What is the exposition of The Outsiders?
The beginning of The Outsiders introduces the reader to the narrator, fourteen-year-old Ponyboy Curtis, and what his life is like in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
As Ponyboy walks home from a Paul Newman movie, he thinks about some of his fellow gang members in his gang called the Greasers. He also thinks about the Greaser’s rival gang called the Socs, which tells the reader about one of the main sources of conflict in Ponyboy’s life. The reader also learns that the Greasers are poorer than the Socs and “wilder.” Ponyboy’s discussion of the gangs suggests that the Socs jump Greasers and stir up trouble for thrills, while the Greasers steal and get involved in fights sometimes because they need money or protection.
While Ponyboy is walking, some members of the Socs pull up to him and are about to jump him. But then another member of the Greasers named Darry comes up and Ponyboy is safe. This scene introduces the reader to the bonds between the Greasers.
This is considered the exposition in the book because the main conflict has not yet been introduced. An exposition is similar to an introductory paragraph in an essay. The reader learns important background information, including who the characters are, what the characters are like, and what the setting is.
What is the plot line of The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton?
I see that you've gotten some different answers, so I want to provide some additional context about the terms you're questioning.
First, you can't truly determine a story's climax without first considering its protagonist and conflict.
The protagonist of a story faces some key conflict by an antagonist. He or she typically (but not always) undergoes a change as a result of the conflict.
In this story, Ponyboy is the protagonist. He's the narrator, so the plot that develops is through his perspective. He faces conflict through the Socs as a whole and specifically through Bob and Randy, who have beaten up Johnny in the past. When Bob tries to drown Pony, Johnny kills Bob, thus setting in motion the central plot of the story.
Thus, the rising action follows. Pony and Johnny flee the scene and escape to a remote church where they have some freedom to live a life uncomplicated by Socs and Greasers. Although they are in hiding, this period represents a time of relative peace for both boys. This peace ends when they leave for a while with Dally and return to find the church ablaze with a group of children inside. The boys enter the church, rescuing every single child but suffering injuries themselves in the process. They are hospitalized, and Johnny suffers the worst injuries.
The climax of a novel occurs at a point when the protagonist is presented with a choice or situation which could resolve the conflict. That's why it's so important to determine first the protagonist and the key conflict before trying to determine the climax. The point at which Pony faces an opportunity to resolve the Soc conflict is when Johnny dies. Johnny encourages him to "stay gold," and Pony can take that advice and focus on the more beautiful things in life or become cold and hard like Dally.
Pony struggles with this death (and the internal conflict of making a choice to leave behind his Greaser life) for a while. In talking to his brothers and his English teacher, he finds a path forward that leads to hope. Thus, the resolution of Ponyboy's conflict is deciding to use his talents to convey the truths of his setting (being from the wrong side of the tracks and economically disadvantaged in the 1960s) through writing about what he has experienced.
What is the plot line of The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton?
In S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders, some information, like the setting, is a little vague. However, the following information catalogues the plot line for the story:
Setting
The town, and year are never actually named in the story. However, S.E. Hinton explains that she based the story on her hometown of Tulsa, Ok. What readers know is that the story is set in a small, unnamed town, where there are two distinct sides of town- rich, and underprivileged. Readers can infer that the story is set during the 1960s, based on dialogue (Rumble...golly gee), types of cars (Corvair), and clothes (Madras).
Rising Action
Many people become confused by the rising action and climax of The Outsiders. Since the rising action is the point in the novel that leads into the main action, and starts to beat up the story, the rising action here is when Johnny kills a Soc for trying to drown Ponyboy. This is the point in the story where the conflict between the Socs and Greasers really gets interesting, and the gang must come to action.
Climax
The climax to this story is a bit lengthy. It begins when Johnny and Ponyboy run into the burning house, and Johnny becomes trapped by the burning embers. The climax ends when Johnny dies. He explains that conflict is unimportant, and that the fighting should stop.
Falling Action
The falling action happens just after Johnny dies, and Dallas gets shot by the police. It's at this point in the novel that the major conflicts begin to die. After all, the Greasers won the rumble, and Johnny still died, though he died a hero.
Denoument (Resolution)
All of the conflicts are resolved when Ponyboy is cleared of all charges, and gets to remain in the care of his brothers. Readers see Ponyboy come full circle as the story ends, just as it began.
What is the historical context in the exposition of The Outsiders?
In the exposition of The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, there are several pieces of information that indicate that the novel is set in the late 1950s or early 1960s. When the novel opens, the narrator has just left a movie starring Paul Newman. Newman's most popular movies were in theaters during the 1950s and 1960s, providing the reader with a wide time frame for the setting.
As Ponyboy's story continues to unfold, he refers to his own group of friends as the Greasers and the rival gang as the Socs. These terms can help to further narrow the time frame of the novel. Greasers was a term that was more commonly used in the 1950s to describe boys of the middle to lower class who typically worked on cars. Based upon these indicators, it would be acceptable to presume that the novel is set somewhere around the late 1950s to early 1960s.
