![]() This emphasised to readers that surviving a tough life is difficult without some innocence or hope. Following Johnny’s death, Dally had himself purposely shot by the police, because Johnny was the last thing in Dally’s life that represented good and innocence, and without him, he felt he had no hope. This signifies that everything in life changes, which is why Johnny urges Ponyboy to remain gold, which means innocent, because Johnny knew he was going to die and that his death would change Ponyboy’s and Dally’s lives. One line in the poem reads: “Nothing gold can stay” (p. Johnny was referring to the Robert Frost poem that Ponyboy recited to him when they were hiding out in the abandoned church after Bob’s death (p. As Johnny lies dying in a hospital bed from the injuries he sustained in the church fire, he says to Ponyboy: “Stay gold, Ponyboy. In fact, after the church fire, Hinton reveals an even more important message to readers, being that it is vital for even the most hardened person to retain some innocence and to have hope. Through their actions, they demonstrate to readers that regardless of a person’s background, everyone is an individual capable of doing noble deeds. Johnny, Ponyboy and Dally also refute their stereotypical role as Greasers when they bravely rescue children from the raging church fire (p. Dally practically gives Ponyboy the shirt off his back when he hands Ponyboy his leather jacket to help him keep warm on his journey to hide-out in the abandoned church in the countryside (p. ![]() This is revealed through Dally’s soft spot for the abused and vulnerable Greaser Johnny Cade, and in his willingness to do anything to help a fellow Greaser.ĭally helps Johnny and Ponyboy get away after Johnny kills bully Soc Bob Sheldon. In addition, through the character of Dally, Hinton communicates to readers that although Dally is the toughest and most brutal member of the Greaser gang, he too is capable of kindness. Maybe the two different worlds we lived in weren’t so different. Ponyboy ultimately realises that Greasers and Socs are not that different after all and this is particularly evident when he ponders: It seemed funny to me that the sunset she (Cherry) saw from her patio and the one I saw from the back steps was the same one. Hinton also makes it clear through Ponyboy’s discussions with Soc Cherry Valance, that the rich and privileged should not be stereotyped either, for they too can suffer problems. She does this by defining the characters according to their individual traits, not by the group society has deemed they belong to.Īlthough Hinton introduces Ponyboy as a member of the Greaser gang, with his long, oiled hair and outfit of jeans and tshirt, she challenges readers not to stereotype him as a Greaser by making it known that he is sensitive, loves books, movies and drawing, and gets good grades at school. From the very beginning of the novel, Hinton discourages readers from stereotyping characters in The Outsiders. The characters of Ponyboy and Dallas ‘Dally’ Winston, a hardened and damaged Greaser, are vital to this message and they also play key roles in portraying the book’s fundamental theme that even the most hardened people need to retain some innocence and to have hope in their lives. ![]() The novel explores the choices people make when faced with adversity, sending an important message to readers that everyone is an individual, regardless of their background. Based on two rival teenage gangs, the poor, east-side Greasers, and the rich, west-side Socials (Socs), The Outsiders is told through the eyes of sensitive, 14-year-old Greaser, Ponyboy Curtis. Hinton, is a coming-of-age story that compels readers to question society’s stereotyping of people and expresses the need for people to always have hope.
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