The Outsiders

THE ICONIC INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER WITH OVER 25 MILLION COPIES SOLD • The inspiration for the Tony Award–winning Broadway musical! A heroic coming-of-age novel revolving around friendship, belonging, and brotherhood that has touched the hearts of readers for generations.

“The Outsiders transformed young-adult fiction.”—The New York Times

“This remarkable novel gives a moving, credible view of the outsiders from the inside. . . . A book with a powerful message.”—The Horn Book

“Stay gold, Ponyboy.”

No one ever said life was easy. But Ponyboy is pretty sure that he's got things figured out. He knows that he can count on his brothers, Darry and Sodapop. And he knows that he can count on his friends—true friends who would do anything for him, like Johnny and Two-Bit. But not on much else besides trouble with the Socs, a vicious gang of rich kids whose idea of a good time is beating up on “greasers” like Ponyboy. At least he knows what to expect—until the night someone takes things too far.

The Outsiders is a dramatic and enduring work of young adult fiction that laid the groundwork for the genre. S. E. Hinton’s classic novel of a boy who finds himself on the outskirts of regular society remains as powerful today as it was the day it was first published.

Susan Eloise Hinton's career as an author began while she was still a student at Will Rogers High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Disturbed by the divisions among her schoolmates into two groups--the Greasers and the Socs--Hinton wrote The Outsiders, an honest, sometimes shocking novel told from the point of view of an orphaned 14-year-old Greaser named Ponyboy Curtis. Since her narrator was male, it was decided that Hinton use only her first initials so as not to put off boys who would not normally read books written by women. The Outsiders was published during Hinton's freshman year at the University of Tulsa, and was an immediate sensation.Today, with more than eight million copies in print, the book is the best-selling young adult novel of all time, and one of the most hauntingly powerful views into the thoughts and feelings of teenagers. The book was also made into a film, directed by Francis Ford Coppola and featuring such future stars as Emilio Estevez, Patrick Swayze, Matt Dillon, and Tom Cruise.Once published, The Outsiders gave her a lot of publicity and fame, and also a lot of pressure. S.E. Hinton was becoming known as "The Voice of the Youth" among other titles. This kind of pressure and publicity resulted in a three year long writer's block.Her boyfriend (and now, her husband), who had gotten sick of her being depressed all the time, eventually broke this block. He made her write two pages a day if she wanted to go anywhere. This eventually led to That Was Then, This Is Now.In the years since, Ms. Hinton has married and now has a teenaged son, Nick. She continues to write, with such smash successes as That Was Then, This Is Now, Rumble Fish and Tex, almost as well known as The Outsiders. She still lives in Tulsa with her husband and son, where she enjoys writing, riding horses, and taking courses at the university.In a wonderful tribute to Hinton's distinguished 30-year writing career, the American Library Association and School Library Journal bestowed upon her their first annual Margaret A. Edwards Award, which honors authors whose "book or books, over a period of time, have been accepted by young people as an authentic voice that continues to illuminate their experiences and emotions, giving insight into their lives."

"The Outsiders transformed young-adult fiction from a genre mostly about prom queens, football players and high school crushes to one that portrayed a darker, truer world." —The New York Times

"Taut with tension, filled with drama." —The Chicago Tribune

"[A] classic coming-of-age book." —Philadelphia Daily News

"What it's like to live lonely and unwanted and cornered by circumstance...There is rawness and violence here, but honest hope, too." —National Observer

"This remarkable novel gives a moving, credible view of the outsiders from the inside...we meet powerful characters in a book with a powerful message." —The Horn Book

A New York Herald Tribune Best Teenage Book
A Chicago Tribune Book World Spring Book Festival Honor Book
An ALA Best Book for Young Adults
Winner of the Massachusetts Children's Book Award

S. E. Hinton’s The Outsiders is a powerful coming-of-age novel about friendship, class conflict, violence, loyalty, grief, and the painful process of growing up. First published in 1967, the novel became an important work of young adult literature because it treats teenagers not as simple heroes or troublemakers, but as complicated young people trying to find love, dignity, and belonging in a world that often judges them by their social class. The story is narrated by Ponyboy Curtis, a fourteen-year-old boy who belongs to a working-class gang known as the Greasers. Through Ponyboy’s eyes, Hinton shows how easily social divisions can turn ordinary differences into fear, hatred, and violence.

Ponyboy lives with his two older brothers, Darry and Sodapop, after the death of their parents. Darry, the oldest, has taken responsibility for keeping the family together. Although he deeply loves Ponyboy, his strictness often makes Ponyboy feel that Darry does not understand him. Sodapop, by contrast, is warm and affectionate, serving as a bridge between the two brothers. Their family is poor, but the three brothers have formed a strong emotional bond. Ponyboy also has a larger group of friends—the Greasers, including Johnny Cade, Dallas “Dally” Winston, Two-Bit Mathews, Steve Randle, and Sodapop. Each boy has his own personality and problems, but they share the feeling that they belong to the wrong side of town.

