The Outsiders

11/9/2011

5 Comments

 
I started to read it late Saturday night, as a bid to summon sleep.  I ended up staying awake later than I have in weeks to finish it.  I can't quite believe that I made it through 22 years and the full gamut of American education without ever reading The Outsiders.  It was short, simple, occasionally wrenching but sweet.  I know that S. E. Hinton's well-drawn characters and relatable but not heavy-handed message will become part of my lexicon, as other beloved books have.

Best of all, I felt a glowing pride that I think I- we- have "stayed gold," as Ponyboy's friend admonishes towards the end of the novel.  It may sound cheesy and trite, but- we watch sunsets.  I hope we always will.

I know others must have read The Outsiders, maybe years ago (I liked the book now, but I think I would have found it really timely had I read it at 17).  What characters do you love?  Which parts do you hate?  Who, in the end, was truly gallant?

Stay gold,
LC
5 Comments
Joey
11/10/2011 10:15:20 am

I've never heard of The Outsiders. Is it a book many people read in high school?

There is a song by the same name (but probably totally unrelated) by R.E.M. I wanted to post a link to it, but I'm frustrated to find that there are no good versions of it up on YouTube. I'd recommend going to Grooveshark.com and searching for it and listening to it there. It's an awesome song.

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Lillian
11/13/2011 12:09:21 pm

I think it's a pretty common junior high/high school book, on the lines of "The Catcher in the Rye." It's on the curriculum at a number of the Chicago Public Schools, although obviously it wasn't on my curriculum growing up so I don't know how common it was for other PLSers.

There's also a well-known movie adaptation that launched the careers of Tom Cruise, Patrick Swayze, and a few other 80s stars.

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Adam F.
11/14/2011 01:27:37 pm

I think I read it in 7th grade... I can't really remember the plot at all (Ponyboy sounds familiar, though), but I remember thinking that the book was awesome.

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Conor
11/26/2011 09:30:48 am

I'm teaching it to my 7th graders in a few months!

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Lillian
11/26/2011 03:06:11 pm

Conor, that's awesome! I loved it, if the above post did not make that clear. I guess 7th grade is the magic time to read "The Outsiders" - I read it at the recommendation of one of the 7th graders I tutor.

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