Brief summary of the Novel-The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton
The novel ‘Outsiders’ revolves around three brothers namely Ponyboy Curtis, Sodapop and Darrel (Hinton 8). They live alone, following the death of their parents in a horrid road accident. As Greasers, they belong to a gang, and their main aim is to compete with the Socs, a group of wealthy neighbors. In one of the nights when they go out, violence ensures and one of the gang members ends up killing a Soc member. Ponny takes up the blame, and upon being arraigned in court, he is acquitted charges. As a young man struggling with life, he resolves to put in writing, the difficulties the greasers undergo. In the novel, The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton, Ponyboy Curtis as the major character undergoes gradual transition from the start, in the middle, till the end of the novel.
Evolution of Ponyboy Curtis
The story commences with Ponyboy as a child growing together with his brothers in the greaser’s neighborhood. Owing to the difficulties and challenges of life, Ponyboy learns the hard way of life, and undergoes transition both in terms of personality and opinion. At the start, he is brought out as a shy and fearful character, unable to face the Socs. In addition, he appears as an intelligent young man, devoid of the much-needed direction to comprehend the surrounding around him. To him, life appears hard and he keeps wondering why his friends appear to enjoy it more. Even so, he believes in appearing tough, in order to cope with life.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
In the middle of the story, Ponyboy is faced with scary and weird events that have an impact on his personality. While with Johnny at the park, they are provoked by Soc members, and upon seeing Ponyboy is being drowned, Johnny draws his blade, stabbing one of the gang members to death. Later, Johnny dies following sustained fire injuries, and at this point, Ponyboy decides to lead happy, peaceful and nice life. however, life takes another direction, when Dally dies, and having lost two close members of his family, he decides to put their encounter in writing.
At the end of the story, Ponyboy character has undergone transition. His hatred towards the Socs has changed, and he embraces the fact that, they are not different from the Greasers (Hinton 54). Having grown from a tiny boy to an adult, he appears wiser than most members of his group. For that reason, he opts to do something that would assist in stopping gang violence in his neighborhood. In overall, throughout the novel, Ponyboy’s character evolution is depicted, as he matures and grasps survival tactics of handling life issues in the absence of his parents.
Indeed, Ponyboy undergoes evolution from when the novel begins, to the end. In a rather gradual pattern, Ponyboy undergoes transition from a small boy among the greasers, to a grown man, who knows what he wants in life. He shuns violence, and embraces new life opinions. The challenges he faces as typical greaser changes his way of looking at life.
Works Cited
Hinton, S. E. The Outsiders. New York, NY: Penguin Young Readers Group, 2012.
Sheldon, Lee. Character Development and Storytelling for Games, Second Edition. New York, NY: Cengage Learning, 2014
