The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
Pre-Reading
Information
Anticipation Guide
Answer “true” or “false”
 Most people are not content with what they have.
 It is common to feel like a loner (outsider) sometimes.
 People should be judged by how they look or what they
have.
 A person is often stereotyped by the people he hangs out
with.
 It is ok to stereotype people.
 Popular means that you are better.
 It is ok to pick on people who are different than you.
 It is good to have friends to count on.
S.E. Hinton stands for Susan
Eloise
 Born in the 1950’s in Tulsa,
Oklahoma
 She started The Outsiders
at age 15
 It was published in 1967




Young Adult Fiction
The language and details of the
story are rooted in the 1960s
The setting is in the Southwest
Bridging the gap between
rich and poor
 Honor among the lawless
 Treacherousness of malefemale interactions


The book takes place in Tulsa,
Oklahoma in the Mid-1960s.

Symbols: symbols are objects,
characters, figures, or colors
used to represent abstract
concepts or ideas.
Symbols to watch for:
Two-Bit’s Switchblade,
Cars, Bob’s Rings, Greaser
Hair

Motifs: motifs are recurring
structures, contrasts, or literary
devices that can help to develop
and inform the text’s major
themes.
Some motifs are:
literature, eye shape and color,
and Ponyboy’s losses of
consciousness.


This book is narrated by the
protagonist Ponyboy. It is
narrated in the first person
subjective.
objective = fact
subjective = opinion
First person objective - I am 21 years old.
First person subjective- I think the sky is purple.



Be aware of the one sided
narration of 1st person
subjective
Search for some examples of the
themes discussed here
Look for some of the motifs and
uncover their importance to the
text
Chapters 1 & 2 Vocabulary
After reading Chapters 1 & 2:










Study Questions
1. Identify Darry, Soda, & Ponyboy.
2. How are Greasers different from Socs?
3. Who were other members of Pony’s gang?
4. What happened to Pony on the way home from the movies?
5. Who did Dally, Johnny and Ponyboy meet at the Nightly
Double?
6. Contrast Dally’s approach to Cherry and Marcia with Pony’s.
7. Contrast Cherry’s response to Dally with her response to
Pony.
8. Why were Cherry & Marcia alone at the drive-in?
9. Why was Pony surprised that he was getting along with
Cherry & Marcia?
What had happened to Johnny prior to the time of this story?
Picture Credits


Animated book
http://www.aurealtd.co.uk/ani
mated_book02.gif





S.E. Hinton photo
http://fuzzyllama.net/mediac/400_0/
media/hinton_se.jpg



Outsider’s cover
http://www.eastchester.k12.ny.
us/schools/Ms/teachers/burke/i
mages/outsiders_000.jpg
School cafeteria
http://www.departments.dsu.ed
u/dsuarchives/images/Student
%20Life/East%20Hall%20Cafet
eria%20snack%20bar%201960
%20%202%20small.jpg
Gold stick figure
Power Point clip art