After studying the elements of fiction, I wondered about the appeal of S.E. Hinton’s, The Outsiders. Her work is comprised of predominately exposition; her descriptions of scene and characters are longer than modern YA Lit. Undeniably, her book helped name the Young Adult Genre, has been well loved, and has been on “assigned reading lists,” for nearly 50 years. However, the craftsmanship of her work is different than the literary elements we usually consider, “good writing.”
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Through the heavy characterization of the initial two chapters, the reader is able to see that Johnny and Pony Boy are at a cross-roads with the Socs. In Story, Robert McKee defines character, “Revealed in the choices as human being makes under pressure—the greater the pressure, the deeper the revelation, the truer the choice is to the character’s essential nature.” (McKee, 101.) Both Johnny and Pony boy attempted to avoided conflict, tried to bluff, but were confronted with the Socs violence. Hinton depicts a change in Pony Boy when his brother slapped him, he was left with the burning desire to escape or affect change. Instead of remaining silent, like he had been the first time he was jumped, when Bob and the Socs came back, Pony traded insults with them. “‘You know what a Soc is?’ I said, my voice shaking with rage. ‘White trash with Mustangs and madras.’ And the, because I couldn’t think of anything bad enough to call them, I spit at them.” (Hinton, 55) Johnny, though it is not witnessed, acted in defense of Pony Boy, because that was the gang’s expectation.
The gang would see gang loyalty as more important than the law. When we consider the sociological relationship between gang members, we can understand this rationale. Sociologist, Ruth Harowitz, who performed participant observation in a lower-class neighborhood discovered “the concept of ‘honor’ propels young men to deviance. The Formula is simple ‘a real man has honor. An insult is threat to one’s honor. Therefore, not to stand up to someone is to be less than a real man.” (Henslin, 162-163) In order for Pony Boy and Johnny to become “men” in their setting, they would have to defend themselves and their gang.
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The controlling idea of The Outsiders is that teens should, “stay gold.” McKee expresses a controlling idea is, “how and why life undergoes change from one condition of existence at the beginning to another at the end.” (McKee, 115) Early in the text, Pony Boy describes the social Injustice between Greasers and Socs, “We’re poorer than the Socs and the middle class. I reckon we’re wilder, too. Not like the Socs, who jump greasers and wreck houses and throw beer blasts for kicks, and get editorials in the paper for being a public disgrace one day and an asset to society the next.” (Hinton, 3) It is through the choice at the burning church that Johnny and Pony Boy reveal both their true character and the change it brings in their circumstances. After the fire, Pony Boy and Johnny get to experience what it means to be like a Soc, their courageous act defines them to be considered an asset to society.
Nature's first green is gold, |
While presenting introspective thoughts, Hinton is able to create an atmosphere of contradiction. “I saw Johnny’s cigarette glowing in the dark and wondered what it was like inside a burning ember…” It is possible that this is foreshadowing, and certainly fire has symbolic significance within the text, but the choice to juxtapose hot and cold, depicts the rivalry and the contradictory nature of the neighborhood. Hinton uses contradiction to get at the very nature of being a young adult, “Soda is different from anybody; he understands everything, almost,” (Hinton, 2) “He (Darry) always does what Sodapop tells him to. Most of the time. (Hinton, 13) “I lie to myself all the time. But I never believe me. (Hinton, 18) Teenaged years are fraught with injustice and contradictions. Teens often feel conflicted; the expectations and the culture they are raised in is shifting. Teens grow from the cherished young children to being viewed as a public nuisances based on their age category. The age is fraught with self-questioning, social consciousness and conflict, Hinton creates characters that are representative of that same introspective consciousness and presents the opportunity for the audience to engage with their own reflective attempt at self-discovery.
