His last words to the boys were “stay gold (Hinton 148). The greasers win the battle, but Johnny dies. Johnny was burned during the process and ends up in the hospital while the greaser and scocs partake in a battle known as a “rumble. The greasers rush back, jump in and save the kids. Dally then agrees to bring the boys home, but they notice that the church caught fire, trapping a group of children inside. Johnny shocks Dally with the news that he has been planning on turning himself in. Dally tells the boys that things have intensified between the gangs ever since the incident. After a week or so, Dally comes to check on Ponyboy and Johnny, and the boys catch up. While in the church, the boys cut and dye their hair to disguise themselves and spend their days reading poetry. Dally gives the boys a gun, some money, and tells them to hide in an abandoned church. They knew Dally would know what to do in a crisis such as this one. Not sure what to do, Ponyboy and Johnny turn to Dally, another member of the greasers, for help. Bob dies, and the boys are left in shock. Johnny, in an instant, stabs Bob to stop him before he kills Ponyboy. At first, he would take him out of the water, but after one of the greasers suggested leaving him under the water, Johnny knew he had to do something. The fight became intense when Bob started drowning Ponyboy in a fountain. One night, Johnny and Ponyboy get jumped by Bob and Randy and a few other members of the socs. The lives of both gangs will significantly change.
The conflicts between them change both of their worlds. The scocs are the privileged and wealthy kids of the west side. They wear their hair long, greased, and they don’t follow the rules. Ponyboy and his brothers Sodapop and Darrel are part of the greasers, who are considered juvenile delinquents by society. The Outsiders is a story about two teen gangs, the greasers and the socs. According to Martel Sardina in her essay, “Susan Eloise Hinton broke new ground in young adult fiction with the publication of The Outsiders. The book was a huge success and continues to be read till this very day. Jon Michaud informs us that “Since then, The Outsiders has gone on to sell more than ten million copies in the article S. It soon became clear that there was a large market for young adult readers. The book was sold at a local drugstore before Hinton’s publisher notices how good it was selling. She completed her first draft around her joiner year, and the final copy was published on April 24th, 1967. She immediately saw the potential of the book and urged Hinton get in touch with her New York agent.
The outsiders se hinton professional#
She had given no thought to publication until a professional children’s writer, who just so happened to be one of her friend’s mother, took a look at her draft. She wanted to give teens a book that they could relate to, something that was raw and portrayed issues that real people go through. Hinton was tired of reading happily ever after stories that were far reality.
At only 15 years old, she began writing her novel, The Outsiders, due to the lack of literature for teenagers in her generation. She poured her heart and soul into writing to cope with the tragic turn of events. After high school, her father was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Hinton was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma in the year of 1948.