The Outsiders by Katherine

The Outsiders by Katherine - February 2015 Scholarship Essay

Being a teenager is as confusing as it is exciting. You have the world at your fingertips, but have moments when you feel like the whole world is against you. A little guidance now and then certainly doesn’t hurt. Where that guidance comes from varies, from teachers to literature. Books of fiction may perhaps be the best source of guidance, no matter if they aren’t completely true. Sometimes made-up stories explain real life much better than true stories ever could. The one book that I recommend all high-school students read before they graduate is The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton.

The Outsiders shows the importance of family, even in the toughest situations. The Curtis brothers’ parents die before the book begins, so we see how the boys have grown to lean on each other since then. Darry and Sodapop go to work every day, both to support their family and in hopes of sending Ponyboy to college. Later in the book when they lose two of their closest friends, they depend on each other’s encouragement to get through their grief and move on. High school students can learn from this. Going on to college, the yearning for independence and being “grown up” can make you leave your family behind. The Outsiders shows you that your family is the one thing that you can fall back on when things go wrong.

Also, The Outsiders conveys the significance of being loyal to your friends. In the book, Ponyboy and his friend Johnny are jumped by kids from the other side of town. In defense of Ponyboy, Johnny ends up stabbing and killing one of them. The two go to their friend Dally for help, who gives them money and put them on a train out of town. Although I’m not saying to help your friends elude the police, you friends can have your back when nobody else does. The Outsiders shows how your relationships with your friends can determine whether your sink or swim later on.

The book also emphasizes the fact that rivals between different groups, or cliques, is harmful to both sides. The rivalry in The Outsiders is the greasers, who are the the poor kids; and the socials, or “Socs,” who are the privileged kids. Their disagreements get people on both sides killed, and many others suffer. Bullying from opposing groups in school and elsewhere can cause just as much trouble. Settling differences in a respectful way can quite literally save lives. S.E. Hinton effectively showed the true harm that rivalries cause.

Perhaps the most important concept that can be learned from The Outsiders is that where you come from doesn’t have to define you. Greasers are stereotypically drop-outs who are not expected to amount to much at all. Ponyboy, however defies this stereotype and works hard in school, and gets good grades. His brothers work and try to save money in hopes to send him to college. No matter where you come from, or what group you belong to, you can make a path for yourself in light of what you want for you, not anyone else. The Outsiders shows this concept extremely effectively.

You can see just how much you can learn from S.E. Hinton’s work, The Outsiders. It shows the importance of relationships to your family and friends, who are the ones that will have your back when no one else does. The book also emphasizes how rival groups can harm all involved, and how important it is to settle differences respectively. The fact that where you come from doesn’t define you is the most important concept from The Outsiders. All of these reasons, and several more, are why I suggest that all high school students should read The Outsiders before they graduate. Small pieces of guidance from a variety of places can make all the difference in the world when you’re a teenager. Literature, I believe is the best source to turn to.