KidLit Forum

- It is a frame novel as it starts and ends with the same idea
- It is a diary-like novel, with not much action, but with more inner thoughts
The gang in itself is a micro society with rules and hierarchy:
“Greasers (…) steal things and drive old souped-up cars and hold up gas stations and have a gang fight once in a while.”
“(…)we wear our hair long and dress in blue jeans and T-shirts, or leave our shirttails out and wear leather jackets and tennis shoes or boot.”
“In our neighborhood it’s rare to find a kid who doesn’t drink once in a while.”
“Steve’ s specialty was cars.”
“Two-Bit Mathews was famous for shoplifting and his black-handled switchblade.”
“Dallas Winston – Dally had been arrested at the age of ten. He was tougher than the rest of us – tougher, cooler, meaner. He had been arrested, he got drunk, he rode in rodeos, lied, cheated, stole, rolled drunks, jumped small kids – but he was smart and you had to respect him.”
“Johnny Cade (…) was the gang’s pet. (…) If it hadn’t been for the gang, Jonny would never have known what love and affection are.”
“Tough and tuff are two different words. (…)In our neighborhood both are compliments.”
“Our one rule, besides Stick together, is Don’t get caught.”
“Our front door is always unlocked in case one of the bays is hacked off at his parents and needs a place to lay over and cool off.”
“Soda fought for fun, Steve for hatred, Darry for pride and Two-Bit for conformity.”

_________________
Monika Bandi

-the book deals vith various issues, such as friendship, loyalty and violence;
-there are two categories of people (two gangs): the Greasers and the Socs;
-if anything bad happens, the Greasers are the ones to blame while the Socs do not look as if they could have done a bad thing;
-they are judged by their appearance;
-Ponyboy is aware of the fact that he is somehow different from the others; sometimes he even tries to explain this;
-he knows that he has to be brave and tough to survive; still, he has a sensitive part;
-he knows that in order to prove his braveness he must not cry (after being beaten by those boys he tries hard not to cry).

Besides being a novel about two different gangs it is also a novel about life such as it is for poor and orphan children. The fact that they lost their parents is the psychological reason for entering a gang which will have to provide them with the closest environment for the family they no longer had. There are numerous signs showing Darry's becoming an adult much too soon. He is compared with their father by Ponyboy. He says that Darry is "always rough with me without meaning to be"and then he says that his father "was never rough with anyone without meaning to be". Even his brothers perceive Darry as being an adult, they hide things from him as teenagers do with their parents.