Throughout ​
The Outsiders​
by S.E. Hinton, sunsets represent the common ground shared by all characters regardless of their social status. Even when characters are clearly shown to have a difference, Hinton reminds the reader that they still have something in common. When Cherry lets Pony know she cannot see him or say hi to him she ends by saying, “We aren’t in the same class. Just don’t forget that some of us watch sunsets too” (46). The reason Cherry mentions sunsets is that no matter where Pony and Cherry are both physically and socially, they watch the same sunset. They might have different struggles or different situations, but at the end of the day so to speak, they feel the same. They both struggle with emotions. They are both sensitive, nonviolent people. Cherry and Pony are not the only characters who are in different social classes who have similarities. Hinton provides a mirror character for nearly every character. For example, both Marcia and Two­Bit are mirrors of each other. Hinton writes, “Marcia and Two­Bit were hitting it of fine. They had the same scatterbrained sense of humor” (35). Obviously, Marcia and Two­Bit, like Pony and Cherry, will not be able to carry on any type of relationship because of their social class, but they do get along. In fact, later, they will be described as having a conversation that only the two of them can understand. They have so much in common, they are more like each other than they are their supposed friends. In essence, they have the same personality. Hinton continually repeats the theme of differences only being a part of the equation. The other half is what they all have in common. Sunsets represent that sameness. Ponyboy comes the realization, “Maybe the two worlds we lived in weren’t so different. We saw the same sunset” (41). No matter what, the characters are the same on some level.