The Outsiders Final Essay
Author's note: This essay is about the theme dynamic or static characters. This theme is common in the book "The Outsiders" and I am demonstrating it.
What’s the difference between a static character, and a dynamic character? Ponyboy Curtis is one of the main characters in the book “The Outsiders”. By author S.E Hinton, and he is either a dynamic character which is a person who changes a lot throughout the story, or he is a static character who just pretty much stays the same and has the same opinions as before. His brother’s are Darry and Sodapop Curtis. During the whole story, it is just a letter narrated by Ponyboy that is telling the story. Ponyboy is a dynamic character for several different reasons.
Although the people around him are static characters, Ponyboy is different than most of the Greasers changing his opinion. We first see him change in Chapter two when he meets Cherry Valance. He changes because Greasers usually seem tough and mean, and known for that, but when he talks to Cherry he is nice and sweet, not like most of his friends. For example in chapter two when he is talking to Cherry he said “we still hang around rodeos a lot. I’ve seen you two barrel race. You’re good.” That shows that he has a sensitive, nice side of him and even from the start you could tell he liked Cherry, because of the way he acted. Ponyboy also changes when he wants to be in the rumble because he doesn’t really like to fight. That really surprised me because he doesn’t seem like the kid that would want to fight or hurt anybody. He was arguing with his older, protective brother Darry to get him to let him go to the rumble, and participate in this event.
Even if Darry won’t let Ponyboy go to the rumble, this is the connection I made. Sometimes mine and my friend’s parents don’t let us do things we want to because it might be dangerous or I don’t even know because I don’t understand parents. But this part of the book reminds me of family, because I can relate to how Ponyboy feels when he can’t do something fun that he was looking forward to.
Throughout this whole book, Ponyboy changed, because in the beginning, he thought Darry hated him, but by the end, he realized that all Darry was trying to do is look after him as a good father figure. Another way he changed is that he eventually noticed that after talking to Randy, he realized that there wasn’t that much of a difference between Greasers, and Socs. They are all just people he thought. Over all he just matured. He just basically grows up and made realizations that being the youngest off all Greasers, it is good because not even the older Greasers would understand, by going through a really hard two weeks or so, with everything piling on since one of his good friend Johnny’s death occurred.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Monday, November 21, 2011
Themes of the Outsiders
The Themes of The Outsiders
Authors Note:
The Outsiders is a novel that my Language arts class was required to read. At first I thought it was kind of not my type and I didn’t really understand the message that it was trying to send. This book turned out to be a very good read. I feel as if there are three themes in the book.
“Stay gold, Ponyboy, Stay Gold” said Johnny as he was slipping away into eternal life. This was his last words to poor Ponyboy, the Greaser who was also known as a brother of Johnny and the rest of the gang. The innocents slipped out of his body the way you would have expected a cold blooded killer to do so. The only difference was Johnny was not a cold blooded killer he was a young man who lost his innocents as a child, and had gang members for a family. He had been stereo typed from the time he was a Greaser until the day he died on his hospital bed.
The three themes for the Outsiders are, Loss of innocents, Family and stereotypes. The greasers all had hard up bringing some from broken homes and others had to raise themselves. Family is often times thought of as, your biological mother and her brothers and sisters, your biological father and his brothers and sisters, and you biological Grandparents. This is not true for the Greasers. Family. Friends are family for them. Dally, Darry, Johnny, Sodapop, and Ponyboy are all greasers. They are a “Gang” or as they call themselves brothers. Family is the people who love you, care for you, and will always be there for you. This is what the greasers have always thought.
Loss of innocents. The loss of childhood often occurs when the child becomes an adult at age 18.This is not true for the Greasers. They have been picking fights and getting themselves into trouble from an early age. Although I can see why they do what they do, it isn’t right what some of them do. Their parents are absent from their life and they have to fend for themselves. Darry, Sodapop and Ponyboy Curtis' parents died in a car accident when they were younger. Ever since they have become greasers and have gotten into trouble. The greasers have all lost their innocents when they became a “gang” member. Darry was borderline-Soc; Star football player, good grades, but after the devastating death of his parents he had to throw all that away to become the father figure of his two younger brothers. Even though Darry was a little tough on his brothers, it turns out he only wants the best for them.
That brings me to the third theme, Stereo typing. I have had stereo typing in my life, I have been stereo typed as dumb because I am a cheerleader, and I have also been stereo typed because of someone I use to hang out with. This effected my life in a negative way. The same way with the greasers. They we stereo typed because of their broken homes and they way they sometimes would act. Also the greasers were stereo typed as bad people, let me ask you this. Would a “bad” person run into a burning church to save children? Yes it might have been an act for self proclaim but he still did it. Stereo tying is one of the lead concepts in this book.
The book the Outsiders has three themes, Family, Stereo Typing and Loss of Innocents. All three of these are key in understanding this novel. The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton is an eye opening story about two groups and how they act and react to their life styles and the lifestyle of others. This book is a great read and it truly shows what really matters.
Authors Note:
The Outsiders is a novel that my Language arts class was required to read. At first I thought it was kind of not my type and I didn’t really understand the message that it was trying to send. This book turned out to be a very good read. I feel as if there are three themes in the book.
“Stay gold, Ponyboy, Stay Gold” said Johnny as he was slipping away into eternal life. This was his last words to poor Ponyboy, the Greaser who was also known as a brother of Johnny and the rest of the gang. The innocents slipped out of his body the way you would have expected a cold blooded killer to do so. The only difference was Johnny was not a cold blooded killer he was a young man who lost his innocents as a child, and had gang members for a family. He had been stereo typed from the time he was a Greaser until the day he died on his hospital bed.
The three themes for the Outsiders are, Loss of innocents, Family and stereotypes. The greasers all had hard up bringing some from broken homes and others had to raise themselves. Family is often times thought of as, your biological mother and her brothers and sisters, your biological father and his brothers and sisters, and you biological Grandparents. This is not true for the Greasers. Family. Friends are family for them. Dally, Darry, Johnny, Sodapop, and Ponyboy are all greasers. They are a “Gang” or as they call themselves brothers. Family is the people who love you, care for you, and will always be there for you. This is what the greasers have always thought.
Loss of innocents. The loss of childhood often occurs when the child becomes an adult at age 18.This is not true for the Greasers. They have been picking fights and getting themselves into trouble from an early age. Although I can see why they do what they do, it isn’t right what some of them do. Their parents are absent from their life and they have to fend for themselves. Darry, Sodapop and Ponyboy Curtis' parents died in a car accident when they were younger. Ever since they have become greasers and have gotten into trouble. The greasers have all lost their innocents when they became a “gang” member. Darry was borderline-Soc; Star football player, good grades, but after the devastating death of his parents he had to throw all that away to become the father figure of his two younger brothers. Even though Darry was a little tough on his brothers, it turns out he only wants the best for them.
That brings me to the third theme, Stereo typing. I have had stereo typing in my life, I have been stereo typed as dumb because I am a cheerleader, and I have also been stereo typed because of someone I use to hang out with. This effected my life in a negative way. The same way with the greasers. They we stereo typed because of their broken homes and they way they sometimes would act. Also the greasers were stereo typed as bad people, let me ask you this. Would a “bad” person run into a burning church to save children? Yes it might have been an act for self proclaim but he still did it. Stereo tying is one of the lead concepts in this book.
The book the Outsiders has three themes, Family, Stereo Typing and Loss of Innocents. All three of these are key in understanding this novel. The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton is an eye opening story about two groups and how they act and react to their life styles and the lifestyle of others. This book is a great read and it truly shows what really matters.
Monday, November 14, 2011
Letter to Ponyboy
Author's note: This is a letter from Dally to Ponyboy to tell him the anger he feels towards him to listen to his brothers.
Dear Ponyboy,
The anger I feel for you and Johnny is intense. It burns within like the fire we saved the children from. Johnny and Dally, and Sodapop Curtis- saving children’s lives… The fire inside subsides when I think of them, those children, children with a chance to grow old, whether they are greasers or socs, whether they made the same mistakes we did or the socs mistakes. I guess Johnny was right when he said “we were just ‘people’”. The anger that blares up is when I think of Johnny, he’s got no one. Just us. A lot of good that would do him now. A part of me wishes we never drove by that church. Never saw a thing. Never heard children cry. I think we would all be alive! He will probably die, you know. Ponyboy, you have a chance- listen to your brothers. You have always had a good heart, just please, listen to your brothers.
From, Dally.
Dear Ponyboy,
The anger I feel for you and Johnny is intense. It burns within like the fire we saved the children from. Johnny and Dally, and Sodapop Curtis- saving children’s lives… The fire inside subsides when I think of them, those children, children with a chance to grow old, whether they are greasers or socs, whether they made the same mistakes we did or the socs mistakes. I guess Johnny was right when he said “we were just ‘people’”. The anger that blares up is when I think of Johnny, he’s got no one. Just us. A lot of good that would do him now. A part of me wishes we never drove by that church. Never saw a thing. Never heard children cry. I think we would all be alive! He will probably die, you know. Ponyboy, you have a chance- listen to your brothers. You have always had a good heart, just please, listen to your brothers.
From, Dally.
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