With that being said, one of the compelling elements of The Outsiders is its ability to transcend time periods and social settings to become applicable to a wide array of readers. While the setting of the novel may have been the 1950s or 1960s, the struggle of the boys to figure out who they are and where they belong in the world is one that readers can understand and connect with no matter when the book is read.
What is the historical context in the exposition of The Outsiders?
Historical context in a novel simply means what is the historical background of the story. Many times novels operate with a setting based on some historic event or time period. When Ponyboy walks out of the movie theater thinking about Paul Newman, Hinton automatically identifies the time period of the novel as occurring some time during the 1960s when Paul Newman had some of his biggest starring roles. Hinton plays on the idea of Paul Newman's toughness along with similar tough guy roles like James Dean's Rebel Without A Cause to showcase the teenage mindset of the 1960s--admiration for movies and rock 'n roll and teenage rebellion against the status quo. Hinton further elaborates on the historical context of the novel as Ponyboy begins to worry about Socs and his own role as a greaser; the circumstance of warring gangs in The Outsiders is yet another detail that adds to the historical context or placement of the novel in terms of setting.
Can you provide a summary of the novel The Outsiders?
The story opens with 14-year-old Ponyboy walking home from the movies and thinking about life. He knows he shouldn't be walking home alone, because his gang of poor kids known as Greasers frequently gets beat up by the rich kids, knows as Socs (pronounced "so-sh" or "so-shiz" when plural). He didn't want to take anyone with him though, because no one else in the gang really appreciates stories the way he does. Sure enough, Ponyboy gets jumped by a group of Socs on the way home. Luckily, the members of his gang see what's happening and run in to help. Now we meet them: Pony's older brother Sodapop and oldest brother (and father figure, since the boys are orphans), Darry. As for the rest, we have Two-Bit the joker of the group; Dally, the rough one from New York, Steve, Sodapop's best friend; and Johnny, the second youngest living in perpetual fear of beatings from Socs and his parents.
The next night, Ponyboy, Johnny, and Dallas go to the drive-in movies. Dallas decides to harass the two Soc girls sitting in front of them, until Johnny tells him to stop. Dally gets mad and Pony notes that Dally would have hit anyone else, but Johnny is the gang's pet, so Dally storms off instead. The girls, Cherry and Marcia, invite Johnny and Pony to sit with them. Two-Bit shows up and him and Marcia crack each other up with jokes. Meanwhile Pony and Cherry seem to have a lot in common and Pony opens up to her about Johnny's terrible beating by the Socs, in which he almost died.
The boys decide to walk the girls to Two-Bits to drive them home, since they have ditched their drunk Soc boyfriends. The drunk boyfriends show up in a car with their friends, though, and the girls leave with them to avoid a fight. Pony and Johnny lie down in a lot and fall asleep talking. When Pony wakes up at 2 AM, he knows Darry will be furious (Darry takes his job of makeshift father very seriously) and so he runs home. He and Darry get in a huge fight about Pony's lack of street smarts and poor decisions and Darry ends up slapping Pony. Pony runs back out of the house and grabs Johnny to tell him they're running away.
Pony knows he just needs to cool down, though, so they wander around the park for a bit. That's when the Socs come back, ready for revenge on Pony and Johnny "taking their girls." When one of them tries to drown Pony in the fountain, Johnny pulls out the switchblade he's carried since his first attack and stabs Bob (Cherry's boyfriend). Horrified, the boys run to find Dally to help them out of this mess.
Dally hooks them up with some cash and a gun and gets them on a train to the countryside, telling them to make for an abandoned church to hide. They do, reading from Gone with the Wind to pass the time and cutting their long hair to hide their identities. On the 5th day, Dally comes to visit and they go out for burgers. When they come back, the church is on fire from one of their cigarettes. Worse still, so children who were there on a field trip are trapped inside. Pony runs inside to help, with Johnny hot on his heels, and Dally running after telling them to not risk their lives for some kids.
All three of them end up in the hospital. Johnny is especially bad off, as a piece of flaming timber fell on his back. The timing is nearly perfect, as the Greasers and Socs have a big rumble planned for the next day. Johnny killing the Soc has had serious repercussions and this rumble is meant to decide things once and for all. Pony and Dally get out and fight and the Greasers win. Dally grabs Pony and takes him to tell Johnny.
While they are there, Johnny dies from his injuries. Dally runs off and Pony hitches a ride home. The rest of the gang is waiting and they hear that Dally has robbed a store. The gang witnesses him pull out a gun so the cops will shoot him.
There is a trial for Ponyboy, to decide if he can keep living with his brothers or will need to go into foster care. It's decided that he can stay, but he goes through life in a daze, losing his good grades and sense of purpose. That is, until his English teacher assigns him a story to write from his heart. Thinking back on the events of the year, Pony starts writing the story of what has happened to him.
Get Ahead with eNotes
Start your 48-hour free trial to access everything you need to rise to the top of the class. Enjoy expert answers and study guides ad-free and take your learning to the next level.
Already a member? Log in here.