Isaac Newton once said, “We build too many walls and not enough bridges.” This quote represents the invisible barriers society and ourselves create between people despite of their many similarities. In The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, this idea comes to life throughout journey of Ponyboy Curtis, a fourteen year old Greaser, in the Hood of Tulsa, Oklahoma during 1965. The Greasers, the poor who never get a break, and the Socs, the rich, who are on an ongoing battle refusing to get along. However, the story is set into motion when Darry slaps Ponyboy after coming home extremely late. In spite of this strained relationship getting resolved later on, this action leads to the death of Bob, Johnny, and Dally, but also prompts Ponyboy’s self-discovery. …show more content…
The sunsets represent the connection and similarities between the Greasers and Socs, often in the form of Ponyboy and Cherry. An example of this is when Ponyboy is beginning to open up to Cherry as he walks her home from the movies she mentions that Ponyboy must enjoy to watch sunsets, identical to her..The text states,” It seemed funny to me that the sunset she saw from her patio and, the one I saw from the back steps was the same one. Maybe the two different worlds we lived in weren't so different. We saw the same sunset”(35). The text establishes that being open-minded towards others often leads to the discovery of similarities as at first Ponyboy believes that all Socs are interchangeable, but when Ponyboy discovers the unique warmth of Cherry, he uncovers the parallels between them including the adoration of sunsets and how in general everyone sees the sunset, in shorter words, every person is connected. Therefore, the symbol of sunsets inspires the theme that giving others a chance often results in the uncovery of common