1) a) Bibliography:
Hinton, S.E. (1967). The Outsiders. New York: Penguin Group, 180 pp.
b) Genre and Awards: Teen fiction: family and relationships
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
The Outsiders is ranked 43rd on the American Library Association's top 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990-2000[2]
Margaret A. Edwards Award
2) Synopsis: The outsiders is the story of the Greasers versus the Socs. Ponyboy, a greaser, and the narrator of the story, goes on a journey to find contentment in himself, his family, and his gang of friends. The Greasers are the hard luck boys from the wrong side of the track, with long hair and sloppy clothes. The Socs are the rich kids, and the "good" kids. However, in this story, the trouble is always Soc initiated, not Greaser. Ponyboy realized that all the fighting is pointless when two members of his gang are killed.
3) a) Characterization: The boys of this story are captivating. No wonder this book is considered a classic. I can't believe I have never read it, especially being from Tulsa, where S.E. Hinton is from, and where the story is based. My heart broke when Johnny died. I felt all six members of Ponyboy's gang were well-developed characters, with the exception of Steve, Soda's best friend. Darry was one of my favorite characters because of all he did for his brothers. I knew all along just how much he cared for those boys. Soda is the consummate favorite, the eternal sunshine boy. Two-bit is the comic relief, Dally is the brooding, dangerous, yet sexy one, (Even Cherry agrees,) and Johnny is the "pet" that holds the gang together because of his need for protection. Ponyboy is the main character, and the most engaging. I wanted desperately for him to get out of the violence, and out of being a greaser, and be who he is...a sensitive boy who loves sunsets, is smart enough to skip a grade, and the best on the track team. This young boy has absolutely everything going for him, all he needs is a break! I feel that at the end of the novel, when he decides to write his story, he found his voice. I stopped wanting him to "stop being a greaser" and started wanting him to simply be himself, and be the best he could be.
b) Plot: The greasers are constantly fighting with the Socs. One night in escalates, and Johnny kills a boy, Bob. Johnny and Ponyboy go into hiding, and become heroes when they rescue some children from a fire. Unfortunately, Johnny was fatally injured. The rest of the book is Ponyboy recovering from this shock and becoming who he was meant to be.
c) Theme: Identity and Acceptance. Ponyboy feels he has it bad at home, however, he really has a very loving family unit consisting of Soda and Darry. Compared with Johnny, Dally, and even some of the Socs, Ponyboy has it pretty good.
d) Setting: Tulsa, OK. High School setting...small city with two separate factions...the rich side and the poor...
e) Style and Effectiveness: This book would be great taught with or before Romeo and Juliet, and/or West Side Story. The language of the boys really makes them seem credible and real, and brings them to life. I was emersed completley in this book from start to end.
f) Value and Concerns: The Outsiders does a great job of discouraging violence among teens. It also preaches acceptance, through Cherry and Marcia seeing through the long hair to the inside of the boys. They also stood up for the truth in the trial for Ponyboy. I have no concerns about teaching this book to students.
g) Needs of Adolescents: The message of The Outsiders addresses all kinds of needs for adolescents. It addresses living a life of hatred (Dally) versus one of love (Pony, Soda, and Darry.) It addresses fighting among youth, and how nothing good comes of it. It speaks of acceptance and individualism. Family values and loyalty to your friends is also a valuable lesson. The most memorable part of the story is definitely in Johnny's message to Ponyboy. He tells Pony that there is still lots of good in the world, and to help the others to see it. This is an excellent message, and one all teens should hear, whether through The Outsiders or some other source.
4) Possible Classroom Uses: The Outsiders could be used as absolutely any kind of tool. Whole class discussions, Small group reading, read aloud, or individual. I also think it could be a great link to Romeo and Juliet.
5) Appropriate Age Range: 12 and up, Young Adult Literature
6) Personal Reactions: As y0u can tell from my reactions so far, I absolutely loved this book. I think I might be one of the only people that didn't read it in school. I fell in love with Ponyboy and his friends, and felt they were just as real today as they were when the book was written. Truly timeless characters are one of the biggest factors in creating a classic, and Hinton has definitely done that.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
Wow, Steph...awesome post. I agree with your ideas about how to use this book and relate it to Romeo and Juliet and that the timeless characters are what make a true classic. I can see this book as being very pertinent to the gangs that are present all over the country & in relation to the situations in the Middle East now (and always). I'm sure you thought of this too, but this book could also be used to accomplish the NCTE/IRA standard 1, which I'm not going to put on here because I think we're all tired of hearing about these at this point :)
I, too, did not read the book in high school. Thanks for the review. I'm wondering, though you can find relevance with other conflicting factions in today's world, will kids be turned off at all by the time period of the book? Does it feel dated by any means? Could you also possibly teach a couple of time period novels with this one (I'm not thinking of anything off the top of my head--Catcher in the Rye was around that time, but others as well)? Sorry for all of the random questions, but I'm wondering if students would be enamored with any of the 50's vibes of the book.
Scott, I don't think kids will be turned off..I found their lingo pretty cool. It was a total "Grease" moment for me. Kids still love the story of Grease right? It's like that, cool oldies, not stale oldies. In fact, now that I think about it..the T-birds versus jocks and Pink Ladies versus Sandy's is very much like this story. Soc's are like Sandy...and Greasers are Danny and the T-birds. (guess the whole "greasers" thing should have been a dead-giveaway right. I feel dumb...)
Steph
Post a Comment