The Outsiders Book Report

The Outsiders Book Report

 The Outsiders is the novel by Susan Eloise Hinton published in 1967.  Interestingly, the author was only 15 years old when she began writing her masterpiece and 16 when the book was published. The novel tells the story of the rivalry between the two groups, the Socs and the Greasers who belong to different socioeconomic statuses. The book has been heavily criticized for presenting violence, rude language, drug abuse and smoking among teenagers, and other negative sides of the society. If you are writing The Outsiders Book Report, you will definitely find this article useful as it presents you to the major themes, characters and symbols of the novel. If you need custom book reports written from scratch, do not hesitate to request professional help of experienced book report writers on our site!

The Outsiders Book Report: Literary Elements

·         Setting:  large town in the United States

·         Major Characters: Pony Curtis (the narrator and protagonist), Johnny Cade (member of the Greasers), Dallas Winston (tough and mean, belongs to Greasers).

·         Minor Characters: Darrel Curtis (older brother of Pony), Sodapop Curtis (Pony’s middle brother)

·         Protagonist: Pony Curtis, a teenager whose parents were killed in a car accident

·         Antagonist:  poor life of Pony on the wrong side of the town

·         Climax:  Pony reads the letter from Johnny

·         Outcome:  tragic comedy

The Outsiders Book Report: Major Themes

·         The gap between the poor and the rich (the gangs in the novel rival due to socioeconomic differences)

·         Is there honor among those who are left outside the law? (the idea of honorable action is of central importance in the novel)

·         Male-female relationships (the subtopic: female unreliability)

 The Outsiders Book Report: Symbolism

·         Switchblade (the most desired possession that symbolizes the disregard for the law and authority in any form)

·         Automobiles (Socs’ cars represent their power and superiority above the Greasers)

·         Rings and jewelry (the symbols of power and wealth)’

·         Hair of Greaser (their hair is symbolic of their identity as they cannot afford any other way to express themselves)

 The Outsiders Book Report: Help

Writing The Outsiders book report you should be careful to avoid not to present the summary of the plot or the overview of the key events. Your task is to look beyond the evident. Your book report must be concise and critical. If you want to impress your teacher with great book report, try our professional book reporting writing services!