BOOK REPORT: THE OUTSIDERS

This great story of "The Outsiders" written by S.E. Hinton is about Ponyboy Curtis and his brothers, Sodapop and Darry, belong to a group of poor teenage boys called greasers. They often fight with the Socs, the group of wealthy, privileged boys who beat them up for fun. Ponyboy is shy and quiet. He gets good grades and likes to draw and read. His oldest brother Darry takes care of the family since their parents died in a car crash. He is very serious, works most of the time, and is very hard on Ponyboy. He often yells at him to do better in school. Soda, the middle brother, is happy most of the time, and is very handsome and likable. 

There are a few other members of their gang, including Dally and Johnny. Dally is one of the oldest, and certainly the toughest. He seems to enjoy being a criminal. He thinks the law is a joke. His parents abuse him, so he always seems scared. He is the pet of the group. Recently, Johnny was beat up very badly by a Soc wearing heavy rings. One night, Dally, Johnny and Pony meet two beautiful Soc girls, Cherry and Marcia. The four of them have a good conversation. On the way home, the girls' boyfriends catch them all together. It turns out that Cherry's boyfriend is Bob, the same boy who beat Johnny up. Later that night, Ponyboy comes in late and gets into such a fight with Darry that he runs to the park with Johnny just to get away from the house. Bob and his friends find Pony and Johnny there, and nearly drown Pony in a fountain. Terrified and angry, Johnny stabs Bob to deathThe two boys run to find Dally, knowing he will know what to do. He gives them money and tells them to hide in a church a short distance out of town. They stay there for a few days, reading to each other and talking about poetry and sunsets. When Dallas comes to find them, they tell him they want to turn themselves in. Before they can, however, the church catches fire and several small children are trapped inside.

Without thinking, the boys rescue them, and a large piece of burning wood falls on Johnny and breaks his back. Pony spends a short time in the hospital, then gets to go home. That evening there is a big fight between the greasers and the Socs, which the greasers win. Cherry, meanwhile, has become a spy for the greasers, which pleases Ponyboy but also angers him: he doesn't want charity. After the rumble, Dally and Ponyboy go to see Johnny, who dies, telling Pony never to lose his spirit. Dally is overwhelmed, and runs out of the hospital. Soon after, back at home, Darry and the others get a phone call from Dally. He has robbed a liquor store. The boys run out to find him and hide him, but the police are chasing him. He pulls out a gun. Pony boy knows it isn't loaded, but he knows that Dally knows the police think it is. The police shoot Dally, . Pony faints and stays sick for nearly a week. Ponyboy is so upset by Johnny's death that for weeks he pretends to himself and everyone else that he himself killed Bob, and that Johnny is still alive. After the trial, however, when the judge decides that Ponyboy did nothing wrong, Pony begins to admit to himself that Dally and Johnny are both dead. He decides to write about himself for a class assignment, so he can let other people know what life for a greaser is like. He is sure that there are many boys across the country just like him. He also recognizes, finally, that Darry loves him. He sees that Darry was just being overprotective when he yelled at him. He feels that, for the first time, he and his two brothers form a family.

I really liked this book. This book proves that a life a gangster is not what people think it is. It requires you to sacrifice a lot of things like family, love, and education. All gangs cause trouble. I hope the next book I read is as good as this one.