Hinton uses intertextuality to create a link to Great Expectations. She makes a comparison of how Pony Boy relates to Pip and how it feels to be the underclass. The Robert Frost poem, “Nothing Gold Can Stay” is integral to the story because it creates a framework for Johnny to reveal that he is undergone a change of wanting more out of life. Gone with The Wind is an intertextual link to illustrate a comparison between the Civil War, and the violence between rival gangs. Pony Boy left Gone with the Wind unfinished because Johnny died young and his life was left unfinished. Also the comparison between the soldiers in the Civil War shows the attitude toward gallantry. “They remind me of Dally.(Johnny said) …but one night I saw Dally getting’ picked up by the fuzz, and he kept real cool and calm the whole time. They was getting’ him for breakin’ out the windows in the school building, and it was Two-bit who did that. And Dally knew it. But he just took the sentence without battin’ and eye or even denyin’ it. That’s gallant“(Hinton, 76). The attraction of Gone with The Wind to the boys, shows the extent of the attraction of the gang. And introduced an opportunity for Hinton to show a difference between the loyalty that Johnny felt for the gang and Dally in particular; and the maturity that Pony Boy was growing into. “I liked my books and clouds and sunsets. Dally was so real he scared me,” (Hinton, 76.)
One thing that distinguishes Hinton is her voice and artful diction. When you consider word choice, it is clear that Hinton gives a distinct and carefully chosen slang-ridden voice. Diction choice was risky, and could have potentially dated the piece, with words like: “a’woofin,” “bawling” and “the fuzz.” Hinton makes the distinction within the writing about the difference between being tuff vs. tough. Hinton is using slang actually authenticates her work. Diction adds a flavor to the story, It is similar to the linguistic slang usage of authors like Zora Neale Hurston, In “Story in Harlem Slang,” orM.T. Anderson in Feed. They work because the reader can infer the slang meaning even if it is not in modern relevant language, it provides a linguistic tone to the piece.
Perhaps the most meaningful effect Hinton chooses is the ending, “I finally began like this: When I stepped out into the bright sunlight from the darkness of the movie house, I had only two things on my mind: Paul Newman and a ride home…” (Hinton, 180). The ending speaks to authenticity, the reader believes it as an accurate depiction of fictionalized events, or more specifically, it carried the aesthetic emotion of a universal authenticity. It is a metaphoric reminder of the circularity of people stuck in a societal dichotomy. The idea is, the story of injustice continues for young people who will be polarized by injustice and misfortune due to their unfortunate poverty. Injustice keeps The Outsiders relevant, there will always be “greasers” and “socs,” even if they no longer wear leather or madras.
While The Outsiders may use too much exposition and internal dialogue, to fit modern literary standards, it resonates with the readers; perhaps, because the Young Adult audience is introspective. The audience is noticing injustice in their world and contemplating their own relationships in the world. In Pony Boy, the audience finds a hero to work through their own interpersonal struggles.
Works Cited
Anderson, M. T. Feed. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick, 2002. Print.
Henslin, James M. Essentials of Sociology: A Down-to-Earth Approach. Boston: Pearson, 2015. Print.
Hinton, S.E. The Outsiders. Speak: New York, 2012. Print.
McKee, Robert. Story: Substance, Structure, Style and the Principles of Screenwriting. New York: Regan, 1997. Print.
Neale Hurston, Zora. "Story in Harlem Slang." Zora Neale Hurston: Novels and Stories. Library of America, 1995. 1001-010. Print. First published in the American Mercury, July 1945.
Anderson, M. T. Feed. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick, 2002. Print.
Henslin, James M. Essentials of Sociology: A Down-to-Earth Approach. Boston: Pearson, 2015. Print.
Hinton, S.E. The Outsiders. Speak: New York, 2012. Print.
McKee, Robert. Story: Substance, Structure, Style and the Principles of Screenwriting. New York: Regan, 1997. Print.
Neale Hurston, Zora. "Story in Harlem Slang." Zora Neale Hurston: Novels and Stories. Library of America, 1995. 1001-010. Print. First published in the American Mercury, July 1945.