Preview

The Outsiders Text Response Essay

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
446 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Outsiders Text Response Essay
‘Hard times bring out the best and worst in human nature’
The Outsiders – Text response essay

In the novel ‘The Outsiders’ by S.E Hinton, we see how hard times bring out the best and worst in human nature. Human nature is basically what people are like deep down. As the characters change and their life grows and gets harder, we are shown their true colours. Some of them change for the best, and some for the worst.

Hard times include a large variety of matters. Based on the novel that we are working on – ‘The Outsiders’, some of the issues we see are, loss of family members and friends, violence, bullying, poverty and disadvantages (clothes, money etc..). The best in human nature has many potentials including caring for each other, romantic love, family love, friendship, wealth, success and being brave. On the other hand, the worst in human nature includes violence/harassment, anger/hatred, robbery and being abusive and selfish.
…show more content…
A great example of this is the scene where one of the Soc’s, Randy, tries drowning Ponyboy. Johnny (One of Ponyboy’s best friend) who has always been very afraid of the Soc’s as they had once left him bruised and scarred, stepped up and stabbed Randy, trying to save his friend. This one move showed the best in human nature in quite a few ways. It showed Johnny caring for his friend, love and bravery.

The worst in human nature is also shown in the same scene. Although Johnny killed Randy to save his friend, assassinating someone is not the way to go! However, that isn’t the only time in this scene we see an example of the worst in human nature. Bob was also in the wrong for trying to drown Ponyboy for a reason that was so insignificant. The rest of the Soc’s gang were also in the wrong for not stopping Bob from doing such a thing. The aspects of the worst in human nature being shown here were anger/hatred, violence and

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    The ¨Outsiders¨ movie and novel are interesting and tragic. After observing the movie and reading the book, they appeared to be very similar. Though they were similar, there were quite a few differences too.…

    • 251 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    S.E. Hinton was only 15 years old when she wrote this extremely detailed book. I liked her book a lot because of how much detail she put into it. I didn’t like the movie a lot because I was kind of expecting it to be a lot like the book but was disappointed when it left out many different parts of the book. While the book and movie have many similarities and differences, the book was more effective in telling the story.…

    • 482 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The book The Outsiders was written by S. E. Hinton, and published in 1967. The Outsiders movie was then released in 1983 and was directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The story is about a group of 7 greasers set in the 1960’s. Basically the greasers are in constant rival with the socs, the upper class kids from the west side. Ponyboy Curtis and Johnny Cade are the youngest in the group. They go threw some very difficult times after Johnny kills a soc, then dies. Ponyboy must learn how to cope with all that has happened.Together they makes up one of the gangs of greasers that live on the East side of town. Both the book and the movie have some differences, but they are very similar.…

    • 827 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    This question asked students to read carefully a poem by Marilyn Nelson Waniek entitled “The Century…

    • 462 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury portrays a society with the absence of thought, complete conformity through the use of propaganda, and a disregard for one another. In the story, a city exists some time in the future and makes it illegal to own and read books. The city hires firemen to torch buildings containing the illegal contraband even if there are still people inside the structures. The citizens in the community line up around the “heroic” firemen and applaud the men whenever they save them from the “disgusting content of books” which confuses them by debating theories, methods, and histories that are widely held in the society. Bradbury writes this book to demonstrate the dangers of conformity and thoughtlessness in society. Bradbury’s book ridicules all forms of censorship and makes it clear…

    • 491 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Using specific examples (cite page numbers or line numbers) from at least three of the selections we read, discuss similarities in the American Indian view of nature.…

    • 277 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    important; and is a topic that should be covered. Below, are examples of bravery shown in To…

    • 521 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    First of all, Some people say that being a realist tells you the truth what you want…

    • 1444 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Breakfast Club consists of five main characters. The Princess, The Jock, The Basketcase, The Burnout, and The Geek. These characters are affected by numerous factors, such as: parental influences, peer pressure, culture ideals, and psychodynamics.…

