The Outsiders (1967) is S. E. Hinton’s first novel, which she wrote when she was a high school student. The novel addresses themes of violence, masculinity, and belonging, all of which Hinton witnessed first-hand with her childhood friends. In interviews, Hinton has explained that she saw a need for realistic books for teenage readers and decided to solve the problem herself. This coming-of-age story was inspired by her experiences growing up in Oklahoma and witnessing the rivalries between local gangs. She sees a lot of herself in her protagonist, Ponyboy, explaining: “the things that are important to him are the things that are important to me” (183).

Francis Ford Coppola directed a film adaptation released in 1983, and the novel remains popular today. When asked about its enduring popularity, Hinton offered this explanation: “Even today, the concept of the in-group and the out-group remains the same [...]. The uniforms change, and the names of the groups change, but kids really grasp how similar their situations are to Ponyboy’s” (186). Since its publication, The Outsiders has remained controversial due to its themes of violence and underage substance use; yet, in 2019, the BBC named it as one of the “100 Novels that Shaped Our World.”

Plot Summary

Fourteen-year-old Ponyboy Curtis, the youngest member of the “greaser” gang and the story’s narrator, is attacked by a group of rival Socs (SOSH-es, short for “Socials”) on his way home from the movie theater. In 1960s Tulsa, Oklahoma, the working-class greasers represent the East side of town, while the upper-class Socs represent the West side. The rest of the greasers, including Ponyboy’s older brothers Sodapop and Darry, come to Ponyboy’s rescue and chase off the Socs before they inflict too much damage.  

The following night, Ponyboy and Johnny, the gang’s quiet “pet,” go the drive-in with Dally, the most hardened and reckless greaser. There the boys meet Cherry and Marcia, two of Pony’s Soc schoolmates. Cherry spurns Dally’s brazen and obnoxious advances, and he eventually leaves, allowing Pony to genuinely connect with Cherry. Later that night, a group of Socs, including the girls’ boyfriends, Bob and Randy, ambush Johnny and Ponyboy in the park for “picking up their girls.” While one Soc tries to drown Pony in the fountain, Johnny stabs Bob with a switchblade, killing him, and scaring away the rest of the group. Panicked, the boys find Dally, who gives them money and a gun and advises them to hide out in an abandoned church in Windrixville. 

The boys spend nearly a week in hiding before Dally comes to get them. While out to eat, Dally explains that Bob’s murder has resulted in “all-out warfare” between the greasers and Socs, and that Cherry has started spying for the greasers out of guilt. When they return to the church to gather their belongings, they find that it has caught fire with several children trapped inside. Ponyboy and Johnny rescue all the children, but Ponyboy barely escapes before losing consciousness.

When he wakes, he learns that he and Dally have only suffered minor injuries, but Johnny broke his back and is in critical condition. The following night, the gangs fight in a rumble meant to settle the rivalry. The greasers win, and Pony and Dally make it to the hospital just in time to tell Johnny the news before he dies. Dally flees in a rage, leaving Pony to wander home disoriented. Dally calls the Curtis’s, explaining that he robbed a store and needs to hide from the police, so the greasers hurry to meet him in the vacant lot. They arrive in time to witness Dally deliberately pointing his unloaded gun at the officers, causing them to shoot and kill him. Pony suddenly faints and only wakes up days later because of the concussion he suffered in the rumble.

At the hearing for Bob’s murder, Cherry and Randy testify on Pony’s behalf, and he is acquitted and allowed to remain in Dally’s custody (who assumed guardianship of his brothers when their parents died in a car crash). Pony returns to school, but his grades, coordination, and memory suffer as a result of the trauma and concussion. While writing an essay for his English class, Pony opens the copy of Gone with the Wind that Johnny left him and finds a letter from his friend. Pony decides to write about his recent experiences, and the first lines of his essay are the opening lines of the novel.