The Outsiders is a Novel about a group of young adults that feel like they don’t belong, they are the outsiders. These young adults live in a poor part of their city. They battle with another group of kids, the Socs, (A.K.A the social kids) who like to drive around in their expensive cars and jump Greasers, (the poor kids.) They are called the greasers because they put grease in their hair to try to look tough.
The Book is narrated by a young boy name Ponyboy. His parents died when he was young and he lives with his 2 brothers Darry, and Sodapop. In the book, he learns about Socs and how there are very few differences between the Greasers and the Socs.
You learn about the struggles and all the trouble he has to go through, not only with the Socs, but also with his family and friends; from running away from family, to almost getting drowned by Socs, to saving 5 children from a fire and almost getting crushed by the roof of a church.
The author uses some rhetorical devices in this story. One rhetorical device is symbolism. The “Greasers” all put grease in their hair to look “tuff” but mainly to show who they are, even if it gets them into trouble with the Socs.
The book is very entertaining and very well written. It is written from the point of view of Ponyboy, the main character in the book, who doesn’t speak English very well. This helps the author show his character and portray him as a misunderstood boy who is thought to be a hoodlum, but gets good marks in school, and skipped a grade.
In the book Ponyboy learns a lot about himself and whom he really is, a sensitive intelligent boy who worries too much about what other people think. This book is kind of like Great Expectations in the sense that Pip wants to become a gentleman but he learns who he is, and he was just not meant to be a Gentleman, and Ponyboy is a greaser, and he learns that that’s who he is. Mostly all adolescents can relate to this theme of book about learning who you are and how to be yourself and not care what other people think. Another rhetorical device is a motif. In The story the Socs have nice cars, and they often drive around looking for greasers. Whenever Ponyboy sees a corvair or a mustang, he gets into trouble with the Socs. Whenever the Socs come around in their fancy cars you know something bad is about to happen.
I would recommend this book to everyone, whether they like reading or not. It isn’t a very long book, but it is so good that you’d wish it were.
