The Outsiders has been a novel which I have read time and time again, but never have I ever looked at it in a coming of age eye. This unit has brought me to dig deeper and pull out even more themes from this incredible piece of literature. I’ve noticed that Ponyboy is a product of his environment, before I didn’t even put thought into it.
There are many things which have led me to believe that Ponyboy doesn’t fit in the context of the book. First off, his personality differs completely with the rest of the Greasers, or for that matter, any gang member. Ponyboy shows an emotional and thoughtful side by worrying about the safety of his friends and family, and by weeping by thinking about the situation both him and Johnnie were in after they ran away. He also shows a solitary side. For example, on page 68, Ponyboy has persuaded himself 1//2 way that he had dreamed what happened and that it wasn’t real. Also, instead of hanging out with the other guys, he goes out to the porch and thinks to himself. Yes, it could have been a product of his situation/environment, but it also could have been that he has a less social personality, unlike the other greasers. The traditional gang member that you would think of would be a huge, ruthless maniac that could kill anyone in his path. No sympathy. No empathy. In contrast to that, Ponyboy is extremely understanding and emotional. Although Ponyboy’s personality forces me to stop and think that he doesn’t fit in with the time period or place in which the book takes place, it’s not the only thing.
Another way in which Ponyboy differs from the Greasers is that he is very intelligent and literate. For instance, Johnnie buys Ponyboy a copy of Gone with the Wind because he knew that Ponyboy had wanted to read it, and so that Ponyboy would be able to read it aloud to the rest of the Greasers. Ponyboy did as planned, but when Johnnie tried to read it, he wasn’t able to. He said that there was no real story; just a tale told by Ponyboy. As if reading a book was real! By being able to read Gone with the Wind, Ponyboy shows the Greasers, and the reader, that he was the most scholastically advanced and literate out of all of the characters. It’s almost as if he was learning from rich education.
The major reason for why I feel that Ponyboy is a product of his situation is that if you were to take his character and place him into almost any other situation, he would probably fit. In fact, he seems as if he had grown up in a richer family than he did; would he fit in with the Socs if he was part of them? I would even venture to say that he seems displaced in the Greasers; the Greasers are made up of trouble making, less fortunate people with “no future” while Ponyboy could have a successful future ahead of him. He’s not given enough support though. Growing up with no parents was a real detriment to him.
Now that I’m over halfway through with The Outsiders, I can see many themes that correspond with this book, but most of all, I can tell how relatable many parts of the story is; the situation of being a product of your environment is an issue in William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Another thing I can relate this book to is my life. I can see Ponyboy as a sort of stand out, I can’t quite see what for, but I can see it. The problem is that he doesn’t have enough backing from home (I understand that it isn’t anyone’s fault). I do many extra activities where I see standouts; music, baseball, school, etc., and many could be so much better at what they do than they are, but they don’t have enough parental support. Overall, The Outsiders is a pleasure to read over and over again, because no matter how many times you read it, you’ll always notice something different that you never noticed before.
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