    • 276 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Willy Loman, a character in the play, Death of a Salesman, is a man who desperately wants to be successful, but has to deal with many setbacks in his life. He, like most others, has both positive and negative personality traits. The way Willy sees himself, as well as the way others see him changes between the beginning and the end of the play. At the beginning of the play, Willy sees himself as being successful and well-liked. This is partly because he is trying to maintain a successful image for the sake of his friends and family. Willy puts great emphasis on his theory that one is more successful if they are attractive and well-liked. According to him, he is well known throughout New England and can sell things to many people there, even going as far as to stay that he is vital there. Willy is also very proud of the fact that he averages one hundred and seventy dollars in sales in 1928. When he looks at these accomplishments, he feels successful and well-liked.…

    • 799 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Introductory 1:Adversity is a common thing amongst the human-race. Almost everyone has had a problem once or twice in their life. For example, not everyone can agree on everything. Arguments amongst people aren’t rare, and almost every person has been a part of one. Scout from To Kill a Mockingbird had this exact adversity in her life. When she first went to school, she found different kinds of classmates with different views and opinions. She even butted heads with her teacher when she told Scout to stop reading. But, little did she know, that through these problems she had throughout her life were actually shaping her and helping her mature as a person. Most people see adversities as a bad thing, but humans need to have adversity to successfully…

    • 1962 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Nathaniel Hawthorne, a critically acclaimed American writer of the 19th century, was born in Salem, Massachusetts in 1804. The novelist's book, The Scarlet Letter, is supposedly his best work, and universally considered a literary classic. Concerned with sin and consequences of dealing with it, Hawthorne's work relates to his own personal sense of shame about his ancestor's persecuting roles in the 17th century Salem Witch Trials. By indirectly dealing with his sense of guilt through fictional circumstances, he shows his viewpoint as being highly critical of the Puritans while teaching a strong moral lesson in the process. Graduating in the middle of his class from Bowdain College in 1825, he went on to write a variety of long stories, short stories, and articles. Generally his writings contained powerful symbolic and psychological aspects of "the effects of pride, guilt, sin, and secrecy" (Encarta, 1997).…

    • 694 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    “Tough times do not last, tough people do”. This is a very familiar phrase amongst many, and it has proven to be true time and time again. In times of turmoil and hardships it is always those with strong character who take on the responsibility of navigating themselves, and those around them to smoother waters. Unfortunately, there exist a vast number of people who are quick to retreat, and let their cowardly and selfish side out when the going gets tough. Sure it is in everyone’s best interest to protect themselves and their families first. What about when their selfishness and lack of lucidity hinders a collective effort to make circumstances better? In Albert…

    • 2092 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Human and Adversity

    • 786 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Adversity is what creates drive in every human being. It is the monster and fear in all of our nightmares, the bad, testing our willingness to be good, pushing us to fight back, to learn its ways, and to appreciate. However dire or subordinate, it is what allows us to perform extraordinary measures, better ourselves morally, and acquire many other character-defining qualities and lessons we need throughout life. The Roman poet, Horace, expresses adversity perfectly as having “the effect of eliciting talent which in prosperous circumstances would have lain dormant.” In this way, it is the adversity or challenge that is key to gaining these talents or qualities, and the prosperous circumstance or lack of any suffering or challenging that acts as a deterrent. All good is taken away from facing adversity in one form or another, for you can only know true prosperity once you have overcome true adversity.…

    • 786 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Adversity can present itself according to a vast spectrum of severity and can have drastically different effects on individuals. When faced with adversity, people either learn to adapt to what has happened and make do with the circumstances, whereas other individuals will find themselves unable to cope with adversity and ultimately breakdown and lose their ability to carry on. Yann Martel explores, in his fantasy adventure novel, Life of Pi, a young boy’s reaction to the hardships of adversity. Piscine Patel, an adventurous tenacious young boy experiences the struggle of surviving at sea, and the calamity of coping with tragic events in his life. Yann Martel develops the idea that adversity can transform an individual’s identity and play a significant role in one’s life by shaping personal values, determining one’s inner strengths and self worth.…

    • 1112 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays