The Outsiders «Must Try»

The novel ends where it began, revealing that the entire story is actually an English assignment Ponyboy wrote to process his trauma and share the reality of his world. Major Themes

The story is narrated by 14-year-old , a sensitive and bookish Greaser who lives with his older brothers, Darry and Sodapop , after their parents died in a car accident. The Outsiders

Back in Tulsa, a massive "rumble" occurs between the two gangs. Though the Greasers "win," the victory feels hollow. Shortly after, Johnny dies in the hospital, and their friend Dally Winston , overwhelmed by grief, is killed by police after a desperate robbery. The novel ends where it began, revealing that

Fearing the police, the two boys flee to an abandoned church in Windrixville. While hiding, they bond over literature and the poem " Nothing Gold Can Stay ". Though the Greasers "win," the victory feels hollow

" The Outsiders " by S.E. Hinton is a classic coming-of-age story that explores the bitter rivalry between two teenage groups in 1960s Tulsa, Oklahoma: the , working-class kids from the East Side, and the Socs (short for "Socials"), wealthy kids from the West Side . Plot Summary

After a late-night confrontation at a park, Ponyboy's friend Johnny Cade kills a Soc named Bob in self-defense to stop him from drowning Ponyboy.

The church catches fire, and while the boys heroically rescue trapped schoolchildren, Johnny is critically injured.