Theme Paper - The Outsiders

            "Love is when the other person's happiness is more important than your own," said the gifted author H. Jackson Brown. Brown claims that the definition of love is when people make their loved one's enjoyment of their own. In The Outsiders, written by S.E. Hinton, there are some relationships that display people putting their friends ahead of themselves. Darrel, also know as Darry, defends and looks after Ponyboy. Likewise, the gang supports each other in a way no can explain. They have each others backs 24/7. In the same way, Dally Winston guards Johnny like a father might a son. These three examples, demonstrate that it is human nature to protect the ones you love.
             The Outsiders is a coming-of-age book, written by S.E. Hinton. It follows the rivalry between the Greasers, a group of young boys from a poor community, and the rich, high-class Socs of the same age through the view of Pony, a 14-year-old Greaser. He and his brothers, Sodapop, and Darry, are in a gang and are enemies with the Socs. The narrator becomes involved in the killing of a Soc when he and his friend, Johnny Cade, are attacked in the park one night. Profoundly affected by the events, the protagonist decides to tell his story in an essay for his English class that becomes the base for the story.
             Darry and Pony are a prime portrayal of loved ones looking after each other. In the book, the protagonist tells the readers, that his parents have died, and Darrel made an effort to keep him and his siblings together. His older brother, is a good guardian because he sets boundaries for them and truly loves his family. He puts aside his plans for college and has two jobs to support his brothers so they can remain together as a family. Darry was a football star in high school and got offered a scholarship, but turned it down because he didn't want to break apart his family. He kept his brothers safe, instead of abandoning them and putting them in boys home.