What is the key lesson Ponyboy learns in The Outsiders?

Ponyboy learns there are more similarities among young people than differences. He also learns there is goodness in others and, most importantly, that violence serves no positive purpose.

When Ponyboy talks to Cherry in Chapter 3, he learns the Socs have problems, too, although they differ from those of the Greasers. Interestingly, Cherry seems to understand Ponyboy: 

"You read a lot, don't you, Ponyboy?" Cherry asked. 

I was startled. "Yeah. Why?" 

She kind of shrugged. "I could just tell. I'll bet you watch sunsets, too." She was quiet for a minute after I nodded. "I used to watch them, too, before I got so busy. . . "

From Cherry and others, Ponyboy learns there is still goodness in the world. Yet, there is also peer pressure for both gangs. Like the Greasers, the Socs have parents who neglect them, although for different reasons.

With the knowledge that he gains from his experiences, Ponyboy learns the important lesson that violence serves no positive purpose. This idea is expressed in Chapter 7 when a Mustang pulls up as Two-Bit and Ponyboy stop at the Tasty Freeze to relax and have Cokes. Randy and a tall boy who nearly drowned Ponyboy are inside; Randy asks Ponyboy to get into the Mustang and talk with him. In the course of their conversation, Randy praises Ponyboy for his courageous act of saving the children in the church fire. After saying a few other things, Randy tells Ponyboy that he is not going to participate in the rumble between their gangs:

You can't win, even if you whip us. You'll still be where you were before—at the bottom. And we'll still be the lucky ones with all the breaks. So it doesn't do any good, the fighting and the killing (Chapter 7).

Ponyboy knows Randy is right. Nothing positive comes of violence. Instead, he has lost boys that he has loved to it. This is his most important lesson.

As a summation of his experiences and thoughts, Ponyboy arrives at the realization that "[N]othing gold can stay." Words are much more effective than actions; therefore, he writes with the hope that what is "gold" in people can "stay" as it is recorded.

One could argue that Ponyboy's most important life lesson concerns the fact that appearances and reputations can be deceiving. Towards the beginning of the novel, Ponyboy is rather naive and fails to consider that every individual, regardless of age or class, struggles in some area of his or her life. As the novel progresses, Ponyboy interacts with members of the Soc gang, has enlightening conversations with Johnny, experiences traumatic events with his brothers, and develops a broadened perspective on life. Through his interactions with Cherry Valance and Randy Adderson, Ponyboy learns that Socs struggle to maintain their reputations in their superficial social group and lack responsible authority figures. During Pony's time spent with Johnny, he realizes that intelligence is not always identified in school and that Dally is a gallant individual despite his negative personality traits. Following the church fire, Ponyboy realizes that Darry loves him and has sacrificed everything to keep their family together. Pony also learns the importance of retaining his innocence and appreciating life after reading Johnny's letter. Overall, Pony's increased perspective on life teaches him to view situations from various points of view and to not judge others, because appearances are often deceiving.

What life lessons are learned from The Outsiders?

Life lessons can be learned from The Outsiders if the reader looks beyond the surface.  This novel, written by a 17 year old girl, shows the two different groups, the Socs and the Greasers, as they really are.  Lesson one is that the novel asks the reader to understand that the two groups are really two different classes of society each with its own rules and no real bridges between them.  Attempts to connect are made, but life returns to each on their own side of society. Lesson two is that the group needs the others to affirm them as each group has no other affirmation.  Lesson three is that there is hope for change through the one exception to the rule. Ponyboy learns to act the part of the tough when he uses broken glass bottles to stave off the Socs, and then picks up the pieces of broken glass so that no one gets a flat tire.  He is the one who stays gold, who stays true to himself  even if he appears to have changed, who has a chance at making a better life for himself just like Darry wants him to do. Perhaps in the future, the two groups may find a way to bridge the gap between them in their microsociety just as the larger society needs to find ways to bridge the divide among classes in the macrosociety around them.

What three life lessons does Ponyboy learn from Cherry and Randy in The Outsiders?

