The Greasers
King Pin: S. E. Hinton
Full Name: Susan Eloise Hinton
Pen Name: S. E. Hinton
Date of Birth: July 22, 1948
Place of Birth: Tulsa, Oklahoma
Brief Life Story:
S. E. Hinton grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the city in which The Outsiders is set. Writing helped her to process her experiences and find refuge from her troubled home life. During Hinton’s teenage years, she wrote two books that were unpublished before she wrote The Outsiders, which was published when she was 19 years old. The book was based on the social problems she witnessed at her Tulsa high school. After The Outsiders, she wrote several other young adult books. In recent years, she has published children’s fiction and adult fiction as well. In 1988, the American Library Association awarded her the Margaret A. Edwards Award, which honors the work of authors whose books have proven to speak for and to adolescents. She was also awarded the 1998 Arrell Gibson Lifetime Achievement Award by the Oklahoma Center for the Book. Hinton lives in Tulsa with her husband.
Hinton wrote The Outsiders in part because she wanted to read a book like it. She felt that the fiction available to teenagers at the time did not depict the adolescent experience in a realistic way. She wanted to write about the experiences of herself and her peers in school, so that others would be aware of some of the real problems facing teenagers in her day.
Pen Name: S. E. Hinton
Date of Birth: July 22, 1948
Place of Birth: Tulsa, Oklahoma
Brief Life Story:
S. E. Hinton grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the city in which The Outsiders is set. Writing helped her to process her experiences and find refuge from her troubled home life. During Hinton’s teenage years, she wrote two books that were unpublished before she wrote The Outsiders, which was published when she was 19 years old. The book was based on the social problems she witnessed at her Tulsa high school. After The Outsiders, she wrote several other young adult books. In recent years, she has published children’s fiction and adult fiction as well. In 1988, the American Library Association awarded her the Margaret A. Edwards Award, which honors the work of authors whose books have proven to speak for and to adolescents. She was also awarded the 1998 Arrell Gibson Lifetime Achievement Award by the Oklahoma Center for the Book. Hinton lives in Tulsa with her husband.
Hinton wrote The Outsiders in part because she wanted to read a book like it. She felt that the fiction available to teenagers at the time did not depict the adolescent experience in a realistic way. She wanted to write about the experiences of herself and her peers in school, so that others would be aware of some of the real problems facing teenagers in her day.
Ponyboy Curtis
At 14 years old, the youngest Curtis brother and greaser. Ponyboy is intelligent and sensitive and has certain un-greaserlike characteristics: he likes to go to movies by himself, does well in school, and appreciates sunsets. The events of the novel cause him to think about the kind of life he wants to lead and motivate him to work for change in his community. He learns to see the humanity in his enemies, and takes steps to help others see that humanity as well.
Darry Curtis
The oldest of the Curtis brothers. Darry is 20, hardworking, and rarely shows his feelings. After the boys’ parents died, Darry passed up a college scholarship and took responsibility for raising his younger brothers. Darry has high expectations for Ponyboy, and Ponyboy’s occasional failure to meet those expectations causes tension between the brothers. Over the course of the novel, Darry learns how to show Ponyboy that he cares about him.
Sodapop Curtis
The middle Curtis brother. Sodapop is handsome and fun-loving. A high school dropout who enjoys working with cars and has a job at a gas station, he is a compassionate and supportive sibling to his two brothers. He often finds himself in the middle of their fights.
Johnny Cade
The second youngest of the greasers. Johnny is 16, a close friend to Ponyboy, and beloved by the entire gang. He comes from an abusive and neglectful home, and he spends as little time there as possible. The greasers are his true family, and they regard him as a little brother. Johnny’s courageous acts and words, as well as his premature death, inspire Ponyboy to write about his experiences and to pursue a better path in his life.
Dallas Winston
A tough, hardened greaser. Dally grew up on the streets of New York and learned early to depend upon himself. He has a long criminal record and is prone to risk-taking, yet he is also a loyal and compassionate friend. He is devoted to Johnny, in whom he sees the potential that he himself has lost.
Two-Bit Mathews
The oldest of the greaser gang. Two-Bit is quick-witted and is always telling jokes. Ponyboy appreciates that Two-Bit treats him as an equal.
Steve Randle
Sodapop’s best friend. Steve works with Sodapop at the gas station and spends a lot of time at the Curtis home. Ponyboy feels that Steve regards him as a child and a tagalong.
Tim Shepard
Leader of the Shepard gang, a gang friendly to, but tougher than, the greasers. Tim is a good friend of Dally’s.