Blog #8

The novel The Outsiders is a great story to read. It is such a well written book and I believe it is so well written because it is full of situations and ideas that can help any person in everyday life. The main character in The Outsiders is Ponyboy. Ponyboy and myself are very much different people living different lives, but at the same time we share many similarities. Ponyboy goes through a tough time throughout the novel. The readers find out that Ponyboy lives with his brothers, Darry and Soda-Pop, because his parents were killed. Ponyboy often feels annoyed and angry at his oldest brother Darry. Ponyboy feels like that because Darry is always giving Ponyboy a hard time. I go through a similar situation with my oldest sister. Many times she gives me a hard time to get better grades, do something around the house so my mother doesn’t get mad, and many other things. I always have gotten annoyed with her and felt like she was just giving me a hard time because she did not like me, just as Ponyboy thought. But, just as Ponyboy realized that Darry only gave him a hard time because Darry cares about him and doesn’t want to see Ponyboy mess up so that he can be successful, I have come to realize the same thing. This is an example of how this story can relate to anyone through its many themes and ideas. Although Ponyboy goes through more extreme troubles in his life such as hiding from the police for murder, getting jumped, and having to worry about a rival gang, we are similar because I also go through many hardships he goes through just not as extreme. Being able to relate to a book makes a book so much better and more interesting to read. It is the best when you can relate to the main character and I am always way more interested in a book when I can relate to the main character.  

Blog #7

            In the novel The Outsiders I think that there is a lot to learn and a lot of good lessons to take from the book. I learned that life can be very tough but we can get through tough situations in our lives no matter what. When things get rough the people that love us and care about us will be there for us. We can always turn to our friends and family to help us and support ourselves. The theme of this book can be used as a life lesson for anyone. In the novel, Ponyboy was put through tough experiences. Ponyboy had a tough time with many things throughout the book. It was not until the end that things started to get better. Throughout all the bad things that occurred for Ponyboy he was able to get through them because of the tremendous support he had from his brothers, Sodapop and Darry, and from all of the other Greasers. Even though at some parts of the novel Ponyboy questioned that his brothers and other members of the Greasers were there for him and cared for him, they were there for him and that they did in fact care for him. They were there for him because anytime he needed help and he was in trouble they came to help. An example in the novel comes right from the very beginning of the novel. Ponyboy was on his way home from the movies by himself when a couple of Socs stopped him and started beating him up. After a couple of minutes Ponyboy’s friends, the Greasers, including his brothers came running to his rescue before he was beaten up too badly by the Socs. The reason I like this book so much is because of the sense of brotherhood between the Greasers. They stick together no matter what. If another member is in trouble, they will all be there for him to either physically protect him or emotional help him. That is what amazes me about this book and what makes it so meaningful to me. I think that that is a great lesson that anyone can take from this book.