

Darry recognizes Ponyboy's potential and has high expectations for him. He no longer views the two boys as siblings, but rather as a responsibility. Since the death of their parents, Darry has assumed the responsibility of guardianship for Pony and Soda, and under that pressure he has aged beyond his years. Family relationships are strained during the teen years, but in the Curtis family, the right to stay together as a family is a constant struggle. The evolution of the family relationships is a recurrent theme in the novel. Because he is from the poor, East Side of town, his place in life is unfairly predetermined. His parents are dead, Darry is forced to work two jobs to support the brothers, Soda has dropped out of school, and the greasers are looked upon as "white trash." He explains that the gang warfare is actually warfare between the economic classes. His feelings of powerlessness and vulnerability lead him to conclude that life is not fair. He could be attacked solely because of the way he is dressed he feels like an outsider in his own town. For example, Ponyboy knows that he is not safe walking the streets in his own neighborhood. This loss of control inevitably leads to the feeling that life isn't fair.
#Theme of the outsiders how to#
Parents, teachers, and other authority figures are always telling them how to live their lives. Someone who always feels like an outsider may conclude that life is unfair.Īdolescence is a time when teenagers may consider themselves to be adults, but in reality teens are still under the control of others. Looking at life as an outsider and feeling as though one is being treated as an outsider is a matter of perspective or point of view. Here Dimmesdale practically begs Hester to put the blame on himself as the guilt is eating him up on the inside and eventually, that is a part of what kills him in the end.As the title suggests, The Outsiders is a theme in itself. This can be shown in the book through the chemistry between Dimmesdale and Hester, as in Chapter 3 Dimmesdale states to “.Be not silent from any mistaken pity and tenderness for him for, believe me, Hester, though he were to step down from a high place, and stand there beside thee, on thy pedestal of shame, yet better were it so, than to hide a guilty heart through life.” (Hawthorne 63). That fear, the fear that compels them to give in and tell, soon becomes the sole cause of their problems and often eats them up.

Often when a person does something wrong, they usually feel the guilt, the shame in which is brought upon them for their sins, as they fear that it will affect not only themselves but the individuals that they care about, as the effect could be devastating.

In this story, a different argument forms as the harm is inflicted in yet another different way, one in which is more relatable among the many. This view of fear is opposite to the way Pinkie and his gang sees fear and it’s different to show this side of fear - the side that makes you strive to protect your loved ones and care about other people rather than only caring forįear In The Crucible And The Scarlet Letter This presentation of fear is abnormal to the one we see in modern society where usually the man gets revenge, but Dally realises that he can’t go on living with Johnny and so he sees death as his only option. This causes them to protect one another, we can compare this view to the way Dally reacts when Johnny dies on page 180 and Ponyboy says that “Johnny was the only thing that Dally has ever loved.” This quote shows the love that each boy has for each other and the fact that Dally kills himself for Johnny references the idea that Dally’s worst fear came true. The fear that they have is the fear of losing each other rather than being scared of each other. Fear produces different reactions from each character, and this leads to an onset of actions and events that in hindsight, could have …show more content… When Ponyboy introduces the other characters, he even comments on the way that they’re family to him and that they’ve all grown up together. In ‘The Outsiders’, fear is depicted as a bad thing, and it's the feeling you get when everything goes wrong, but in ‘Brighton Rock’, fear is shown as something that pushes you towards your goal and keeps you going. E Hinton and ‘Brighton Rock’ by Graham Greene, the characters each have their own distinct idea of fear, and this varies as the novel's progress. Fear is the outcome of being in a dangerous situation, and of being aware of a threat to your wellbeing. Show More Fear is a unique emotion and it is displayed differently in each individual, but the one thing that is the same is that fear will always be an unpleasant emotion.
