‘The Outsiders‘ is a story of family, honour, sacrifice, and individuality, among others. It is a story that a lot of teens can resonate with as it addresses their feelings and emotions that adults can’t relate to. In the book, you will find a lot of quotes. Here are some of them.
We are all the same
Can you see the sunset real good on the West side? You can see it on the East side too.
The story of ‘The Outsiders‘ addressed the issue of all human beings being the same irrespective of tribe, race, colour, and especially financial capacity. We are all the same beings made by the same creator, so there shouldn’t be discrimination or fighting. Ponyboy and Cherry were surprised to learn that they both see the sunrise and sunset and appreciate their beauty from their respective houses.
It seemed funny to me that the sunset she saw from her patio and the one I saw from the back steps was the same one. Maybe the two different worlds we lived in weren’t so different. We saw the same sunset.
Cherry was especially surprised to learn that people from poor backgrounds could appreciate nature. That made them realize that they are all the same people; it is not money that makes a man. Rather it is the qualities inside of him. Since they see the same sunset as seen in the quote above, they then concluded that they are not so different after all.
Maybe the two different worlds we lived in weren’t so different. We saw the same sunset.
And Ponyboy has to remind them that even though they are not in the same class money-wise, they still see the same sunset.
It’s okay. We aren’t in the same class. Just don’t forget that some of us watch the sunset too.
The yearning to belong
Sixteen years on the streets and you can learn a lot. But all the wrong things, not the things you want to learn. Sixteen years on the streets and you see a lot. But all the wrong sights, not the things you want to see.
This quote in ‘The Outsiders‘ shows that the kids just wanted to belong, to be normal citizens of society. They didn’t ask for the world they were born in, where they get to see and hear the wrong things. They just want to live normal lives. Just as this quote aptly captures.
They grew up on the outside of society. They weren’t looking for a fight. They were looking to belong.
Be good no matter what
Stay gold, Ponyboy. Stay gold . . . The pillow seemed to sink a little, and Johnny died.
As Johnny Cade was dying, he told Ponyboy, “Stay gold,” which is a reference to the Robert Frost poem that Ponyboy recites to Johnny when the two hide out in the Windrixville Church. One line in the poem reads, ‘Nothing gold can stay,‘ meaning that all good things must come to an end.
Things were rough all over, but it was better that way. That way you could tell the other guy was human too.
This quote from the novel shows the belief of the children about how tough things were everywhere. They applied this idea to their youthful innocence, believing that they cannot remain forever unsullied by the harsh realities of life. Yet, Johnny urges Ponyboy to remain gold or stay innocent in spite of the harsh realities of life. Johnny, in his dying moments, senses the uselessness of fighting. He also realized that Ponyboy is better than the average hoodlum, and he wants Ponyboy to hold onto the golden qualities that set him apart from his companions.
I’ve been thinking about it, and that poem, that guy that wrote it, he meant you’re gold when you’re a kid, like green. When you’re a kid everything’s new, dawn. It’s just when you get used to everything that it’s day. Like the way you dig sunsets, Pony. That’s gold. Keep that way, it’s a good way to be.
Darry encourages Ponyboy to pursue a life beyond gang membership, and the deaths of Johnny and Dally inspire the expression of his individual point of view in the English essay he writes. At the end of the story, Ponyboy has decided to live a life that will encourage other kids his age to find their own paths and voices outside of the gang identity.
You still have a lot of time to make yourself be what you want. There’s still lots of good in the world. Tell Dally. I don’t think he knows.
Individual power and authority
Dally was so real he scared me.
Ponyboy said these words when he was in the abandoned church with Johnny in Windrixville. This came about when Johnny makes a comment after reading a passage from Gone with the Wind. Johnny said that Dally reminds him of one of the gallant Southern gentlemen from the Civil War. Ponyboy says that the other greasers, Soda, Darry, and Two-Bit, remind him more of the heroes in his books than Dally does. Yet, in the book, we see that Dally is not such a bad person as he helped them rescue the kids from the burning church. Even his death was in anguish of Johnny’s death.
…I knew he would be dead, because Dally Winston wanted to be dead and he always got what he wanted.
Ponyboy feels more comfortable with Soda, Darry, and Two-Bit because as a narrator and later a writer, he is more comfortable with fictional heroes than with real people like Dally who have lost their innocence.
Loyalty
You take up for your buddies, no matter what they do. When you’re a gang, you stick up for the members. If you don’t stick up for them, stick together, make like brothers, it isn’t a gang anymore. It’s a pack. A snarling, distrustful, bickering park like the Socs in their social clubs or the street gangs in New York or the wolves in the timber.
This quote from ‘The Outsiders‘ by S. E. Hinton reveals the value of friendship and loyalty to a group. The different gangs in the book stick together no matter what. They help each other in every way; that is the essence of being in a group. Even when you don’t agree with everything your group believes in, you still correct them with love.
That’s why people don’t ever think to blame the Socs and are always ready to jump on us. We look hoody and they look decent. It could be just the other way around – half of the hoods I know are pretty decent guys underneath all that grease, and from what I’ve heard, a lot of Socs are just cold-blooded men – but people usually go by looks.
FAQs
Who offers Cherry and Marcia a ride home from the drive-in in The Outsiders?
In ‘The Outsiders,‘ It was Two-Bit Matthew who offered to walk Cherry and Marcia home when they finished at the movies. However, the girls were contemplating calling their parents to come to drive them home. But Two-Bit, Matthew told them not to worry, that he can drive them home in his car.
Why does Darry slap Ponyboy?
Darry slaps Ponyboy because he came home late. Darry quit school and lost his scholarship so he can stay home and take care of his brothers. Since Ponyboy is the most intellectual of them, he wants Ponyboy to concentrate on his studies and live a better life than them. That’s why he was mad when he came late after hanging out with friends.
Who scares Johnny at the movie theatre?
When the two Soc girls were conversing with Johnny and Ponyboy at the drive-in, Two-Bit comes up behind Johnny and puts his arms around him, scaring him. They were deep in conversation with Johnny telling the girls that Dallas is not so bad when two-bit sneaks up behind him, impersonating a Soc.
Does Ponyboy fall in love with cherry?
Cherry displays loyalty to Ponyboy and even testifies that Johnny acted in self-defence during the trial. Although the two characters never become romantically involved, Ponyboy and Cherry share a close understanding of one another and see eye-to-eye on numerous topics.
What hobby did Sodapop enjoy, and why did he quit?
Sodapop Curtis is the second son in the Curtis family and a brother to the protagonist of ‘the outsiders‘, Ponyboy. A hobby he enjoys greatly is riding the rodeo, but because he tore a ligament in his leg. The injury makes him quit and abandon his hobby of riding.
