Summer Reading - The Outsiders

In addition to reading In Defense of Food and Nation this summer, I also read The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. I have to say that I enjoyed it the best out of all three of the books. The novel's perspective comes from a young orphan named Ponyboy who grows up in a troubled society with two gangs: the Greasers and the Socs. These are two rival gangs who are separated by their status and rank in wealth. Ponyboy, being a Greaser, initially loathes the Socs. Because every Greaser detests the Socs, Ponyboy believes he should, too. But as Ponyboy grows and understands that Socs are also humans, just rich ones, he thinks better of them and gets along with most of them. At the end of the book, Ponyboy loses two of his best friends because of the fights between the Socs, and because of that he becomes thankful for his life and puts an end to his hate for the Socs.

I find it hard to be impressed by a book, but after I finished this book, I felt amazed by it. It was a bit hard to comprehend a few parts since this book is set in the '60s, but I really admire S.E. Hinton's work. I think it truly depicts a crystal clear picture of how our society behaves. I mean, for the obvious, the rich and the poor have different viewpoints on certain things, they act and dress differently, and spend money differently. But I think this book relates to not only the poor and rich, but also to other people in general. Different ethnicities are defined by stereotypes. In the book, Ponyboy ultimately hates the Socs for what they have and how they look, just because they are Socs. After he gets to know them, he realizes that "Socs" is just a label and stereotypes aren't always accurate. I really admire this book for it's honesty, and I think after a person reads it, he or she will go, "This is an accurate book of our society with a positive message." I think a considerable amount of prejudice in this world is based off of stereotypes and first impressions of people. In the book, the Soc girls wouldn't dare to talk to any of the Greasers because of their long, greasy hair and their shabby clothes. In our society, there are a set of imaginary rules that everyone knows. You have to be a certain this and this, and you aren't allowed to have this, be this, or act like this or else you won't be accepted. If you look different or act different, does that mean you aren't as good as anyone else? Our society thinks so. I feel as if our society is just too afraid of becoming different from others or getting to know people who are different, since they'll be labeled as different as well. I think this is an enjoyable book for anyone who feels the same way.