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The Outsiders Discussion-7/2017
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Beth
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Jul 03, 2017 03:56PM
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Ok I have no trepidation of being first (or taking the last cookie on the plate- somebody has to). I've been reading by audiobook for this one- it's short so only 5 discs, and I've listened to three so far. It really does fit in the YA genre, but I've liked it for the most part. Ponyboy, the protagonist, reminds me a great deal of Holden Caulfield from The Catcher in the Rye, and that's certainly a good character to be compared to, IMO. Yes he's very naive, but he's 14, so that's as it should be. The big event near the middle of the story ramped up the narrative interest and led Ponyboy to some insights.
Hi George, I just started. one chapter in. My first question to everyone who reads this book is: Are you tough or are you tuff? (o:
My Goodreads friends all seemed to like this more than I did. There were certainly some good parts and some themes behind the story. I found it rather juvenile at times though, with the author sometimes hitting the reader upside the head to make sure you got the significance of some things to Pony-Boy. Probably at age 15 I would have liked it more- I guess I need to stay away from YA level books in the future. However, I've just started Treasure Island ;)
George wrote: "My Goodreads friends all seemed to like this more than I did. There were certainly some good parts and some themes behind the story. I found it rather juvenile at times though, with the author some..."I haven't started yet - there were some complications with other books I had on hold.....! However, it is next on the list. I probably will get to it before Friday.
It's interesting to see your comment, George, on YA books. I am using The Outsiders for a 'task' in another GR group - however, I don't get many points because it is a low lexile book. If you are ever tempted by a YA in the future you might want to check out it's lexile at https://www.lexile.com/
The Outsiders has a lexile of 750. I just finished Around the world in eighty days, and it has a lexile of 1090 (and to me, it didn't read like a YA book). Of course, this isn't true across the board but my understanding is that at some time (1950s or 60s??) writers of YA started aiming at lower reading levels.
I'm making my way through The Outsiders. I like it so far. While I can't really relate to the characters life hardships, I can remember being that age and all the turmoil that goes with it regardless of social status. I think the writer wants the reader to know this. I have yet to hear about the personal side of "The Socs" but I suspect they have their own challenges that may be different but make them equally as troubled and vulnerable as "The Greasers.". Valerie, thank you for the list you mentioned. I don't read much YA and this will be helpful when I do.
Well, I just finished the book.I think, Beth, that I'm neither tough nor tuff! ha, ha....
I enjoyed the book, and I'm glad we chose it for the group because I wouldn't have chosen it myself. For the beginning of the book I kept recalling the movie, which I enjoyed at the time - I would have been young enough to feel the angst.
I definitely see what George is saying, in that some of the writing is a bit heavy handed to make sure the reader "really gets it". However, I found out (from an excerpted interview at the back of my book) that she was quite young when she wrote the book (17 or 18 yo). So, I think - perhaps - that heavy handedness can be excused.
I do think she captured the bleakness of the future for those young people. I certainly recall thinking similar things (ie. what kind of dismal life is ahead of me if I don't get further education and stay here...) when I was Ponyboy's age.
I did find it equally refreshing and amusing that this book is very 'clean'. In that, they are supposed to be 'hoods' yet they say things like 'golly'. It is definitely a PG book and I think reading it now, this aspect adds to the sadness and despair of the probable outcomes for these innocent (in many ways) boys.
Valerie wrote: "Well, I just finished the book.I think, Beth, that I'm neither tough nor tuff! ha, ha....
I enjoyed the book, and I'm glad we chose it for the group because I wouldn't have chosen it myself. For..."
When I was that age a lot of the boys swore a great deal- the girls rarely, but now a lot of them do as well. Guess that would have made it more realistic, but the English teachers and parents wouldn't have wanted the kids to read it, so maybe a marketing-type decision to keep it "clean".
I hadn't realized Hinton was that young when she wrote it, interesting.
I've bookmarked that lexile rating link, thanks. I'm reading Treasure Island now and the reading level seems a lot higher- I looked it up and it's rated 970 to 1100 (several ratings). So your comment ("my understanding is that at some time (1950s or 60s??) writers of YA started aiming at lower reading levels") fits. I don't see many young teens being able to comprehend some of the vocab in Treasure Island.
I was surprised to learn that the writer is female and she wrote this when she was 15 years old, same age as Carson McCullers when she wrote The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter. Such a sharp contrast between the writing styles and complexity! S.E. Hinton wrote a wildly popular YA novel and in reading it, you can believe a teenager wrote it where as Carson McCullers seemed wise way beyond her years. I would have loved The Outsiders when I was in middle school. Today it seems somewhat contrived and the language the kids used seems so innocent compared to what we hear and read today. We read a lot about the Greasers. I really thought there would be a part that discussed the Socs and their own challenges / details as to why they and the Greasers were at such odds. I expected it to be more believable with a bit more depth to the background story (and there were a few almost sappy moments that didn't ring true) All in all it was an enjoyable book and I am glad to have read it.
I agree it's a very sharp contrast with Carson McCuller's book. I was thinking about her youth too, but from what I read she was 23 when she wrote Heart is Lonely Hunter - still young but not a teenager like Hinton was. I guess this book helped a number of young people, and it did make some good points for the times. In my mind I was comparing it to West Side Story. So it was interesting. I might check out the film sometime.
23 vs 15....yeah I guess that would make a difference.
This book totally reminds me of Grease. I don't know if any of you saw Crybaby with Johnny Depp, but this book has similar themes. Those who are considered ruffians and poor don't associate with the prim and proper, "classy" folk. Doesn't matter who starts the fight - the kids who look like hoodlums automatically get the blame. Ponyboy, while a young teenager, is still very relatable in that he may go along with things but he questions them and doesn't quite grasp why the greasers don't play nicely with others. He challenges the social norms and comes into his own at the end of the story. It was a nail biter for sure.
You're right about common themes in the Grease and Crybaby. Have you seen the film version of The Outsiders? Reviews look very good!
