The Characters In The Crossover And The Outsiders

In all sorts of books, authors use different strategies to convey emotions and other details about their characters. The Crossover and The Outsiders are no exception, and use similar tactics as well. In The Crossover, the main character, Josh, who loves basketball and has been playing it with his brother, JB, his whole life, faces emotional stress when JB gets a girlfriend and his dad’s health issues are becoming worse. In The Outsiders, the main character, Ponyboy, is trying to live his life as a greaser when he and his friend Johnny get caught up in a murder and fights. In both of these books, the authors use similar tactics, such as descriptive language and dialogue, to convey the growing identities of the characters and themes of books

Hinton, personal identity is significant. After Josh has lost his hair, On page 43, Josh says, “And so each time I count the locks of hair beneath my pillow I end up with thirty-seven plus one tear, which never adds up.” This shows the importance Josh’s hair has on his mood and personality. His lack of hair greatly affects his identity and emotions. He feels different without it, like a different person. His deep connection with his hair combined with his brother Jordan spending a lot with his girlfriend leads him to violently pass a basketball to his brother, causing him to get a large nosebleed. Throughout the book, Ponyboy thinks about how Socs never get in trouble and are usually considered good people, while Greasers are considered hoods and are treated as such. He thinks about how unfair it is that a lot of the Greasers he knows are actually good people and a lot of Socs he’s heard about aren’t. This idea of Ponyboy being a Greaser plays a big part in his identity and how he thinks of himself and others. While he considers himself a Greaser, it's really the only thing that he can attach his identity to because his family, his social life, and his life all have something to do with being a Greaser. Both Ponyboy’s and Josh’s characters have strong connections with the idea that identity is significant and can decide one’s actions and

This changes the outcome of certain situations, usually for the worse. On page 156, Josh is still on bad terms with Jordan, and after his girlfriend calls him mean, Josh says, “Sometimes it’s the things that aren’t said that kill you.” This is Josh realizing that JB not standing up for him or being his friend is emotionally painful. He’s hurt that Jordan doesn’t forgive him yet for giving him a bad nosebleed. This action, or lack thereof, inspires Josh to try to get Jordan to forgive him and becomes a better brother because of it. Darry’s fight with Ponyboy and Johnny’s overall crappiness at home indirectly cause them to get jumped and Johnny to kill someone. This action by Darry and Johnny’s bad home life bring forth almost the whole of Ponyboy’s character arc. Darry’s fights with Ponyboy also lead to even more important events, like Sodapop’s character arc. Directly or indirectly, the families of the main characters in these books cause the main characters to do certain actions that directly drive the plot