What does Ponyboy learn about greasers and people in The Outsiders?

Ponyboy learns a great deal about greasers and about people in general as the novel progresses, but a few big moments of realization take place in Chapter 7 of The Outsiders, after Ponyboy and Dally and Johnny risked their lives to save the kids from the fire they accidentally set.

In Chapter 7, Ponyboy realizes that Darry's cold manner isn't a reflection of a cold heart when he sees his brothers at the hospitals. He finally understands that Darry's greatest fear is losing another person he loves, like the three brothers lost their parents. This understanding helps Ponyboy feel close to Darry. As well, Ponyboy realizes that he, along with the rest of the greasers, rely on Johnny for something intangible, but very valuable. The loss of Johnny would devastate everyone, Ponyboy realizes, when he sees how bad off Johnny actually is. Finally, Ponyboy speaks with Randy and learns that Bob's death has had a serious impact on Bob's friends and family. Bob's mother has had a breakdown, and Randy himself wants to leave town. He learns from Randy that Bob was a real person who had a complicated personality, and even though Bob was the enemy, he wasn't only an enemy: Bob was also a son and a good friend. This realization takes Ponyboy by surprise, and after that exchange with Randy, he is reluctant to categorize Randy as simply a "Soc"—he thinks of Randy now as "just a guy...who wanted to talk," much like any greaser Ponyboy knows. Ponyboy learns here that greasers and Socs have a lot more in common than he thought.

What did the greasers learn from the streets and what would they like to learn in The Outsiders?

Since many of the greasers' home lives are less than satisfactory, they spend a great deal of time on the streets. Most of the boys, particualarly Johnny and Ponyboy, learn to travel in groups so they will be less likely targets of the Socs. Consequently, the greasers

... are almost like hoods; we steal things and drive old souped-up cars and hold up gas stations and have a gang fight once in a while.

Steve Randle, for example, was an expert with cars.

He could lift a hubcap quicker and more quietly than anyone in the neighborhood. 

Two-Bit Mathews "was famous for shoplifting and his black-handled switchblade." He liked fighting and smarting off to cops. Dallas Winston had learned about life on the streets in New York City, where he was first arrested at the age of ten. In Tulsa, "he did everything":

... lied, cheated, stole, rolled drunks, jumped small kids.

But the boys had dreams, too. Dally, the toughest of them all, liked to ride in rodeos, and he rode honestly, too. He dreams of escaping the city and living on a horse ranch. Soda knows that life on the streets is hard, and he wants to marry his girlfriend and settle down. Johnny yearns for a happy family life, or just somewhere where there is no fighting. Darry knows that his chances of playing college football is over, but he tackles the responsibility of man of the house in order to keep his brothers with him. As for Pony, everyone has high expectations for him. They want him to avoid "getting tough," since they know college is in his future.

What important lesson did Johnny and Ponyboy learn in The Outsiders?

The Outsiders offers a fictional look inside the social world of gang rivalry in 1960s Oklahoma. Ponyboy Curtis, the protagonist, is a member of the Greaser gang. Johnny is his close friend. They are white, working-class boys, as are their friends. After a series of clashes between gang members, harrowing incidents, and several deaths, Ponyboy turns to writing. The novel is presented as his written version of those recent events. One of the most important things that Ponyboy learns, therefore, is that writing is a powerful way to process difficult experiences; for him, the lesson means taking his own creative gifts seriously as part of what will enable him to leave gang life.

Because their parents have died, Ponyboy and his brother Soda are largely being raised by their oldest brother, Darry, who is keenly aware of the dangers of gang life. Ponyboy, in part influenced by Johnny’s difficulties with the rival Socs gang, stays involved with the Greasers despite Darry’s constant advice to stay out of the conflicts. One thing the gangs, which have only male members, fight about is the attention of girls. Ponyboy’s and Johnny’s attention to Cherry and Marcia, who have been dating Soc boys, angers those boys. When one Soc member, Bob, tries to drown Ponyboy, Johnny intervenes and stabs Bob. When Ponyboy comes to after losing consciousness, he realizes that Johnny has killed Bob.

