the rich popular kids in her high school from socially prominent families - the Socs, behaved toward the lower class poor kids - the Greasers. Hinton began writing The Outsiders when she was 15 and the novel was published when she was 18. She was counselled to credit herself as S. E. Hinton to be seen as more mature - and less female - and therefore more of a serious author to reviewers. In the introduction to the Viking Platinum edition of the novel Hinton wrote "But I didn't just write The Outsiders, I lived it. Looking back, I realize how important it was to me to have another life at that time. To be someone else. To deal with problems I had to face, and write my way to some sort of understanding and coping. This is all in hindsight. At some time, I was mad about the social situation in my high school. I desperately wanted something to read that dealt realistically teenage life."
A bildungsroman, The Outsiders explores the personal journey of Greaser Ponyboy Curtis, his life with his brothers Soda Pop and Darry - who was left in charge of their family after the sudden death of their parents. Hinton wrote from the perspective of a Greaser because most books for young adults presented more of an ideal - ie Soc perspective on life. The Greasers are rough and tumble, poor and misunderstood. But they cling together and fight for each other like family. The Greasers are :
Ponyboy - 14-intelligent-book nerd-sensetive high school student
Soda Pop - 16, high school dropout who works at a gas station - the hot boy of the group
Darry - 20, de facto leader of both Curtis family and the Greasers
Johnny Cade - 16, Ponyboy's best friend, abused by alcoholic parents, sweet natured
Two-Bit Matthews - loves Mickey Mouse, cracking jokes, and stealing stuff
Steve Randle - Soda's best friend - kind of unhinged
Dallas Winston - troubled, volatile, Johnny's caretaker in the gang, the only Greaser who could make me forget Ponyboy
The Outsiders explores the themes of haves / v / have nots, good / v / bad, and as a bildungsroman - finding your identity and place in the world. The Socs have cars, stylish clothes, money, and social clout but are they truly happy? The Greasers are poor but have a bond that compels them to fight - and in some cases - die for each other. Despite having very little financially or socially, the Greasers still dream and aspire to a better life. Well maybe not Dally, and Two-bit is basically content with just his cartoons.
The novel explores what it means to be a "good" person versus a "bad" person. Ponyboy and Johnny rescue children from a burning church even though they are hiding from the law. They risk both their lives and their freedom, even though society casts them out as delinquents. Cherry Valance, Soc girl and double-agent-for-the-Greasers-spy, falls hard for Dally (oh Cherry honey, I feel ya sister) because he's different from Soc boys - not just because he's a Greaser, but because he's passionate about who and what he cares for. Dally is flawed to be sure, but he looks out for Johnny, offering him care his parents simply can't provide. Darry gave up college and a football scholarship to care for his brothers. These are not the actions of bad people.
Ponyboy, at 14, knows life is tough. He lost both his parents suddenly. But, as a kid, he's protected within the gang. His literal journey to hiding out with Johnny shows him that he can be independent (despite Dally taking him and Johnny to Dairy Queen.) Ponyboy is a character apart from the others - and outsider within his own group. He sees the value in education, and learning about literature and life beyond Greaser-dom. His journey returns him home, wiser and more appreciative of what he has, even, if to outsiders it looks like he doesn't have much. And who exactly are The Outsiders - the Greasers, or those who denigrate them?
I can't talk about the book and not cover the film. A school librarian wrote to Francis Ford Coppola and asked if he would consider adapting the novel into a film. 15 pages of student signatures accompanied the letter. Coppola read the novel and set about casting up and coming young actors. He chose :
Ponyboy - C. Thomas Howell
Soda Pop - Rob Lowe
Darry - Patrick Swayze
Johnny - Ralph Macchio
Two-Bit - Emilio Estevez
Steve - Tom Cruise
Dallas - Matt Dillon
Cherry - Diane Lane
Of the cast Dillon and Lane were the most established. The rest would go on to varying levels of Hollywood success, and Rob Lowe - literally - looks exactly the same as he did 40 years ago when the movie was made. Fun fact - S. E. Hinton plays the school nurse. The film was not a critical success, but gained following after the actors' Hollywood profiles rose.
The Outsiders is a universal story of belonging and acceptance. 56 years after its initial publication the novel still resonates. People are still alienated if they don't conform to random social standards. Nice girls still want the bad boy. The smart kid tells the story because he remembers everything and can't forget the anguish and the joy. We are all Outsiders, in one way or another.ARTICLES :
The Outsiders. Wikipedia. (Novel)
The Outsiders. Wikipedia. (Film)
Hinton, S. E. “Introduction.” Outsiders,The. Viking Books For Young Readers; Platinum Edition, 2006.
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