City News

The Outsiders, written by S.E. Hinton, depicts the gruesome rivalry between two rival gangs.

These are the Greasers and the Socs. The Socs are the gang of rich kids from the West side,

and are the gang of poor hoodlums for the East Side. The Socs enjoy jumping or attacking

Greasers and always get away with it. In this story, the Socs are viewed as good, well-behaved

children, and the Greasers are viewed as hoodlums who enjoy committing crimes. However, this is not accurate because society is biased against Greasers. Most Greasers are better people than Socs. This story explains the conflict between these two gangs from the perspective of Ponyboy, a member of the Greasers.

This novel had many exciting factors, but the most interesting was the dispute between

the Greasers and Socs. It was always so intriguing to see what one gang would do to another

gang. In addition, It was also fascinating to see what one gang was going to do in response to

being attacked. For example, Johnny, a member of the Greasers, was brutally attacked by a

gang of Socs. He was traumatized after this experience. Though this was very brutal, it helped

Johnny survive later experiences because he started carrying a switchblade. Another example

was the murder of a Soc. After being jumped by a Soc, Johnny killed a boy with his switchblade

in self-defense to protect him and his friend Ponyboy. This increased tensions between the two

gangs and led to a big part of the story, the rumble, also known as a gang fight. The rumble was

by far, the most exciting part of the conflict. It would always get me so engaged in the book. It

was thrilling to see the Greasers prepare and gather up for the rumble. It was also suspenseful

because it would be hard to predict who would win. In addition, It would not be known if

someone would get badly injured or even die. The conflict between the two gangs made this

novel very exciting to read.

Additionally, the change of society’s perspective on Greasers made this book very

enjoyable and satisfying. In this novel, Johnny and Ponyboy heroically save children from a

burning church. After this incident, people no longer viewed them as hoodlums, but instead as

heroes. This was so refreshing because during most of the book, Greasers were mistreated.

They were thought to be juvenile delinquents. The change in attitudes toward the Greasers

made this book pleasurable to read.

There were many enjoyable things about this book. However, there was one thing that

made this frustrating to read. This was the death of some main characters. While reading this

book, I grew attached to some of the characters. Some of my favorite characters sadly died in

this book. For example, after Johnny bravely saved children from a burning church, he received

severe burn injuries. He stayed in the hospital for a couple of days and later died. Another

example was the death of Dally. After hearing the news of Johnny’s death, he becomes furious

and purposely gets himself killed by pointing a gun at a police officer. The deaths of the main

characters made this book unenjoyable to read.

Overall, this book is a great story. This book is interesting to read and is recommended

to people of all ages. This book is very engaging and will keep you interested throughout the

book. The dispute between the Greasers and Socs and the change in attitudes on the Greasers

made this book exciting to read. I would give this book a 10/10.

Check out The Outsiders from the Newport Beach Public Library!