The Outsiders

Many schools across the United States use classic American books to teach students important lessons. Our class read a book called The Outsiders. This book, published in 1967, circles around a rivalry between the Greasers and Socs [sōSH]. The greasers were known as the poor, eastside kids who built gangs and shoplifted. The Socs were known as the rich, westside kids who got drunk and attacked the greasers. Their rivalry was generally harmless until one gang member killed one of the other gang.

The author, S E Hinton, started writing this novel when she was a teenager. At her high school, there was a gang conflict (Socs vs Greasers) which inspired Hinton to write her book. While publishing her book, her publisher asked her to use her initials instead of her name because she was a woman (at the time, women weren't considered good writers). Soon, people started reading her book and it became very famous throughout the United States. Today, The Outsiders is considered an American classic and is read in middle school classes.

The Outsidersis a very beautiful coming of age novel. While discussing it with my class, we agreed that this book, although showing extreme situations, taught us things that applied to all of us. The main theme of the book is to stay innocent like a child throughout your life. The book displays that even in a world where everything is about violence, fighting is not the answer.

When I finished this book, I was sobbing because of the ending, I really wanted to read an Outsiders 2. This book is very memorable and I hope you read it and learn as much as I did!