Things you probably don't know about The Outsiders pt. 2

For this blog post, I'm going to be continuing my last blog post since it interests me a lot. It's going to be continuing the facts about the process of the book, the thoughts that went into writing it, and the outcome of it being published. 
  The publishing of an original and relatable novel helped teachers to grasp the attention of students who had gotten tired of using boring, traditional books in English class. It really made a difference in schools and helped teachers see the perspective of the students.
   Another fact about the book is that it was actually the fans of Hinton who convinced a big time director named Francis Coppola to make The Outsiders into a book. Francis started considering directing the movie when high school students in California sent him a petition, appointing him as the best suited director to adapt the novel they adore so much. If it wasn't for the love and support of Susan's fans, Coppola might not have found the book to make a movie out of. That's it for this blog post.

Things you probably don't know about The Outsiders

 This week, I'm going to be talking about some of the things in The Outsiders that you probably don't know. I consider myself to be a huge fan of the book, but even I didn't know about a lot of these things. 
 One of the interesting facts is that Hilton, (the author of the book), wrote The Outsiders based on the division of class in her high school. It was between the "Socs", which were the upper class kids, and the "Greasers" who were the lower class. Things were so intense between the two groups, that they even had to enter the school through two separate doors. Hilton herself was in neither one of these groups, but she decided to write the book in the point of view of a Greaser in order to civilize the gang. 
 Now you may have noticed that the book seems like it would typically be for boys, but Hilton had very specific reasons for that. One of them being that boys have fewer books written for them. Along with that, girls are willing to read boys books, but boys usually won't read girls books. Susan, at the time, was also a tomboy and most of her friends were boys, so writing using male characters was easier for her. That's all for this blog post.

Another Quote Blog..

This week, I'm going to be talking about another significant quote in the story. The quote I'm talking about is "It's okay..We aren't in the same class. Just don't forget that some of us watch the sunset too." Pony says this to Cherry after him and some of the gang went to the drive-in, and spent time with Cherry and Marcia. This quote is significant in my opinion, because he shows Cherry that even though the Greasers and Socs have extremely different ways of living, personalities,and financial situations,they are still living in the same world. By saying "some of us watch the sunset", Pony is trying to shine a light on the fact that not all Greasers live up to their stereotypical expectations. Some still notice things like sunsets and nature. By a simple saying like this, it leads Cherry into ditching the stereotypes that everyone says and to be friends with Ponyboy. That's it for today.      

Rant

This week, I'm not writing something relating to my theme. Instead, I'm going to be ranting about winter. Honestly, this is my favorite time of year. With winter break and Christmas right around the corner, I'm so incredibly excited. The idea of having a three week off from school puts my mind in a relaxing state. Plus, can we take a moment for the amazing weather we've been having in LA? It's perfect, not too cold and not too hot. The satisfaction of getting a warm drink from Starbucks when it's cold is indescribable. It's also sweater weather, and you're finally able to wear boots and hoodies. Can we talk about how mood boosting it is to hear holiday songs on the radio and sing along at the top of your lungs? Anyways, I know this blog post wasn't as thought-out and organized as my usual blogs, but I felt the need to rant this week. See you next week.   

"Stay Gold"

This week I'm going to talk to you about in my opinion, the most important quote in the book. That quote is "Nothing gold can stay." This quote is from the Robert Frost poem that Pony recites to Johnny when they were hiding out in the church at Windrixville. This line from the poem is saying that all good things eventually come to an end. I think that by the end, the boys relate this quote to the innocence you have in your years of youth, and how you can't be forever protected by the harshness of life. Johnny's last words before he passed were, "Stay gold Ponyboy, stay gold." Referring to the quote above, Johnny was trying to drive Pony into remaining gold/innocent. It was now clear to Johnny how useless fighting is and deep down knows that his best friend is more than the "hood" that others assume he is. He wants him to cling onto the qualities that differs him from the rest of the guys in the gang and makes him so individually unique. That's it for this week.

Steve Randel

This week, I'm indroducing you to Steve Randel. Even though he's not a huge part of the story line, I still thought it was crucial to mention him as one of the characters. Steve has been Soda Pop's best friend since grade school, and they both work at the gas station together. Steve is seventeen. He's very tall and quite slim.  He's also extremely cocky and is also bright. Steve isn't really favored by Pony either. He considers Pony as a "tag along." Steve isn't really talked about a lot in the story and in the movie. That's it for this week.  

Johnny Cade

This week, I'm introducing you to Johnny Cade, one of the boys in the gang. Johnny is "the gang's pet," he's the quiet one in the group of boys that they couldn't get along without. He's been hurt both physically and mentally, he's kinda like "a puppy that's been kicked too many times." Johnny was badly beaten by the Socs, that's why he started carrying a switch blade around with him and vowed that he would kill the next person that hurt him. Along with the incident with the Socs, he is also always being both verbally and physically abused by his parents. Because of that, going home is the last thing that we wishes to do. If it wasn't for the gang, he wouldn't know how it feels like to have love and affection. Johnny is a bit smaller than the rest. He has these big black eyes that are placed on a dark tanned face. His hair was jet-black and heavily greased and combed to the side, but it was so long that it fell in shaggy bangs across his forehead. He also always had a nervous, suspicious look in his eyes. That's it for this week.