S. E. Hinton is best known for her ground-breaking young adult fiction publication of The Outsiders, which she wrote while in high school. The Outsider's very realistic portrayal of adolescent experiences was amazing, as well as the fact that this high-quality novel was written by an adolescent. SE Hinton has said: “I wrote this novel while I was in high school because it was the sort of story I wanted to read”. Hinton was sick of novels with cliché storylines, she wanted to write novels about humans with real issues, so she gave her audience relatable stories, and these novels were popular among adolescents.
Hinton began a new trendy genre in adolescent novels, where controversial issues would be explored throughout many of her books. There was much debate over whether this ‘new breed’ of young-adult fiction books was way too realistic in nature for the good of their teen audience. These ‘realist’ books heavily portrayed some issues such as violence, drug/alcohol abuse, and even death. Even now, 50 years later, books such as the CHERUB series explore almost identical issues, in similar ways. Critics of realism at the time thought this ‘new breed’ of controversial adolescent novels would portray to their young readers that bad behavior was the norm. These critics tended to read The Outsiders as a novel displaying the amount of violence in teens, rather than a book about how the protagonists in the novel dealt with the amount of violence in their society. Some critics felt that the book glorified violence, entirely missing Hinton’s message.
S.E. Hinton has explored many different themes throughout the novel, such as the differences between socioeconomic status (in the East & West of the city this novel is set in), loyalty and friendships among societies lawless, and the innocence of the youngest (for example, Ponyboy’s innocence at the beginning of the book). In the final chapters of the book, Ponyboy asks Cherry if she can watch the sunset from the west of the town. She says yes, and he then explains to her that he also can experience the sunset from the East as well. These words from Ponyboy represent the fact that even the poorer kids in the East of town still see the same sunset as the wealthier kids, who lived on the West side of town. When Ponyboy first talks to Cherry, he sees her as another Soc (‘Soc’ was the term used for the wealthier adolescents from the west of town). But as he gets to know Cherry better, he realizes that she is different from the rest of the Socs. This is shown by her willingness to talk to Ponyboy, who is a greaser (Other Socs wouldn’t associate themselves with greasers). We begin to see that Ponyboy’s statement about Cherry’s sunset that she can see from her side of town, shows that Ponyboy knows that, while the lives they (Cherry & Ponyboy) live are very different because of their different socio-economic backgrounds and different friend groups, there are still many things that are common in their lives (like the sunset). Some of these being that there are issues in both of their lives and that being a Soc has its fair share of problems. Cherry helps Ponyboy realize that Socs aren’t perfect and that being rich doesn’t mean that there are no problems that must be faced.
The Greasers are honorable, even though the society they live in doesn’t see them in that way. They fight for each other and act together to overcome adversity. These characters perform many acts of honorable sacrifice for their fellow greasers. Johnny and Ponyboy go into a building that is on fire to save some children whose lives are in danger. Dally also goes into the building to save them. Johnny kills a Soc named Bob, to save Ponyboy’s life. Dally gets arrested for taking the blame for breaking the school windows, instead of giving in the real culprit (his mate), Two-Bit. All these examples among many others show how this group of boys are so devoted and loyal to each other, and that they will go to extreme lengths to keep each other safe.
Another of the themes explored in the Outsiders is the retention of innocence of Ponyboy. This is perhaps one of the most important themes explored, throughout this novel. When Johnny talks to Ponyboy about Robert Frost’s poem, he is explaining to Ponyboy that he must stay innocent in their world of corruptness. In the poem, the one line that Johnny constantly repeats to Ponyboy is: “Stay Gold Ponyboy, Stay Gold”. Johnny sadly also repeats this to Ponyboy as his last encouraging words, just before he died in the hospital as a result of his extensive burns, broken bones, and more, from his heroics in the burning house (where he and Ponyboy saved the children). Johnny’s words are telling Ponyboy that he shouldn’t allow himself to become polluted by the world, like Dally and the others. Johnny’s hopes were that Ponyboy was to pass some of his innocence onto Dally, and it could possibly help Dally reignite his lost innocence.
Another dominant theme in The Outsiders is that of class conflict. Ponyboy starts off the book, by explaining that he is a “greaser,” a term he says, “is used to class all us boys on the East Side” (ch1, p3). A 'Soc' is a term used to class all the boys on the West Side of town (Socs are usually significantly wealthier). These two social classes are enemies for no other reason than their different social classes, and the differences that come with their opposite socioeconomic status’. In this novel, this leads to a great deal of destruction, ruining several innocent young lives, including Bob, Johnny, Dally, and many more teenagers who were either physically hurt from the violence, or mentally affected because of losing their friend. Bob is killed because of the violence, and Johnny and Dally eventually also die as a result. The theme of class conflict is explored throughout this book, as the two sides of town are very different in terms of economic classes. The wealthier teens (Socs) from the west, and the greasers from the east. SE Hinton has said that: “The Soc vs. Greaser conflict was inspired by similar rivalries in her own high school”, this shows us that group conflicts are a major theme in this novel.
The Outsiders novel also explores the theme of love and heartbreak, even though this isn't one of the main themes in the novel, it is still explored in various chapters. Ponyboys older brother Soda is in love with his girlfriend Sandy, who is still in high school. This is shown by Soda’s quote, 'I think I'm gonna marry Sandy after she gets out of school, and I can get a better job and everything.' Soda says this early in the novel, but in chapter 12, Soda is heartbroken when he receives the letter from sandy saying that she had moved to Florida to live with her grandmother and that their relationship couldn’t work anymore. This scene in chapter 12, explores the theme of heartbreak, and we also see the effect that this letter has on Soda, through the fact that he runs away from his house crying after reading the letter. The Outsiders also shows how, in Johnny’s case, a lack of love at home can be detrimental for a kid Johnny’s age (around 12 years old at the time). At home Johnny is abused by his parents, has no siblings, and as a result doesn’t feel like he is loved by anyone. The greasers are his family, as they take care of him, and give him the loving, caring friends that he needs.