They Read, They Won!

Congratulations to the winners of our Raising Readers essay contest on S. E. Hinton’s The Outsiders. Here are their winning essays!

You could be the winner of our next Raising Readers essay contest!

Micah Lindstrom, 13, Apple Valley

Pony’s relationship with Darry changed drastically over the course of The Outsiders. In the beginning, Pony thought that life without Darry would be so much easier. As the story progressed, Pony began to understand and tolerate him more. By the last few pages, Pony and Darry were both trying to care for each other with their whole hearts.

As I said, Pony really hated Darry. While the Curtis brothers’ parents were alive, everything was pretty relaxed because there was little need to worry. But when their parents died, Darry had to be very strict so the police wouldn't separate them. Pony didn’t understand this, so he thought Darry was mean to him by nature. Darry, on the other hand, was too tough to explain it. Either that or he didn’t think Pony would want to understand.

However, as the book continued, Pony saw instances where Darry became very emotional and caring. For example, when Pony was in the hospital after saving the children from the burning church, Darry visited him along with Soda. Darry just stood at back of the room, but Pony saw his glistening eyes and understood a bit more of Darry’s deep love. The final clincher, of course, was when Soda flew off the handle, telling them to pay attention to each other’s feelings and to stop holding grudges.

As you can see, Pony and Darry’s relationship during the book changed a lot, and it was definitely not for the worse. Before the story began, when their parents were alive, they tolerated each other. But the death of their parents put their relationship in tatters. Soda solves the problem when he explodes at the end of the book. I don’t think that their bond will deteriorate, or at the very least not in Soda’s presence.

Taylor Grasdalen, 13, White Bear Lake

In the beginning of The Outsiders, Ponyboy Curtis makes it very clear that the Greasers and the Socs are different gangs that have been and are rivals. In this story, we can just feel the hatred that already exists and continues to build between the two groups.

The Greasers are different from the Socs in many ways. A few obvious differences are that the Socs are wealthy, have respect from the policemen and other adults, and just their overall reputation. The Greasers are known for being poorer men, women, boys, and girls that use a lot of hair oil and can’t afford madras or slick clothes and cars. The Socs are known to be wealthy guys and girls that are well-dressed and enjoy some luxury in life.

The two social groups are alike in a few (but not always very many) ways. As we found out in the book, Cherry and Ponyboy both enjoy sweet and subtle things such as sunsets at the end of the day. We also read that Randy, Bob's best friend (the young man that Johnny killed in self-defense), wishes for peace, just as a few others do.

When The Outsiders is over with, a few people understand their “enemies” better, a few people do not. Ponyboy understands that people like Bob, Cherry, and Randy appreciate little things. Cherry listens to Johnny and Ponyboy and begins to figure out what it is like to be a Greaser, trapped and labeled as a trouble-inducing poor boy. And there’s a good lesson that is taught in this book: People aren’t always what their stereotypes say that they are.

Sean Buechel, 12, Prior Lake

I think that I am most like Ponyboy because I have conflicts in my family and I have relatives that I am closer to than others. I also have interests that most of my friends don’t like or don't pay attention to. Pony is that way also because he loves his family and friends but doesn’t always get along with them. Also, he doesn’t get pressured by the gang to do bad things. Maybe that’s because he’s younger and inexperienced or the gang thinks that it’s not worth it to steal or something like that. Ponyboy also gets along with other people and he is smart and he has a great personality. Pony accepts that he is lower class, a greaser, and I like that he can be so accepting of that. He is just grateful for all that he has, which, if he were real, would take him far in life.