The Outsiders

     S.E. Hinton, the author of  "The Outsiders" was first published in the United States of America by the Viking Press in 1967. The book copyright S.E. Hinton, 1967 and renewed S.E. Hinton, 1995.

The Library of Congress has cataloged the Viking Edition of "The Outsiders".

Hinton began writing this novel when she was  in her mid-teens and a sophomore in high school.

    The setting is in the 1960s, Tulsa, Oklahoma and portrays a group of underprivileged youth  labeled "Greasers"( long-haired, slicked back, and  upper-class rich kids from the wealthy side of town. Together they struggle to survive at the cost of fear, pride, and

prejudice. Struggling for identity and a piece of turf, the Greasers mix and mingle with the Socs (short for Socials) girl friends.  The story has a winding and twisting chain of events with suspense.

 The two groups engage in gang fighting and Ponyboy ends up killing a Soc for fear of his friend being killed which creates a domino effect of bad karma for both the groups. 

     The story is a story that most anyone can identify with because the day to day life of  poverty stricken youth vs. (handed on a silver platter) wealth is an ongoing  reality that we all can relate to on some level. I think  the book is valuable and teaches us that there is really no difference in life's struggle for survival.

    "Stay gold, Ponyboy. Stay gold." is a quote that means nothing in life that's innocent ever stays that way and the quote is used to reflect Ponyboy's beginning of growing up.

    The movie was just another movie about life's struggle through the eyes of economic differences.

This story reminded me of exactly what I experienced as a youth growing up and when I think about it, nothing has really changed in the struggle for equality.