The+Outsiders

Welcome to S.E. Hintons, //The Outsiders//

__**About the Author:**__

Susan Eloise Hinton was born on July 22, 1950. While still in her teens, Hinton became a household name as the author of //The Outsiders//, her first and most popular novel, set in Oklahoma in the 1960s. She began writing it in 1965. The book was inspired by two rival gangs at her school, Will Rogers High School, the Greasers and the Socs, and her desire to show sympathy toward the Greasers by writing from their point of view. It was published by Viking Press in 1967, during her freshman year at the University of Tulsa; the book has sold more than 14 million copies in print and still sells more than 500,000 a year. Hinton's publisher suggested she use her initials instead of her feminine given names so that the very first male book reviewers would not dismiss the novel because its author was female. After the success of //The Outsiders,// Hinton chose to continue writing and publishing using her initials, because she did not want to lose what she had made famous, and to allow her to keep her private and public lives separate.

__** Character List: **__

Ponyboy Curtis: Protagonist

Darrel Curtis: Ponyboy's oldest brother

Sodapop Curtis: Ponyboy's brother

Two-bit Matthews: Member of Ponyboy's gang

Steve Randle: Sodapop's best friend since grade school.

Dallas Winston: Toughest in Ponyboy's Gang

Sandy: Sodapop's girlfriend

Cherry Valance: Bob's (Soc) Girlfriend

Marcia: Cherry's friend and Randy's (Soc) girlfriend

Randy Adderson: Bob's best friend.

Bob Sheldon: Cherry's Boyfriend

__** Major Themes: **__

The Gap between the rich and the poor social classes

Honor

The Treacherousness of Male-Female Interactions
Supplementary Materials: