The Perfection Of Love In S. E. Hinton's The Outsiders

Taylor swift mentioned that “the perfection of love is that it's not perfect”. Love is like a giant umbrella with numerous meanings under it. Love can be imperfect, cheerful, or bittersweet. In the poem “what love isn’t”, Daley-Ward shows what love is and what love is not. She speaks about how love can be flawless, but also about the hardships of love. The same concept is seen in S.E. Hinton’s The Outsiders when the characters experience difficult and life changing moments for the worst in their lives. In S.E. Hinton’s The Outsiders, the main protagonist learns what love is and is not through the difficult situations that he experiences throughout the novel. Love is forever, even if loved ones are absent. In the poem, “what love isn’t,” love

In the poem, “what love isn’t,” love is viewed as an object that is “never pretty or clean.”(Daley-Ward 13) When the poem states how love is never “pretty or clean”, the poem connects to the claim, for love can have troubles. In other words, Daley-Ward is trying to convey that love is not always the best. This means that love has obstacles that are hard to overcome. The connection between the quote from the poem and the novel is that Darry and Ponyboy never had love that was easy. Darry and Ponyboy's relationship demonstrates obstacles. Darry was always rough on Ponyboy, which gave Ponyboy obstacles. In The Outsiders, Darry slaps Ponyboy and the reaction is that “Suddenly it was deathly quiet. We had all frozen. Nobody in my family had ever hit me. Nobody. Soda was wide-eyed. Darry looked at the palm of his hand where had turned red and then looked back at me.”(Hinton 50) Due to the execution of Darry’s emotion, readers see how love is not shown, but instead Darry’s anger is demonstrated.Although Darry is always rough on Ponyboy, they constantly have some hidden affection for each other. After this scene, Ponyboy starts to believe they do not have a connection with each other or anything corresponding to love. This moment in the novel helps Ponyboy learn what love is not, and here Ponyboy sees love to be imperfect or full of obstacles. When love has obstacles, love is not joyful or