The Outsiders - Maddii Ganter

“The Outsiders”

‘The Outsiders’ is the journey of a 14 year old boy named Ponyboy. He and his best mate Johnny go on a dangerous and tragic endeavour that he will never forget. This novel is by S.E Hinton, written when she was just 17 years old in the year 1965. The novel wasn’t published though until she was 18. A film adaption was produced in 1983 directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The film gave you a more visual idea of what was occurring throughout the text. Whereas, the novel lets your imagination run wild. Both texts imply Pony’s journey and the ways in which his childhood innocence was corrupted by his experiences in life. Although, the novel was the text that portrayed this more clearly therefore making it my choice as the better text out of the two.

The film version of “The Outsiders” is different from the novel as it retracts parts of the novel to focus on more of the conflicts between the greasers and the Socs as well as Ponyboy and Johnny’s close friendship. These two characters are the key characters to the plot of the text. There were main points written in the novel that were left out of the film. One of these key points would be near the end of the novel where Ponyboy threatens the Socs with a broken bottle. This shows his corrupted childhood innocence although this was not shown in the film making it unclear of the transformation of his childhood innocence. Thus, the novel shows Ponyboy’s journey in more detail through the written word whilst the film focuses more on the visuals of fighting and friendships.

It is vital to understand the characters in any story line. The reader must understand who they are and what role they play in the story. ‘The Outsiders’ film shows them differently compared to the novel. Examples of this would be Sodapop and Two-bit. The film text was as if their appearances and like had been switched around. Sodapop wasn’t seen in the film as much as he was written in the novel. There was no mention of his love for his girlfriend. There was also no mention of his horse which he adored but lost, Mickey Mouse. Two-bit Mathews definitely appeared more in the film than what he appeared as in the novel. In addition to Two-bit’s different characteristics within the film he was the one found with the liking for Mickey Mouse the cartoon. This makes the films message different as the viewers do not get to experience the more sensitive moments other than with Ponyboy and Johnny.

Stylistic features are featured in these texts are things such as perspective and symbolism. Perspective is a very important issue that runs throughout this novel. Being an outsider is a matter of perspective. The brothers' relationships are viewed differently according to each other's perspective. The symbolism found within the novel would be the cars that the Greasers have compared to the Socs. On one hand, it symbolizes how the Greasers have a more direct and well-rounded experience than the Socs with the gritty realities of life. On the other hand, the fact that the Greasers must service and care for the Socs possessions demonstrates that the Socs have the power to dominate the greasers. Greasers cannot afford cars and madras that the Socs have so they turn to more affordable markers of identity. By wearing their hair in a specific style, Greasers separate themselves from other social groups making their hair symbolic to the story line.

In conclusion, I found that the most effective text was the novel. This is because it was more efficient in explaining Ponyboy’s journey, preserving his childhood innocence and his individual personality.