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Literature: The Outsiders

"Stay gold, Ponyboy, stay gold."

— Johnny Cade

A Coming of Age Story from The Sixties told by the youngest member of a Troubled, but Cute greaser group of True Companions. Written by S. E. Hinton, then a sixteen-year-old girl.

Ponyboy (yes, that's his real name) lives with his brothers Darrel and Sodapop (yes, it "even says so on his birth certificate"). Darrel (but everyone calls him Darry) is the leader of a gang of boys, all in various degrees of poverty and Parental Abandonment: Steve, Sodapop's best friend; the nonstop joker Two-Bit (for once, not his real name); Dallas, who served his first jail sentence when he was ten years old; and Johnny, a quiet, sweet kid from an abusive home whom everybody protects like a puppy.

The greasers' rival gang is the Socs (short for "Socials," pronounced "Soashes"), rich "white trash with Mustangs and madras." Getting jumped and defending himself is a fact of life for Ponyboy, one made evident in the first pages of the book. The trouble really starts, however, when Johnny and Ponyboy pick up two girls from the Socs' side of the tracks (Cherry and Marcia) at the movies. Cherry's boyfriend, Bob, and his friends come after them later in a nearby park, and Bob nearly drowns Ponyboy. Johnny comes to his rescue with a blade, and Ponyboy survives... but Bob doesn't. Realizing there's no way greasers like themselves are going to get away with killing a Soc, even in self-defense, the boys run to their friend with the most experience in crime, Dallas. Dallas gives them some money and directions on where to run and hide (an abandoned church in Windrixville) until things die down.

We won't give away the rest, but it involves more deaths, a fire, the ultimate gang rumble to end all rumbles, the pain and sorrow of love and friendship, a complete emotional and mental breakdown for Ponyboy, and a poem by Robert Frost.

Unexpectedly, given the genre, very light on the angst. The Outsiders have it rough, but nobody's Emo about it.

Was followed by several sequels, of which Rumble Fish is the best known, and, of course, a rather faithful film adaptation by Francis Ford Coppola (with some awesome music) in which S. E. Hinton herself was directly involved.

Not to be confused with The Outsiders, a superhero team in The DCU, or the tag team of Kevin Nash and Scott Hall.

Also not to be confused with The Stranger, whose title is often translated as The Outsider. Very different from H. P. Lovecraft's short story "The Outsider".

The film got its own sequel in 1990, which also served as the pilot episode to a short-lived, little known TV Series.

Tropes include:

