The Outsiders

            
             E Hinton, Ponyboy Curtis is perceived as an "outsider" or someone who does not belong within the group. In the novel Hinton, takes Ponyboy one step further by showing different situations in which he is really shown as an outsider.
             The novel is about two different groups, the greasers which are more known as the outsiders and the Soc's which is short for Socials or the more popular crowd. These two groups do not get along and fight with each other throughout the whole novel. Ponyboy is a big reason these two groups fight often. Even though Ponyboy deep down inside him is really intellectual he puts up an act and carries on the greaser's attitude so that nobody can really see who he truly is. .
             In my eyes Ponyboy is trying to hide who he really is. He does not want people to get to know him, so he puts up a front that he is bad and full of trouble when deep down inside of him he is a sensitive smart teenage kid. When you are a teenager you don't really know who you are, and I feel Ponyboy is trying to hide that more then anything within this whole novel. "I was beginning to relax and wonder if running away was such a great idea. I was sleepy and freezing to death and I wanted to be home in bed, safe and warm under the covers with Soda's arm across me" (Hinton, 52). This quote shows how Ponyboy was always thinking, thinking if he was doing the right thing and knowing what was good for him and what was not good for him. Even though he was a greaser; an outsider he was always thinking and knew that some of the things he did were not right and would get him in trouble. The way I see it Ponyboy was a smart kid, always thinking. The problem with him was the way he grew up. He grew up with barely any parental supervision, and not a lot of money. He grew up in a part of the neighborhood which wasn't so great. This affected the way Ponyboy turned out. On the outside he was tough and hard while on the inside he was a sensitive smart kid.