Friendship and Family

Friendship and family takes a lot of commitment and emotion, but you still stand up for each other, and sometimes you gain someone or lose them, and that’s exactly what happens in the novel, ‘The Outsiders’, by S.E. Hinton. This book is a tale about two different classifications of kids, the Greasers and the Socs. We read from the point of view of the main protagonist, Ponyboy Curtis. He is a fourteen year old boy whose world is turned upside down by a series of over-whelming and tear jerking events. Ponyboy is then asked to write a story, and he considers writing his, in order to help other teens.

We are all the same on the inside, we only face different situations and scenarios to lead to certain circumstances. Ponyboy would only fight in self defense, but believes there’s no real reason to have a dispute or a brawl. “It seemed funny to me that the sunset she saw from her patio, and the one I saw from the back steps were the same one. Maybe the two worlds we lived in weren’t so different.” (Pg. 41) We physically see things the same way, just in a different perspectives, and so, this quote tells us that Ponyboy is slowly starting to realize that we’re all just human beings. Ponyboy could use this experience of connection in his essay, explaining how all people are struggling with their own hardships. It enhances the saying ‘treat others the way you want to be treated’.

One struggle many people face is the loss of a loved one, and expressing to others that they’re not alone can really aid them, and help them connect more to Ponyboy’s story. “Oh, damnit Johnny, don’t die, please don’t die…” (Pg. 149) One of the supporting characters named Johnny is the pet of the gang, the one everyone looks out for, but he dies from a tragic accident. This affects the entire gang, because Johnny was a part of their family. Many people suffer emotionally from events like this, someone they once knew and loved suddenly being stripped away from them. Since this subject is such an empathetic and understandable hardship for many, Pony can reach out to others and enlighten them and make them psychologically and possibly physically better.

Another relatable subject for readers is family. It’s one of the things that make us human, it can bring us together or tear us apart. Either way, it makes us feel emotion. “Darry did care about me, maybe as much as he cared about Soda, and because he cared he was trying too hard to make something of me.” (Pg. 98) Pony used to be in a situation where he thought his eldest brother, Darry, didn’t care about him. So, this made Pony more tense, but after his journey he finally realises that Darry does have concern about him, and now, it’s taken a huge load off of his shoulders. Family is another relatable topic for people to understand. More readers can be touched Pony’s family and friend based story, and start to be more loving and others and see that