A Friend in Need
Abusive Parents: Both of Johnny's.
- As well as Steve's father.
- Also the Soc who beat up Johnny before the story began. Bob's parents were very indulgent and never disciplined their son.
Aerith and Bob: Inverted with brothers Ponyboy, Sodapop, and Darrel. It helps to set Darrel apart from his brothers�his Promotion to Parent made him much more serious than they are.
Adult Fear: Older readers can better appreciate Darry's fear that Ponyboy and Sodapop will be taken away from him.
All Girls Want Bad Boys: Cherry has stated that she better not see Dallas Winston again or else she might fall in love with him.
- Not to mention the fact that her boyfriend Bob isn't exactly a law-abiding first-rate citizen.
All-Star Cast: Patrick Swayze, Tom Cruise, Matt Dillon, Rob Lowe, C. Thomas Howell, Ralph Macchio, Emilio Estevez, Leif Garrett and Diane Lane are all in the movie.
Aloof Big Brother: Ponyboy feels that his oldest brother Darry is this, being the unofficial leader of their group and always criticizing Ponyboy. But Ponyboy eventually realises that Darry actually cares very much for him and only wants the best for him.
Arc Words: "Stay gold."
Asshole Victim: Bob.
Battle in the Rain: The rumble scene.
Beware the Nice Ones or Beware the Quiet Ones: Johnny may be the quietest, most law-abiding of the greasers, but push him too far and as Bob found out, you could get killed.
Big Bad: The Socs, probably the closest to being the main antagonists of the story.
Big Brother Instinct: The whole gang towards Johnny, since his family couldn't care less. Also Darry and Soda toward Ponyboy, though Darry shows his concern for his brother mostly by yelling at him when he does something stupid.
Bishōnen: Sodapop.
Book Ends: "When I stepped out into the bright sunlight from the darkness of the movie house, I had only two things on my mind: Paul Newman and a ride home..."
Calling the Old Man Out: Frustratingly averted with Johnny's parents.
- Though it was played straight in the movie where Two-Bit angrily calls out Johnny's mother for being a lousy mother.
Chekhov's Gun: A literal version in Dallas's unloaded gun.
Cloud Cuckoo Lander: Ponyboy, to a degree.
Cool Car: Dally's car in the movie.
Despair Event Horizon: After Johnny dies in the hospital Dallas loses it and robs a nearby store. After the cops catch up to thim, he points his unloaded gun at them.
Don't Split Us Up: This was the primary concern for Darry, who feared that if he was deemed an unfit guardian for his brothers, they would be taken away and put in foster care.
Dye or Die: Ponyboy had to cut and bleach his hair since descriptions of him were printed. He doesn't like it.
Dysfunction Junction: Almost all the greasers fit here. Ponyboy and his brothers lost their parents to a car accident. Steve has an abusive father. Both of Johnny's parents are abusive and don't care about him. Dally had a growing criminal record which started when he was ten and used to run with gangs in New York. So far, Two-Bit seems to be immune.
Mr. Fanservice: Pretty much everyone in the film adaptation.
Fascinating Eyebrow: Most notably Two-Bit.
Famous Last Words: Johnny Cade: "Stay gold, Ponyboy. Stay gold."
Fiery Redhead: Cherry.
The Film of the Book: Almost entirely faithful to the original novel, with some great music. S. E. Hinton was actually the location scout; she even took out all of the non-dialogue parts of the novel to create the movie's script!
Final Battle: The rumble.
Foil: Dallas for Johnny.
Gang of Hats: Socs and greasers.
- The greasers aren't so much a gang as a social class—Ponyboy says himself that they're mostly groups of friends who stick together. The same could be argued for the Socs, though some of them are said to belong to social clubs.
Getting Crap Past the Radar: When Johnny and Ponyboy go to Dally, he's at a party and says he was in the bedrooms. Ponyboy then starts blushing as he "remembers what usually happens in the bedrooms at Buck's parties." But Dally was just sleeping.
Gosh Dang It to Heck!: The lack of cursing generally isn't that conspicuous, but in the beginning of the book, when one of the Socs mugging Ponyboy says, "For Pete's sake!", suspension of disbelief is stretched a bit.
- Justified in that Ponyboy is writing the book as a paper for school, and probably wouldn't be too keen on dropping f-bombs in something his teacher would be grading him on.
Go Out with a Smile: Dallas does this when he dies, falling to the ground.
Grease Monkey: Steve.
Greaser Delinquents: The main protagonists of the book and movie
Have a Gay Old Time: The word "Ponyboy" nowadays can be used as a slang term for a man who is well endowed.
Heroes Want Redheads: Cherry.
Heroic Fire Rescue: It earns the main characters the respect of the town and a front-page article. Sadly, Johnny eventually dies from the injuries sustained in the flames.
Heroic RROD / Heroic BSOD: Ponyboy, who collapses after Johnny's death and Dallas's Suicide by Cop. He spends the next few weeks either asleep or delirious.