The lessons learned are most clearly conveyed in the last part of the novel. After the killing, the two boys and their friend Dally run away and hide in an abandoned church. Johnny contemplates turning himself in, knowing that running is not the correct course. When the church catches fire, there are other children inside, and the boys must decide what is the right course of action. Despite being wanted by the law, they do not run away again. Instead, both boys behave ethically and go back inside to rescue the children. Ponyboy does so successfully, but Johnny is trapped inside. He is taken to the hospital and later dies. To make matters worse, their friend Dally tries to rob a liquor store and, in the presence of the other boys, is shot and killed by the police.

Unfortunately, it takes these tragedies to wake up Ponyboy to Darry’s accuracy about the dangerous situation into which he had placed himself. He now understands that randomness determined that Johnny rather than himself died. One very crucial lesson is that the bonds of family trump other connections; loyalty to friends is important but may not always be worth sacrificing yourself for. Johnny learned that it is sometimes worth taking a big risk to do the right thing, such as saving the children from the fire. In contrast, impulsive acts that harm others may start chain reactions from which there is no escape.

Does the setting of "The Outsiders" impart any lessons?

Hinton says that she places the setting in her hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma, but this information isn't provided through the actual text. So why would Pony not provide some clues about the setting through his dialogue?

One likely reason is to allow readers everywhere to see the common struggles of social clashes in their own towns. By leaving the specific town out of the plot, the setting can be almost anywhere. Thus, it is easy to see the way socioeconomics can divide people and lead to devastating consequences. This isn't just a story about Tulsa (or Boston or LA or Houston) but a story about the close bonds of friendship and the devastating conflicts between young people everywhere. The anonymity of setting supports Cherry's sentiments that "things are rough all over" (chapter 2).

Another thing the setting indicates is the ability of the country to transform perspective. In the city, Pony becomes lost in the constant conflict that surrounds him there. In chapter 3, he tells Johnny that one day he wants to live in the country in order to get away from all the violence in the city, equating the country with a more peaceful life. After Bob's murder, he and Johnny escape to the country church and do have a transformative (though deadly) experience there. Pony emerges from his country experience with new maturity and understanding. Thus, the setting seems to suggest that the country does provide a reprieve from the stresses of city living.

Hinton also says that the action of the book is set in 1965. This is significant to dispel the idea that our modern world is complex and that in earlier decades, things were much more peaceful and uncomplicated. In this novel, we see that the same struggles which face us today (economic advantages, social isolation, parental abuse, living without parents, social stratification which leads to conflict) are not new to our time. Even in the often idealized 1960s, these same concerns faced young (and old) people. Thus, the time of the setting shows that some struggles are timeless.

What is the main lesson in The Outsiders?

One could argue that the primary lessons in S. E. Hinton's classic novel The Outsiders are the importance of not judging others based on their appearance, background, or social status and that fighting is futile and useless. Throughout the story, Hinton sympathizes with the Greasers, who are lower-class troubled teenagers and delinquents. Despite their bad reputations, the Greasers consist of loving, considerate friends who are extremely loyal, selfless, and brave. Ponyboy narrates the story and is depicted as an intelligent, insightful teenager who resents the fact that he is marked lousy simply because he is a Greaser. Similarly, Pony unfairly judges Cherry Valance, who is portrayed as a caring, understanding Soc cheerleader. Despite their backgrounds and different classes, both characters are similar and discover that they are more alike than they are different. Fortunately, Pony and Cherry are able to look past their differences and become friends.

Hinton also illustrates the futility of violence. Randy Adderson refuses to participate in the rumble because it will not change anything between the Socs and Greasers, and even Pony mentions that fighting does not make any sense. Following the rumble, Pony suffers a serious injury, and Johnny Cade tells Dally that fighting is useless. These characters' comments and reactions to violence reveal Hinton's underlying message, which is that people have more in common than they think and fighting is useless.