Hinton's Teenage Years By The Society example essay topic

The Outsiders gives a reflection of the historical events of S.E. Hinton's lifetime. "Hinton began writing The Outsiders during a restless time in the United States when teenagers were outspoken and rebellious" (Historical Information 2). Many teenagers hated the fact that young people from many different backgrounds were not given a chance to succeed, and were discriminated by there looks. To voice their dissatisfaction, they formed sit-ins and protests. The teenagers were now at war with the society and congress. This caused many of these teens to become hippies, to enter gangs, and to turn to drugs.

"This was the society that S.E. Hinton built from to form her first novel, The Outsiders" (Phillips 4/29/03). As a result of Hinton being a teenager herself, she was able to realistically understand the roughness of underprivileged youth. For example, Pony boy Curtis, the youngest member of the Greasers had to also battle with the world in order to be accepted by the society. The Greasers were also forced with the challenge of not being given the opportunity to succeed or even to be heard. The society looked at them as outspoken and rebellious just like they thought of the teens in the 1960's in the U.S. during the Vietnam War. The novel centers on the foolish gang rivalry between the Socs, the rich kids from the west side of town, and the Greasers, the poor kids from the east side of town.

Hinton showed the discrimination between the two gangs and how they were characterized by their appearance, and their attitude by describing their clothing. This was also how the hippies were judged in Hinton's teenage years by the society. In the story each gang was known by what they wore. All the Greasers mainly wore their hair greased back, dirty looking jeans, old tee shirts, and leather jackets. The Socs wore kaki pants, penny loafers, and letter jackets. Hinton also wanted to show that even though both gangs were tough in their own ways they still had their differences and similarities.

These differences included that the Greasers and the Socs came from different backgrounds and a different society. Though this was true they also had similarities, which were found out in the story by Pony and Cherry Valence, who is a Soc. They came to a conclusion that they both loved the same music and books. This showed the society that the Greasers and the Socs were not as different or rebellious as they thought. The Outsiders by Susan Eloise Hinton, also known as S.E. Hinton, was written when she was only sixteen years old and was published in 1967. "By 1970, The Outsiders had already been identified as a powerful on young adult literature" (Ciccarelli 293).

The novel mainly focused on what teens went through during a rough time in the U.S. during the Vietnam War. S. E Hinton's The Outsiders presented a different approach to youth writing during the 1960's. The approach was so different that "critics have consistently argued whether Hinton intended the text to be read as a realistic life of teenagers or a text that embodies the idealism of the youth" (Webb 1). The language and the characters used in the story were so realistic that you would of thought the story to be written form a male's perspective. In interpreting the text as a realistic account of teenage life, it is evident that the real issue that teens face, such as violence and class conflicts.

An example of a class conflict and violence in the novel consisted of Johnny, another member of the Greasers, and Pony. This scene involved the killing of a Soc. "I killed him, He said slowly. I killed that boy. Bob the handsome Soc was lying there in the moonlight, doubled up still. A dark pool was growing from him, spreading slowly over the blue-white cement.

I looked at Johnny's hand. He was clutching his switchblade, and it was to dark to hilt. My stomach gave a violent jump and my blood turned icy" (Hinton 51). This scene consisted of street language and realism showing how Hinton is detailed in her writing. The setting of the neighborhood contained many of the backgrounds in Oklahoma during the 1960's.

It also described the way Hinton seen the teenagers in her days growing up. Teenage men living on their own made the story much more interesting because it was based on teenage lifestyles without adults. "One of Susan Hinton's significant achievements in The Outsiders is to hold up for scrutiny young people from economically, culturally, and socially deprived circumstances" (Ciccarelli 294). The characters in the story are realistic and believable that you can picture the rebellious teens of the 1960's. This enhanced the feeling of realism in the story.

The Outsiders was rather good and was very easy to follow. This is a novel that should be read by many teens if you like action and drama.