In this essay, I argue that the novel, The Outsiders, is about the importance of friendship and family. A key theme throughout the novel is loyalty – with your friends and family, I will explore these themes in this essay.
According to Wikipedia, loyalty is a devotion and faithfulness to a nation, cause, philosophy, country, group, or person. Some people think that loyalty is strictly interpersonal and only another human being can be the object of loyalty. In this analysis, loyalty will be referred to as the interpersonal relationship among family members and a gang.
The outsiders is written in the first person by Ponyboy, a fourteen-year-old orphan who is living with his two older brothers, Darry and Sodapop. Their parents died just eight months before the novel begins. Ponyboy is a member of a gang called, the “greasers” with his friends and they are in a ‘gang war’ against the “socs”. The novel follows a dramatic three week period where Ponyboy runs away from his brothers, his home, witnesses a murder and learns of the true meaning of family, friendship and loyalty.
127 our experts are availableright now
The importance of friendships for Ponyboy in the novel is underlined throughout the novel. Ponyboy learns from experience what true friendships really are, where you don’t have to pretend or hide your feelings but you can express what you want and you are confident the friend understands you and will not judge you or make fun of you. For example, when Ponyboy tells of his love for sunset to Johnny when they were in hiding
“ I loved to look at the colours in the field and the soft shadings of the horizon.” (pages 93-94)
Ponyboy had never told anyone that before until he told Johnny and he felt good in telling his friend.
The importance of family is another recurring theme throughout the novel. Ponyboy clearly misses his parents and is still in mourning. So are his older brothers, Darry and Sodapop. But his brother’s have also taken the role of being Ponyboy’s parents and Ponyboy is finding this difficult. Darry is strict with him and also has very high expectations. For example, he always appears cross, but actually really cares and loves his younger brother. He wants the best for his younger brother and for him to do well in school and be able to further his education and get a good job. This is because Darry had to leave school and get a job to keep the family together and in their home.
Another type of family in the novel is the gang, ‘the greasers’. This is explored throughout the novel. For example, Ponyboy’s best friend Johnny has a family who does not care for him and so the gang is like a substitute for Johnny’s family and cares for him.
The importance of loyalty – with friendships and family runs through the novel. The loyalty as a ‘greaser’ is important, particularly when, for example, Ponyboy’s best friend Johnny tells him “ You take up for your buddies no matter what they do when you’re in a gang, you stick up for your members”. ( page 33 )
Throughout the novel, the importance of loyalty was shown through the friendship the greaser gang has for each other. The members of the gang went through a really tough time, with the law and with the death of Johnny. The importance of family and friends sticking together in tough and trying times and helping each other out when they needed help was a recurring theme throughout the novel.
Bibliography
Hinton, S. (n.d.). The outsiders. 40th ed. us: Viking penguin, pp.93-94, 33.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loyalty
