When my mom first handed me a copy of The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, I was anything but excited. I looked at the cover, flipped to the first page, read it and then put it down. The cover looked strange, the first page was boring and I had no interest in reading it. For a while The Outsiders sat on a dresser in my room, untouched and unnoticed. One day when I had nothing else to read I found myself picking up The Outsiders, and once again I looked at the cover and had no interest in reading it. I had no idea that within a week I would not be able to put it down. The Outsiders taught me not to judge a book by it’s cover.
Throughout the book, S.E. Hinton taught me about judgement. The Outsiders is set in the 1960s, and the main character Ponyboy lives with his two older brothers. They are greasers and have to deal with a rival gang of rich kids called the Socs. The greasers are judged by not just the Socs, but by everyone. Kids will not hang out with Ponyboy at school because he is a greaser. People who lives in the Socs’ neighborhood do not want to associate with greasers. What neighborhood you live in determines who you can hang out with. It takes a horrible accident to turn Ponyboy’s world upside down, and teach him that where you come from is not all that matters.
As the story goes on, Ponyboy learns and the reader is able to learn with him. Hinton is able to craft a novel that makes you feel like you are journeying with Ponyboy. One thing that I really enjoyed about The Outsiders was how the reader is able to feel like they are a part of the book. It is unique to find a book that allows the reader to be a part of the story. Everything that Ponyboy went through, I felt like I was experiencing.
I learned along with the characters. What I gained from The Outsiders was so much more than I thought I would. I learned not to judge a book by its cover. When I first saw The Outsiders I glanced at the cover and decided I was not interested in reading it. I did not give The Outsiders a fair chance when I first picked it up and when I did decide to give it a fair chance, it became one of my favorite books.
There are some books that make me feel sad. Others make me feel excited and a handful leave me wanting more. The Outsiders left me better off than I was before. It made me question how I can be a better person. The Outsiders reminded me through an incredibly touching novel that we can all be less judgemental, and try to be greater than we were before. And those are two things that even the best people need to be reminded of sometimes.
