Banned Book: The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

                Ponyboy is a greaser. He lives with his brothers Darry and Soda on the East Side of town. He is the only one of his brothers still in school. Darry is twenty and has taken care of Soda and Ponyboy ever since their parents died. Soda dropped out of school to help Darry with the bills so they could all stay together. Dally, Johnny, Steve and Two-bit were greasers too. They were a group of friends that banded together and looked out for each other. They hated the Socs. Those guys were a bunch of do-gooder, rich kids from the West Side of town that ride around in Mustangs with girlfriends that drive Corvettes. It was easy to tell who was a Greaser and who was a Soc. One group was automatically given respect while the other had to fight for every bit of respect they got and for the right to simply live in peace.

                The Outsiders is an extremely simple, emotionally honest novel about circumstances and how those circumstances can define your life. Ponyboy was an fascinating, detailed narrator that was young enough to give an honest, detailed account of his life, passing judgment on not only those around him but himself. The life of a greaser is the life that Ponyboy knows and understands. This is the life he has lived with his brothers and with the people in his neighborhood that have become like family. He admits to not being able to relate to the life of a Soc and it isn’t until he begins to speak to those outside of his comfort zone that he realizes that there is more to a Soc and to people in general that he never realized. He has been judging the Socs just like they have been judging him and the other Greasers.

                I enjoyed The Outsiders. It is simple, hypnotic, gritty and haunting. I invested my time in the pages trying to understand Ponyboy, the life he has experienced and the struggle to be respected and understood. It was very well done. The characters were very well developed and painfully molded. Hinton did a great job at bringing to life some of the very real problems within society and how many are unrightfully marginalized. I can hardly believe that this novel was started when Hinton was fifteen years old. The Outsiders was published when Hinton was eighteen years old and this novel definitely shows a remarkable talent at such a young age. In 1965 when this novel was released it was controversial. It has been challenged because of the use of drugs and alcohol. It was also said to promote gangs, excessive violence and unchristian values. It has been banned and challenged so often that it was #43 on the American Library Association’s Top 100 Most Challenged Books of 1990-2000. It makes people uncomfortable to read about a part of society they wouldn’t want to have exposed. The fact that a teenager wrote this novel and was able to capture so beautifully the injustice that many were exposed to is amazing but fear can hinder many from recognizing where the problem really lies. Society has a way of creating dividing lines where none should exist. We are all people and it doesn’t matter what side of town you were born, you have feelings, emotions and the chance to be amazing. How other people pass judgment should not hinder or effect what you can become.

“Banned Book Awereness: The Outsiders”    Baldassarro, R. Wolf

http://bannedbooks.world.edu/2011/05/08/banned-books-awareness-outsiders/