The Greasers are constantly in conflict with the Socs, short for Socials, who come from wealthier families. The two groups differ in money, appearance, and opportunities, but the novel makes it clear that their emotional lives are not as different as they initially seem. The Socs have cars, nice clothes, and comfortable homes, while the Greasers struggle financially. Yet wealth does not protect the Socs from loneliness, confusion, or unhappiness. Ponyboy gradually begins to understand that both groups are made up of young people carrying burdens that others cannot see.

The conflict becomes tragic when Ponyboy and Johnny encounter a group of Socs in a park. The Socs attack Ponyboy and nearly drown him in a fountain. Johnny, terrified that Ponyboy will be killed, stabs Bob, one of the Socs, and Bob dies. This moment changes everything. Johnny and Ponyboy are no longer simply teenagers involved in a neighborhood rivalry; they are frightened boys facing the consequences of a violent act. With Dally’s help, they hide in an abandoned church in the countryside.

Their time in the church becomes one of the most important parts of the novel. Away from the streets and gang conflict, Ponyboy and Johnny have an opportunity to think about their lives. Ponyboy reads Gone with the Wind to Johnny, and the two talk about poetry, dreams, and the possibility of a different future. Ponyboy also remembers Robert Frost’s poem “Nothing Gold Can Stay.” The idea of “gold” becomes symbolic of innocence, beauty, and the fragile goodness that exists before life’s hardships destroy it.

During their stay, the boys cut and bleach Ponyboy’s hair so they will be harder to recognize. This seemingly small change has deeper meaning: Ponyboy is temporarily separated from the identity he normally carries as a Greaser. He begins to see himself less as a member of a group and more as an individual. Johnny, meanwhile, reveals how much he fears the violence and neglect surrounding his own home life. Their friendship becomes deeper because both boys understand what it feels like to be vulnerable.

Their hiding place is destroyed when the church catches fire while children are nearby. Ponyboy and Johnny rush into the burning building to rescue them. The boys become unexpected heroes, showing that courage and compassion exist even in people society labels as criminals or delinquents. Johnny is badly injured while saving the children, and his condition becomes critical.

When Ponyboy returns home, he is caught between relief and grief. The gang conflict has escalated, and a rumble between the Greasers and Socs is planned. The rumble is supposed to settle the rivalry, but the novel shows how meaningless such violence really is. The Greasers win, but their victory brings no happiness. Johnny is dying in the hospital, and Ponyboy is emotionally overwhelmed. Before Johnny dies, he tells Ponyboy to “stay gold,” encouraging him to preserve his sensitivity and goodness rather than becoming hardened by violence.

Johnny’s death devastates Ponyboy, but the tragedy does not end there. Dally, who has always appeared tough and emotionally detached, is unable to cope with losing Johnny. Johnny was perhaps the one person he truly loved and wanted to protect. After committing a robbery, Dally deliberately forces the police to confront him and is shot and killed. Ponyboy realizes that beneath Dally’s violent exterior was a deeply wounded young man who had never learned how to deal with love and loss.

The deaths of Johnny and Dally leave Ponyboy struggling to understand what has happened. He becomes physically and emotionally ill and begins failing at school. His grief makes him question his own identity and future. Eventually, however, Ponyboy discovers Johnny’s final message and begins to understand what Johnny wanted for him. Rather than allowing tragedy to destroy him, Ponyboy decides to tell their story.

This leads to the novel’s circular ending. Ponyboy begins writing an English assignment about his experiences, and the words that become The Outsiders emerge from that attempt to make sense of his life. Storytelling becomes a form of healing. By telling what happened to Johnny, Dally, and the other Greasers, Ponyboy can preserve their humanity and perhaps help other people understand teenagers who are too easily dismissed as troublemakers.

The central message of The Outsiders is that people are more complicated than the labels society gives them. Greaser and Soc are social identities, not complete descriptions of human beings. Ponyboy learns that empathy can cross class boundaries, that violence rarely solves the problems that create it, and that innocence and compassion are worth protecting. Hinton’s greatest achievement is the humanity she gives her characters. They make mistakes, fight, love, fear, and grieve like real young people.

In the end, The Outsiders is not simply a story about rival gangs. It is a story about young people searching for a place in the world. Ponyboy’s journey from fear and confusion toward understanding shows that growing up does not mean becoming hard or losing one’s sensitivity. Sometimes, it means learning to see other people more clearly—and finding the courage to remain “gold” even after life has given you every reason not to.