S.E.Hinton
S.E.Hinton
• S.E. stands for
Susan Eloise
• Hinton’s publishers
worried that her work,
which dealt with male
characters and violent
conflicts, would not be
respected because it
was written by a
woman. Thus, she
published The
Outsiders using a pen
name, her initials.
Background Information
– Date of Publication
• 1967
– Inspiration
• Hinton was frustrated with
social divisions within her high
school and a lack of realistic
fiction for high school students
– Major Conflict in the novel
• The Greasers, a group of lowclass youths, battle the Socs, a
group of privileged rich kids,
who live on the West Side
• Background Continued…
• The Outsiders features
many references to the
1960s: Elvis, Beatles,
Madras, etc.
• Examined universal urges
to form cliques, compete
and unite with similar
groups
• The Greasers are tough
and rough, but also
vulnerability and full of
emotion. The reader will
see both of these sides.
A poster from the hit film
Literary Focus
 Point of View
 First Person
 Narrator and Protagonist
 Ponyboy
 Antagonist
 Social Groups: the
conflicts between the
Greasers and the
Socs and the results
of these conflicts
 Setting (time)
 Mid 1960’s
 Setting (place)
 Tulsa, Oklahoma
 Tone
 Youthful, rebellious,
simplistic,
melodramatic
• Themes
• Class Differences
– Rich vs. Poor
Although they present a tough
exterior, the greasers feel emotion
and show a great deal of love for
their “gang” brothers
• Transcending Social
Divisions
• Man’s Struggles and
Fears
• Honor and Loyalty
• Man’s Ability to Sacrifice
• Male-Female Interactions
• Male Bonding
• Untraditional “family”
• Symbols: Cars
• Cars represent the
Socs’ wealth and
power; something the
Greasers can only
dream about
The greasers work on
the nice cars; the Socs
drive them
• Symbols:Greaser Hair
• Rebellion against
society
– Most men in society
during the 1960s wore
their hair short
A few famous people
have sported the
greaser look
• Cannot afford
physical items to
make them stand out
(ex: cars, nice
clothes), must use
their hair to stand out
Brief Overview
Author’s Synopsis
• According to Ponyboy, there
are two kinds of people in the
world: greasers and socs. A
soc (short for "social") has
money, can get away with just
about anything, and has an
attitude longer than a
limousine. A greaser, on the
other hand, always lives on the
outside and needs to watch his
back. Ponyboy is a greaser,
and he's always been proud of
it, even willing to rumble
against a gang of Socs for the
sake of his fellow greasers-until one terrible night when his
friend Johnny kills a soc. The
murder causes Pony’s world to
crumble and teaches him that
pain feels the same whether a
soc or a greaser.
Characters
Ponyboy Curtis
• Narrator and
protagonist
• Different from the rest
of the greasers
because he has
interests literature and
school
• Reliable and observant
• Rocky home life
• Has two older
brothers, Soda and
Darry
Darrell “Darry” Curtis
• Ponyboy’s oldest
brother
• Raised his brothers
after the death of their
parents in a car crash
• Gave up a full athletic
scholarship to work two
jobs so the three
brothers could stay
together
• Strong, athletic and
intelligent
• Nicknamed “Superman”
Dallas “Dally” Winston
• The toughest hood
in Ponboy’s group
• A hardened teen
who used to run in
New York gangs
• Has been to jail
multiple times
Sodapop Curtis
• Happy and attractive
older brother of
Ponyboy
• Dropped out of high
school
• Works at a gas
station, fixes cars
Cherry and Marcia
• Soc girls who become
interested in the
greasers
Johnny Cade
• Parent are abusive
and drunks
• Nervous and sensitive
• Was almost killed
after he was jumped
by the Socs
• Greasers are his
family
Two-Bit Mathews
• The joker of
Ponyboy’s group
• Got his name
because he is always
putting in his “two
bits”
Steve Randle
• Sodapop’s best friend
• Talent of stealing hub
caps
• Cocky, aware and
smart
This guy might look a little familiar