The Outsiders: An AnalysisBy:Yanir SeroussiTeacher: Mr. SaphirClass: 9sIntroductionIn this book analysis, about the book The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton I willdiscuss character and plot development, as well as the setting, the author’sstyle and my opinions about the book. In this part of the analysis I will givesome information about the subjects of the book, and about the author.
The author wrote the story when she was just 16 years old, in the 1950s. Thebook was successful, and it was sold, and still being sold, in many copies as ayoung adults novel. There was a movie made about it, and today there are stillmany schools that use this book in junior high and high schools for Englishclasses. There were plays made about the book too. The Outsiders is about a gang. They live in a city in Oklahoma.
Ponyboy Curtis,a 14 year old greaser, tells the story. Other characters include Sodapop andDarry, Ponyboy’s brothers, Johnny, Dallas, and Two-Bit, that were also gangmembers and Ponyboy’s friends. This story deals with two forms of socialclasses: the socs, the rich kids, and the greasers, the poor kids. The socs goaround looking for trouble and greasers to beat up, and then the greasers areblamed for it, because they are poor and cannot affect the authorities. I hope you would enjoy and learn something about the book from reading thisanalysis. Plot DevelopmentThe plot development in the book, The Outsiders by S.
E. Hinton, was easy tofollow. In this part of the book analysis I will give some more details aboutthe plot development. There were no hooks or hurdles in the beginning of the book, the first sentencestarts right away with the plotwithout any forewords.
This is the beginning ofthe first sentence: When I stepped out into the bright sunlight from thedarkness of the movie house. . . (page 9). As you can see, it goes straight tothe point without any prologues or any kind of introduction.
The plot development in the middle of the story was sensible and easy tounderstand. It was clear and simple, and the events have occurred in areasonable order. The ending of the story was a bit expected. I anticipated the death of Johnnybecause a broken neck usually means death. The death of Dally was not aspredictable as Johnny’s death because it was said that: He was tougher thanthe rest of ustougher, colder, meaner.
(page 19). I did not think that such atough person would get himself killed because of a death of a friend, althoughit was said a short time before the death of Dally that: Johnny was the onlything Dally loved. (page 160). The climaxes at the end of the story were the deaths of Johnny and Dally. Hereare quotations about the deaths: Johnny’s death: The pillow seemed to sink alittle, and Johnny died. (page 157).
Dally’s death: He was jerked half aroundby the impact of the bullets, then slowly crumpled with a look of grim triumphon his face. He was dead before he hit the ground. (page 162). To conclude I can say that the plot development was simple and easy tounderstand and to follow. The author organized it in a way that fits the actualcontent of the plot.
Character DevelopmentThe characters in the book, The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton, were not very heroicthey were just humansit was easy to believe that this is the way they shouldbe. The characters in the plot give the reader a feeling this can be a truestory. The author has created the personality of the characters through thedescriptions of Ponyboythe narratorand through their actions.
Following aresome examples of these methods of getting familiar with a character. Here is anexample for a description of Ponyboy: Steve Randle was seventeen, tall andlean, with thick greasy hair he kept combed in complicated swirls. He was cocky,smart, and Soda’s best buddy since grade school. Steve’s specialty was cars. . .
(page 17). The reader can find this kind of descriptions almost everywhere inthe story, but especially in the beginning. I think the author put them therebecause the reader does not know the characters, and he needs to get familiarwith them. The descriptions make the reader know the characters better andunderstand their actions. A good example of an action that was taken andsuggested something about a character is
