The Outsiders Essay

The Outsiders by S.E Hinton (1967) is a classic piece of literature about a group of lower-class youths struggling against the class system in America. Set in the 60s, it depicts the everyday lives of the Greasers as they fight against the bullying of the upper-class Socs. Violence is a key element throughout the novel. Hinton uses a range of literary techniques including, but not limited to, similes, hyperboles and imagery to effectively convey to the reader the violent events that happen, as well as their effects on the characters, which helps to fully imagine the world of the Greasers and Socs in the reader’s mind.

Similes are used multiple times throughout the novel, often to express how characters feel after a violent event. For example,

An example of this is when Ponyboy is jumped by the Socs at the start of the novel. Hinton writes, “They had my arms and legs pinned down and one of them was sitting on my chest with his knees on my elbows…I could smell English Leather shaving lotion and stale tobacco.” (pg.6). These words paint a clear picture in the reader’s mind, replete with detail, so that the reader can almost feel the crushing weight of the Soc on their chest, and the smell of his staleness, which can transport the reader into the novel and express the severity of the violent scene. Likewise, in this same scene, Ponyboy describes how, “Someone put his hand over my mouth, and I bit it as hard as I could, tasting the blood running through my teeth,” (pg.6). This is another example of when imagery was used in the novel, and shows how the use of this literary technique can intensify the scene by allowing the reader to imagine the violent situation more clearly, hitting the reader's sense of taste and immersing them in the

Prior to this, Bob attacked Johnny and left him vulnerable and scared of violence. Johnny was profoundly changed, and one senses that he could never go back to being the person he was before the attack, as Ponyboy describes, “Johnny, who was the most law-abiding of us, now carried in his back pocket a six-inch switchblade… They [Socs] had scared him that much. He would kill the next person who jumped him. Nobody was ever going to beat him like that again,” (pg. 41-42). The way the author focuses on the switchblade in this statement would be an example of imagery which is effective to the reader, as it highlights how scared Johnny truly was to the point that he had to carry a weapon on him. In addition to this, this quote could further be described as an example of foreshadowing in the novel as Johnny later kills Bob. Violence is portrayed effectively by using the literary technique of imagery which helps to convey the story’s emotional depth as well as create a clearer picture of events in the