The Importance Of Setting In Hinton's The Outsiders

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Imagine having to watch your back everywhere you go somewhere and must have someone with you everywhere you go. In the story The Outsiders there are two sides of town that are separated by poor and rich people. The state is Oklahoma in 1967 and there are Greasers and Socs too. Johnny, Ponyboy, and Darry are greasers because they are poor. Darry is a hard worker but is very protective of his brothers, Ponyboy is smart but hates where he lives, and Johnny carries a blade for safety or incase he gets jumped by socs their enemies. Johnny is kind and sensitive, but his parents don’t love him. He is also the pet of the group.What the setting does to the characters is that it affects how they behave. Also, since it is the poor side of town and that they are greasers they have to be violent and protective of others and of themselves. To begin, Darry is the oldest out of his two brothers but is mostly affected by the setting. “ Darry would lose that cold hard look.” ( Hinton 48). …show more content…

Darry, Ponyboy, and Johnny are all affected by the setting in multiple ways that made them change in some ways. Darry has to take care of his brothers when his parents died , but when his parents died he became more violent, strict, and protective of his to brothers. Ponyboy has to survive in the violent and harsh environment, but in the end he just wants to be in the country reading. Johnny has a very hard life because he was badly beaten by Socs and he has to now carry a blade just for that reason. Due to the environment the setting gives them and other character, they have to be protective of others and them having to be very violent so that they can survive in the harsh setting they have.In this story the setting is also important in the story because it helps reveal the character in different ways. In the end Ponyboy, Darry, and Johnny were all affected by the setting around them in multiple