The Outsiders S.E. Hinton

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The OutsidersS.E. Hinton

• Symbolism 2 packet

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About the book

• A heroic story of friendship and belonging.
  Ponyboy can count on his brothers and on his
  friends. He can always count on trouble with the
  Socs, a vicious gang of rich kids whose idea of a
  good time is beating up greasers like Ponyboy.
  At least he knows what to expect until the
  night someone takes things too far.

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Greasers

• The switchblade represents strength and power.
  The Greasers, the lower class, felt safer when
  carrying this defense. It was their choice of
  weapon against harm that may come from the
  opposing social group, the Socs.

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Socs

• The blue Mustang represents the upper class Socs.
  It stands for money power and authority.
• It was Bobs rings, symbols of wealth, that were
  used to cut up Johnnys face so badly the day he
  was left for dead.

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• The cigarette is a symbol of the lower class.
  Many of the Greasers started smoking at an early
  age. It made them feel older and helped them to
  fit into their group. Later it became a way of
  passing time and keeping calm.

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The drive-in movie theatre was a place where the
Greasers and the Socs shared the same turf. Both
social groups enjoyed the theater together. It
was a place where they could co-exist.
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Sunsets

• Cherry and Pony talked about the sunsets being
  the same on both sides of town. It is here that
  the two realize that they too, might be more
  alike than they had thought. Maybe this could be
  the end of their old way of thinking.

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The horse represents innocence. Sodas horse,
Mickey Mouse, connects the boys to youth. Soda
enjoyed the horse as a young boy. When the horse
was sold, Soda was devastated. He shared a
special bond with the horse that he could not
again duplicate.
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The Curtis boys also shared an extraordinary bond
with their parents, unlike any of the other boys
in their group. When their parents were killed,
it truly was a life lost. A time that they could
never get back. They now fight to stay together
and form new bonds with each other that they
didnt know could exist. Chocolate cake was
something the boys shared as breakfast. It
symbolizes the bonds of friendship that they have
formed. The hair cuts / styles could also
represent the friendship between all the boys.
The hair was something each greaser valued as
much as each other. The Socs knew this, thus it
was used as one of the first things the Socs
threatened to cut.
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A turning point

• Dallys invitation for Johnny and Ponyboy to join
  him for some food at the Dairy Queen was truly a
  turning point in the story. It was here that
  Johnny announced that he was turning himself in
  to the police.
• It was also at the Dairy Queen where Ponyboy and
  Randy met up. Ponyboy realized that although
  they were very different, they were all just
  guys. Dairy Queen can symbolize coexistence and
  change.

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• The church was a safe haven for both Ponyboy and
  Johnny. It was a hideout for them as they were
  hiding from the crime that was committed. It was
  a place that allowed them to be themselves and
  reflect on their lives. Later, it was the
  burning church that allowed them to show their
  true colors and be thought of as something
  different than before in a sense, the greasers
  were cleansed from the dirty gang they were
  viewed as before.
• The burning of the church symbolized the end of
  innocent friendship between Johnny and Ponyboy.
  Their lives would forever be changed.

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• Most of the greasers felt the Curtis house was a
  safe haven. Many of the boys hung out here.
  Johnny and Dally turned to the Curtis boys
  instead of their own families in times of
  trouble.

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Sunrise

• The sunrise was the time period when Johnny and
  Ponyboy discussed the poem, Natures First Green
  is Gold. It is at this point that Johnny
  realized there was more to life and that he
  wanted to experience goodness. He wanted a new
  beginning.

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Johnny and Dally both ended up in the hospital
after their heroic rescues saving several
students from the burning church. They ran in to
the church despite the danger of the falling
roof. As a result of their actions, they both
died significant deaths. Both of their deaths
occurred at night.
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Based on each symbol, how was S.E. Hinton wanting
you to feel towards different characters and
events in the story?