S. E. Hinton's The Outsiders

There has been conversation of whether YA books have an effect on teenagers today. Most adults do not allow their children read these novel because it deals with rape, sex, murder or violence, and drugs. According to Gurdon, reading about homicide does not turn a man into a murderer; or reading about cheating on the exam won’t make the child break the honor code. The parents care more about their child’s happiness, moral development and tenderness of heart. Gurdon thinks that today’s YA novels discover this dark yet realistic truths of the outside world dealing with happiness and rainbows, and true love conquering all is now making their appearance in the majority of teen fiction books. Today’s YA novels concern parents and educators alike,
The Outsider by S.E. Hinton was the first YA Novel published in 1967. S.E. Hinton wrote the Outsiders at 16 years old. It became a success later in the years. Most people would think that it is bad because it deals with gang violence, murder, abuse, but is that what S.E. Hinton is trying to portray in her story? Each reader has different opinion while they read, but in a way we could see what S.E. Hinton is actually communicating something, but is just hidden until the whole story is read. The Outsiders is about a boy named Poneyboy who is the main character of the story. He has two brothers Sodapop and Darry who are part of a gang the Greasers. Poneyboy associates with the Greasers who have greasy long hair, and dress pretty sloppy. Greasers are always going up against the Socs who have the money and are better
The Socs are the rich/ middle class while the Greasers are representing the less fortunate. It is important for Young Adults to know this because where they go to school, they can see who are the rich and the poor based on personality, clothing, and technology that they have. There have always been class tensions between the rich and the less fortunate. The Outsiders shows that even though they are not as rich, they stick together to survive. It is like Karl Marx on the Communist Manifesto, where we have the struggle between the bourgeoisie, the rich and the proletariat the working class. He talks about the tension between these classes and eventually thinks that the proletariat will have enough and take over/ down the bourgeoisie. A good real life example of class tension is the 2000 show Veronica Mars. It takes place in Neptune, where there is no middle class; you are either rich or poor. The show really puts emphasis on how class tensions are in a school setting. As teens enter middle or high school, they are going to have friends that they hang out with and not associate with others that are different from them. The book is not about gang violence. S.E. Hinton uses the Socs and the Greasers as an Allegory to portray the struggle of class. They are kind of like cliques; people from similar backgrounds in finances, family, etc. Even though