Heterosexual Life Partners: Soda and Steve have been best friends since childhood and remain very close.
I Heard That / Right Behind Me: Darry to Steve.
Steve: So where is Soda and Super-Dope (Darry) anyhow?
Darry: -just walking in— Superwhat?!
Ironic Echo: When Ponyboy comes back from the drive-in late, Darrel yells at him for saying that he didn't mean to. On the exact same page, after he hits Ponyboy, who runs away, he says, "I didn't mean to!"
I Should Write a Book About This: The entire novel was written in-universe by Ponyboy as a project for school.
Improperly Placed Firearms: In the movie Dallas has a civilian S&W Model 10, which he gives to Ponyboy and Johnny, and a Model 39. In 1966 it would be harder to get the latter than, say, a 1911.
In-Series Nickname: Johnnycake. Which only serves to make Johnny sound even sweeter.
Jerk Ass: Most of the Socs, minus Cherry and Randy.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Dallas and Darry.
Jump Scare: Played for Laughs when someone grabs Johnny and Ponyboy in the drive-in theater, saying "Greasers, you've had it." It's just Two-Bit, imitating a menacing Soc.
Karmic Death: Bob.
Kill the Cutie: Johnny, always the gang's pet and the only thing Dally ever loved.
Large Ham: Dallas is this at times in the movie, mainly with "Let's do it for Johnny!", which is also kinda Narm-y.
Literary Agent Hypothesis
Lonely Rich Kid: All of the Socs.
Lovable Rogue: Dallas, again.
Meaningful Name: The author literally spells it out when innocent martyr Johnny Cade signs a message with his initials.
Middle Child Syndrome: Averted with Sodapop. But another problem springs forth with him being the middleman between Darry and Ponyboy's arguments.
Morality Pet: Johnny for Dallas, which Dallas can't stand and is why he kills himself when Johnny dies.
Moustache de Plume: S. E. Hinton, thinking no one would read a gang novel by a woman named Susan.
My God, What Have I Done?: Darry, when he hit Ponyboy, causing him to run away.
Narrative Profanity Filter: The author will often say that "he cussed him out" or "cursed under his breath", or something else to that effect.
Not So Stoic: Dally doesn't seem to care about anything or anyone, and doesn't express much emotion besides anger — until Johnny dies.
Panty Shot: In The Film of the Book, Two-Bit pulls up a female Soc's skirt, revealing her white panties.
Papa Wolf: Darry, Sodapop, Dally, and even Johnny have shades of this, mostly towards Ponyboy.
Promotion to Parent: Darry.
Rare Guns: In the movie version, every gun the protagonists use is made by Smith & Wesson.
Screw the Rules, I Have Money!: The Socs.
Shirtless Scene: Dallas in The Film of the Book; a nurse (played by S. E. Hinton herself) even comments he should be wearing a hospital gown, but he casually responds, "I threw it away."
- Not to mention a gratuitous Fanservice moment of Sodapop getting out of the shower and just barely getting a Modesty Towel on.
The Sixties: The book was written in 1965, published in 1967, and The Film of the Book was done as a period piece set in 1966.
Slobs Versus Snobs
Spoiled Brat: Bob. Randy even states that if his parents had disciplined him once in awhile, he'd probably still be alive.
Spoiled Sweet: Cherry Valance. She is a cheerleader at her high school, as well as being a Soc. But she is friendly to Ponyboy and Johnny and generally likes them as individuals.
Suicide by Cop: Dallas.
There Are No Therapists: Probably all the boys would have needed one. Especially Johnny.
Tragic Dropout: Darry gets a menial job in order to take care of his younger siblings after their parents die, instead of going on to college.
Troubled, but Cute: The entire main cast.
True Companions
The Un Favourite: Ponyboy feels that older brother Darry cares only for Sodapop and that he is only another mouth to feed. However, he is proven wrong and Darry was strict on Ponyboy because he wants the best for Ponyboy and for him to succeed in life.
Watching the Sunset: Both Cherry and Ponyboy do.
Weapon For Intimidation: Dally's revolver. It's not actually loaded, and he states that he uses it to scare people and that's all. This comes back to him when he raises the unloaded gun at the police after Johnny dies to get a Suicide by Cop.
What Do You Mean, It's Not Symbolic?: Johnny Cade dying to save children in a burning building. Not symbolic? Look again at his initials.
- In a church no less.
What Happened to the Mouse?: Cherry possibly falling in love with Dally is mentioned a total of once and never again.
Who Names Their Kid "Dude"?: Again, Ponyboy and Sodapop are their actual names. Cherry remarks how 'original' they are.
Wrong Side of the Tracks
Your Cheating Heart: Sodapop's girlfriend was pregnant with another man's child.
Your Door Was Open: Justified, as at least two members of the gang frequently need a place to stay. When one character worries about the house being robbed, Darrel states that he would rather risk robbery than have one of the gang members go crazy and do something that earned them serious jail time. Besides, they have nothing to steal.