Readers journal
The book, as the lessons that Ponyboy has observed, is written in first person. In this case, it is valuable as a tool to bring us very close to the action. We feel the emotions that Ponyboy experiences very closely. We experience the frustration of having nothing as a greaser, the despair of having killed Bob, the pain of losing Dallas and Johnny after discovering that they were good people after all, and the joy of finally finding the way home when Ponyboy is reconciled with his brother Darry.
There are two main plot conflicts in the story, that of the greasers versus the Socs, and that of hope versus despair within Ponyboy. The first is easy to observe, and is simple at the beginning. The greasers and the Socs hate each other, fight with each other, and think the worst of each other. Through the story we see Ponyboy learning to look at the Socs as people, rather than as a group to be hated and feared. The first thing that happens to change his mind is when he meets Cherry. She is a Soc, but she listens to him explain about life as a greaser. When he tells her of Johnny’s being beat up, she pleads with him that not all Socs are the same, pointing out that not all greasers are as rough as Dallas. Then she tells him that, “Things are rough all over” (The Outsiders all pages).
There are two main plot conflicts in the story, that of the greasers versus the Socs, and that of hope versus despair within Ponyboy. The first is easy to observe, and is simple at the beginning. The greasers and the Socs hate each other, fight with each other, and think the worst of each other. Through the story we see Ponyboy learning to look at the Socs as people, rather than as a group to be hated and feared. The first thing that happens to change his mind is when he meets Cherry. She is a Soc, but she listens to him explain about life as a greaser. When he tells her of Johnny’s being beat up, she pleads with him that not all Socs are the same, pointing out that not all greasers are as rough as Dallas. Then she tells him that, “Things are rough all over” (The Outsiders all pages).