Konner Office

The Outsiders

The Outsiders is a 1983 American drama film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, an alteration of the novel of the same name by S. E. Hinton which was written in 1967. The film was released in March 1983by Jo Ellen Misakian. S.E. Hinton was only 15 when she started the novel but mainly wrote it when she was 16 but she was 18 when the novel was published. The book follows two rival groups, the Greasers and the Socs.

The film “The Outsiders” is a thrilling film. The film is very good but it does leave out vital parts that are in the novel, such as; when Ponyboy smashes a glass bottle and threatens the Socs with it, which is in the end of the novel. Also the film excludes Sodapop, as we don’t get to see much of him and his horse, Mickey Mouse. The characters in the film and novel seem to be quite similar to each other. But in the novel Hinton makes it out like their all wearing the same clothes. Ponyboy is described quite well in the in the novel because Ponyboy has the same personality in both stories. We do not get to experience some of the more sensitive moments, other than with Ponyboy and Johnny.

The novel The Outsider is an excellent read with anger, drama, sadness, bloodshed, death, and a group of really close friends. The novel really focuses on Ponyboy more than the film as in the novel is really in 1^st person where you can read his thoughts for example; like at the end of the novel where Ponyboy is reading the letter Johnny wrote to him before he died. The characters in the novel are not what I expected, as I was made to believe that the greasers where all wearing the same old run down clothes. The use of slang and effective description language draws the reader into the story and closer to Ponyboy’s own personal story.

In conclusion the novel and film versions of The Outsiders are splendid but I prefer the novel version of the two. The author S.E. Hinton and the director Francis Ford Coppola did a fantastic job in writing this fantastic novel and creating this great film.

Konner Office