Ponyboy Curtis, our male protagonist is a mere fourteen years old, but his perspective is one few fourteen year olds could dream of knowing. He and his two older brothers are members of the Greasers, the poor lower class. They and their gang have a bitter and violent rivalry with the Socs (short for Socials). As the violence escalates, Ponyboy is forced to deal with social class, relationships, family, and loyalty. How much is too much? How far is too far?
Overall, the book was undoubtedly well-written, impressively so when you realize Hinton was just sixteen when she wrote it. Hinton also does an impressive job incorporating several apparent themes, motifs, and recurring symbols. It's a great introductory novel to literary elements, and I believe it's a story that students will really like. The fast-paced, action-packed, high-interest plot would keep both genders satisfied throughout.
I want to specifically point out the gender issues in this book. I first heard of this book a few years back when my younger brother read it. He has fallen into the typical "boy dilemma", one in which he rarely enjoys reading and has trouble finding books he likes. This particular book stood out in my mind, because he actually enjoyed it, so I made a mental note. Having now read it myself, I understand why he liked it. Though I liked it myself, I could see where someone would label this a "boy book". The main characters are all male, and the gangs, violent action, brotherly loyalty and male bonding are prominent themes, more appealing to males than females.
With that in mind, it's interesting that S.E Hinton chose to write under a gender ambiguous name. I can honestly say I didn't know S.E. Hinton was a woman until I did a little more research into the novel, and while reading the book, I assumed the author was male. It begs the question... would her book have been as popular if it was widely known that she was female? Did her gender ambiguity let her fall under the radar and let her book take the center stage?
Furthermore, I thought the role of male and female characters in the book was interesting, especially from a female author. The males were a band of brothers, reliable, loyal, and even the Socs stuck together. The females, however, were widely unreliable, fake, superficial, and problematic for the males. Overall, the gender aspect is an interesting one to examine throughout the book.
There are so many other ideas to examine, consider, and analyze. What a great book, one students enjoy AND you can use for literary purposes.
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