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| The boys hide out at the church for awhile, and then Two Bit comes to visit to see how they are and to give them news from home. He admits that the police are chasiing false leads, and then takes them to get some food. On the way back, they see that the church they had been staying in is burning - due to a cigeratte that hadn't been properly snuffed out. Johnny and Pony immediately go offer their help. They find that an elementary school group on a field trip of some sort decided to stop for a bit - and some kids are trapped in the burning building. Pony and Johnny go in and get the kids out - with Two Bit following behind . Sadly enough, a burning piece of the steeple hits Johnny and breaks his back. Two Bit gets a burn from dragging Pony out of the building, and Pony gets smoke inhalation. | The boys hide out at the church for awhile, and then Two Bit comes to visit to see how they are and to give them news from home. He admits that the police are chasiing false leads, and then takes them to get some food. On the way back, they see that the church they had been staying in is burning - due to a cigeratte that hadn't been properly snuffed out. Johnny and Pony immediately go offer their help. They find that an elementary school group on a field trip of some sort decided to stop for a bit - and some kids are trapped in the burning building. Pony and Johnny go in and get the kids out - with Two Bit following behind . Sadly enough, a burning piece of the steeple hits Johnny and breaks his back. Two Bit gets a burn from dragging Pony out of the building, and Pony gets smoke inhalation. | ||
| Towards the end, there's a rumble between the two rival groups - and Pony gets beat up fairly badly. Two Bit takes him to the ER - not to get Ponyboy any treatment, but to let Johnny know that they win the rumble. Unfortunately, Johnny passes away. |
Towards the end, there's a rumble between the two rival groups - and Pony gets beat up fairly badly. Two Bit takes him to the ER - not to get Ponyboy any treatment, but to let Johnny know that they win the rumble. Unfortunately, Johnny passes away. Dallas takes this very hard, runs away, attempts to rob a gas station, and then ends up getting himself killed when he runs away from the cops. | ||
| At this point, Ponyboy decides not to go "tough" and to take his studies seriously. He wants to "Stay Gold" - like Johnny urges him to do, in the letter he gives to him before he dies. The story ends with Ponyboy writing the beginning of the story. | At this point, Ponyboy decides not to go "tough" and to take his studies seriously. He wants to "Stay Gold" - like Johnny urges him to do, in the letter he gives to him before he dies. The story ends with Ponyboy writing the beginning of the story. | ||
Revision as of 03:41, 29 January 2005
For the comic book characters, see The Outsiders (comics).
The Outsiders is a novel written by S.E. Hinton and first published in 1967. Hinton wrote and had the book published when she was just 16 years old.
The book is about rival gangs from different sides of the tracks. The two gangs, the greasers and the socials, were considered to be outsiders. The groups fail to gain any standing even when they save kids from a burning church. The newspaper headlines read "Juvenile Delinquents Turn Hero".
The following is a spoiler, so beware!
The main characters are Ponyboy Michael Curtis, Johnny, Dallas, Darry, Two-Bit and Sodapop. The story is narrated by Ponyboy, who has two brothers named Darry & Sodapop. The three boys are orphaned after a tragic accident and their parents are killed. Darry is the oldest brother, who works hard to keep a roof over his brothers' heads, and tries to keep them out of the "Boys Home". Darry gets angry at Ponyboy late one evening and slaps him, which sends Ponyboy reeling out of the door and running back to the abandoned lot where his best friend is, Johnny. Johnny's parents constantly fight, so he stays away from his home as much as possible. Johnny and Ponyboy then go to a nearby playground to smoke and to let Ponyboy calm down before going back home. This is where the story takes a huge turn. The 'Socs' drive by, mainly to hassle the two greasers because they had 'picked up' two of the "Soc" girls earlier. In reality, they were just walking them home, but the 'Soc' guys were seeing red and didn't care.
The Socs proceed to chase after the two boys and manage to get Ponyboy in a headlock, and attempt to drown him. Johnny takes out his switchblade and kills one of the boys - who ends up being the boyfriend of one of the girls that Ponyboy befriends, known as "Cherry" for her red hair. Naturally, Ponyboy and Johnny are scared out of their wits, and since Pony doesn't want to risk getting thrown into a Boys' Home, or suffer Darry's wrath, he and Johnny run to seek help from Matt Dillon's character - Two Bit Matthews. Two Bit is the 'tough guy' of the group - he has a rap sheet a mile long. Pony and Johnny figure he'll know how to help them. And he does. He gives them a loaded gun, money, and directions to an abandoned church to hide out in until the boy's murder loses its steam.
The boys hide out at the church for awhile, and then Two Bit comes to visit to see how they are and to give them news from home. He admits that the police are chasiing false leads, and then takes them to get some food. On the way back, they see that the church they had been staying in is burning - due to a cigeratte that hadn't been properly snuffed out. Johnny and Pony immediately go offer their help. They find that an elementary school group on a field trip of some sort decided to stop for a bit - and some kids are trapped in the burning building. Pony and Johnny go in and get the kids out - with Two Bit following behind . Sadly enough, a burning piece of the steeple hits Johnny and breaks his back. Two Bit gets a burn from dragging Pony out of the building, and Pony gets smoke inhalation.
Towards the end, there's a rumble between the two rival groups - and Pony gets beat up fairly badly. Two Bit takes him to the ER - not to get Ponyboy any treatment, but to let Johnny know that they win the rumble. Unfortunately, Johnny passes away. Dallas takes this very hard, runs away, attempts to rob a gas station, and then ends up getting himself killed when he runs away from the cops.
At this point, Ponyboy decides not to go "tough" and to take his studies seriously. He wants to "Stay Gold" - like Johnny urges him to do, in the letter he gives to him before he dies. The story ends with Ponyboy writing the beginning of the story.
The Outsiders was #38 of the American Library Association's top 100 banned books of 1990. The book was challenged in South Milwaukee because of violence, language, drug and alcohol abuse content and "virtually all the characters were from broken homes."
A movie adaptation of the novel was made in 1983. It starred C. Thomas Howell, Matt Dillon, Ralph Macchio and many other young stars who have since gone onto greater success in the movie industry. Matt Dillon went on to star in the related film, Rumble Fish.