The Outsiders
S.E. Hinton’s novel, The Outsiders takes place in 1960’s Tulsa, Oklahoma where the town is separated into Socs and Greasers. Ponyboy, a young greaser, is a young boy who is still considered innocent. However, after Pony witnesses one of his friend’s murder a soc, his life changes forever. He must grow up and mature after a series of unfortunate events. One theme the novel suggest is to cherish your innocence, before it’s too late.
In chapter 4, Ponyboy and Johnny realized they were no longer innocent children. Thy had a hard time grasping the concept that they were on the run due to a crime they were guilty of. Hinton describes the scene by saying, “I turned my head and was quietly sick for a minute. Then I leaned back and closed …show more content…
Johnny explained the poem to Pony, “... he meant you’re gold when you're a kid, like green. When you're a kid everything’s new, like dawn. It’s just when you get used to everything that it’s day. Like the way you dig sunsets Pony. That’s gold.” This shows how Johnny knows he and Pony have been through tough times, but he knows Pony still has some innocence left. He doesn't want him to lose it. Johnny continues on saying, “I want you to tell Dally to look at one. He’ll probably think you're crazy ... There’s still lots of good in the world. Tell Dally I don’t think he knows.” Johnny wants Pony to tell Dally that Dally still has some innocence left, it’s just buried deep inside him. He knows Dally had to grow up fast, but Johnny wants Dally to know that he still has a life to live, and that he should cherish living.
Certainly it could be said that the main point of the story was about the loss of innocence. While this is a good point because Ponyboy and Johnny lost most of their innocence, it fails to account Johnny’s letter of how he wanted Pony to cherish his remaining innocence. Pony might have lost most of his innocence, but he still is a kid who takes his time to look at the
S.E. Hinton’s novel, The Outsiders takes place in 1960’s Tulsa, Oklahoma where the town is separated into Socs and Greasers. Ponyboy, a young greaser, is a young boy who is still considered innocent. However, after Pony witnesses one of his friend’s murder a soc, his life changes forever. He must grow up and mature after a series of unfortunate events. One theme the novel suggest is to cherish your innocence, before it’s too late.
In chapter 4, Ponyboy and Johnny realized they were no longer innocent children. Thy had a hard time grasping the concept that they were on the run due to a crime they were guilty of. Hinton describes the scene by saying, “I turned my head and was quietly sick for a minute. Then I leaned back and closed …show more content…
Johnny explained the poem to Pony, “... he meant you’re gold when you're a kid, like green. When you're a kid everything’s new, like dawn. It’s just when you get used to everything that it’s day. Like the way you dig sunsets Pony. That’s gold.” This shows how Johnny knows he and Pony have been through tough times, but he knows Pony still has some innocence left. He doesn't want him to lose it. Johnny continues on saying, “I want you to tell Dally to look at one. He’ll probably think you're crazy ... There’s still lots of good in the world. Tell Dally I don’t think he knows.” Johnny wants Pony to tell Dally that Dally still has some innocence left, it’s just buried deep inside him. He knows Dally had to grow up fast, but Johnny wants Dally to know that he still has a life to live, and that he should cherish living.
Certainly it could be said that the main point of the story was about the loss of innocence. While this is a good point because Ponyboy and Johnny lost most of their innocence, it fails to account Johnny’s letter of how he wanted Pony to cherish his remaining innocence. Pony might have lost most of his innocence, but he still is a kid who takes his time to look at the