Influence

• Se Hinton‘s iconic novel the outsiders is timeless and touches readers on many levels, leaving a long lasting impact on my thoughts and feelings. I personally was profoundly impacted by this book since it got me to reflect on family,friendships, social status and the complexity of adolescence.
• to begin with the novel made me think about how our social class, Family and determinism have a huge influence on us because we are unable Select the type of family do you want to be part of,when we are born, Whether they be wealthy or not. The pivotal event the relates to this is when does socs jump ponyboy who is a defenceless greaser.
• The socs are the “West side Rich kids” Who get away with wrong doings. The greasers are poor hoods on the east side.”Greasers are almost like hoods”. To further expand on this crucial event, the socs jumped Ponyboy with no justification but rather they did this because of the social inequality that exists between them.
• He was heading back from the movies by himself when the socs severely beat him and sliced his head with a switchblade. The severity of this attack is evident in the quote from the aftermath of this attack “ The socs jumped up and left me lying there, gasping/I laid there and wondered what in the world was happening.” This event got me to think about how unfair some peoples lives can be.
• They are accessed according to the fact that they’re born into an in escapable situation. This moment left me feeling melancholy for those that endure things as a result of the current circumstances. I think it’s unjust to hold people accountable for the bad situations they find themselves in
• The pivotal scene of the burning church in which Dally another vital character and two other main characters, Ponyboy and Johnny entered the building to save the lives of the children. They were staying at the church as they were wanted for killing Bob a soc prior to the event, after hideouts to be mentioned that they needed to be careful when smoking cigarettes foreshadowing the church going on fire
• Where as the other characters fled then church after saving a few children, but Johnny stuck behind so make sure the kids were safe and out of the building he said “I didn’t pay any attention” even though a burning ember fell on him “I snatch up another kid”.
• This reminded me of my mother and my elder sister, share Johnny selflessness, they always put the needs of others before their own and are willing to do anything for anyone. This reminded me of something my mother constantly says to me it’s good to be good it made me feel contemplative. I can relate this to the event since Randy (a soc) acknowledge them for rescuing the children, despite the bad blood between the sources and the greaser were recognised for their altruistic (selflessness) deeds.
• Referring back to the phrase it’s going to be good, they saved the children,performed good deeds and gained recognition.
• In summary, I believe this book had a profound impact on my thoughts and feelings since the themes and recommendations in the major scenes are relevant to current events and experiences I’ve had in my life. Though I don’t think social class is as awful as it’s depicted in the novel but it’s still present.
• Pony boy and Johnny and Dally save the lives of youngsters, this also had a long lasting impact on my thoughts and feelings. This connects to my most favourite saying and a lesson I learned from this book is that doing good deeds can make people notice you.