Ponyboy identifies with the supporter, Pip, because like him, he is besides, hapless, orphaned, and fighting to do sense of the universe. There is many other literature connects describe throughout Hinton ‘s novel. For case, Robert Frost poem “ Nothing Gold Can Stay ” helps the supporter, and his friend, Johnny, understand that infantile things do non last everlastingly, and that turning up every bit good as facing world is portion of turning up. Subsequently in the novel, Johnny compares his friend, Dally, to a Southern gentleman in Gone with the Wind ; holding romanticized with Dally makes Johnny able to understand him better. Literature does non merely make a bond between a reader, and the characters on the page, it besides creates “ a mirror and a connexion ” that are “ deeper than the colour of tegument, with connexions based on features of specific characters in books ” ( Stewart 1 & A ; 10 ) . Identical to how Pony creates “ a mirror and a connexion ” of himself with the character, Pip, which is based on the features that they are both hapless, orphaned, and fighting to do sense of the universe. Rebel does the same as he creates “ a mirror and a connexion ” with his friend Dally.
Some would reason that this “ mirror and connexion ” makes immature grownup literature “ reliable, ” yet ; there has been a batch of contention over the “ reliable ” in immature grownup literature every bit good as its subgenre, “ job novels. ” Rose Mary Honnold ‘s The Teen Reader ‘s Advisor defines the subgenre of immature grownup literature, “ job novel, ” as covering more with characters from low-class households and their jobs ; being “ grittier ” ; utilizing more realistic linguistic communication ; and including idioms, profanity, and hapless grammar when it fits the character and scene. McGee echoes this sentiment as he points out how “ many immature grownup novelists, particularly those who write in the job fresh tradition or those who employ the diary-type confessional format, the demand for an ‘authentic’-sounding adolescent voice ” which gives the novel, itself, a “ credible ” or “ realistic ” position ( McGee 172 ) . Mike Cadden, on the other manus, argues, “ Novels constructed by grownups to imitate reliable stripling ‘s voice are inherently dry because the alleged adolescent voice is ne’er – and ne’er can be-truly reliable ” ( 146 ) . While few bookmans would nitpick with the thought of “ reliable ” in kids literature, something has to be said about qualities of “ reliable ” within the reader.
As I will show, the inclination in scholarship of kids ‘s literature is to favor “ mirror books ” for its achieving qualities, its ability to put the reader inside of the novel. Rather than argue for a manner to sharpen the potency of the kids ‘s “ reliable ” in general, I will reason for the focal point on the alone potency of “ mirror books. ” To exemplify how a novel for immature readers can encompass “ mirror books, ” I will read extensively from S.E Hinton ‘s 1967 novel, The Outsiders.
The Outsiders and Problem Novels
I will shortly contract my analysis of “ mirror books, ” but it is first deserving observing why I chose Hinton ‘s novel, and the significance of the term. The ground I chose to analyze S.E Hinton ‘s The Outsiders. In “ The Irony of Narration in the Young Adult Novel, Cadden states “ Novels constructed by grownups to imitate an reliable stripling ‘s voice are inherently dry because the alleged stripling novel is never-and ne’er can be – genuinely reliable ” ( 146 ) . McGee agrees with this statement by saying that “ exactly because immature grownup novels are seldom written by teens themselves ” ( 172 ) . After reading their claims, I felt that it was necessary to analyze The Outsiders because Hinton was a adolescent when she wrote the novel, which so focuses merely on adolescents, and became the first of its sort. Dissatisfied with the deficiency of pragmatism of adolescents in traditional novels, Hinton wanted a book that would reflect the experience she saw traveling on around her. Through the position of an foreigner, she interview many groups in high school, and saw “ the large image ” better than most. Furthermore, she decided to compose about male childs because she claims, “ at that clip misss did non make much. They waited around for their fellows, concentrating on their hair and make-up. ” She wanted her novel to be more realistic, so she spent clip with male childs and wrote about them. Last, “ unlike standard teenage novels, The Outsiders and her subsequent novels, including That Was Then, This Is Now ( 1971 ) , Rumble Fish ( 1975 ) , Tex ( 1979 ) , and Taming the Star Runner ( 1988 ) , contain characters who cope with such [ jobs ] as force, poorness, alcohol addiction, and drug dependence ” ( enotes ) . The subgenre of immature grownup novel, “ job novels ” was created.
Problem novels have been around for a long clip ; nevertheless, non much has changed throughout the old ages. As I illustrated before, Rose Mary Honnold defines “ job novels ” as covering more with characters from low-class households and their jobs ; being “ grittier ” ; utilizing more realistic linguistic communication ; and including idioms, profanity, and hapless grammar when it fits the character and scene. Hinton ‘s novel does incorporate all these facets, which is no surprise since the novel was the first of its sort ; nevertheless, what I have found surprising is that how many other YA novels or in other words “ job novels ” have besides followed the same standards. Robert Cormier ‘s The Chocolate War, Sherman Alexie ‘s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian, and Walter Dean Myers ‘ Fallen Angels all have chief characters that “ are hapless and on the lower terminal of the fiscal and societal graduated table ” ( Seay 69 ) , as each character tries to cover with their ain jobs of personal and societal issues. The Chocolate War, published in 1974, follows the supporter, Jerry Renault, as he challenges the school ‘s inhuman treatment, ferociousness, and the ugly rabble regulation brought upon his fellow schoolmates, and instructors. Fallen Angels, published in 1988, follows the supporter, Richard Perry, as he enlists into the Vietnam War, and realizes that war is non triumphs, as it seems from the position of place. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian, published in 2007, follows the supporter of a Native American adolescent named Arnold Spirit, Jr. as he transfers from a Spokane Indian Reservation to an all-white high school at an off-reservation of Reardan. All three of these novels deal with issues such as racism, poorness, and the loss of inexperienced persons. Laurie Halse Anderson ‘s Speak, on the manus, harmonizing to Barbara Tannert-Smith, “ exemplifies the modern-day alteration of the earlier teenage ‘problem novel ‘ into the ‘adolescent injury narrative ‘ ” ( 397 ) . Speak is about Melinda Sordino ‘s first twelvemonth in high school and ends with the realisation that she was raped by an older pupil at a party before the school twelvemonth began. In add-on, Anderson somewhat breaks the cast by puting Melinda in a middle-class household, and the narrative is told in a “ diary-type confessional format with short, darkly comedian, and dry entries [ which ] anticipates modern-day teenage web log civilization ” ( Tannert-Smith 397 ) . Yet, critics still knock the “ reliable ” of immature grownup literature, although immature grownup readers relate to these novels because the storyteller is from their ain age group and reflect many issues that they themselves may confront. On her web site, Justine Larbalestier, a good known YA writer, states how she could non believe how helpful job novels were for many immature readers: “ Readers told me over and over once more that they were able to happen person like themselves in the chief character covering with maltreatment, with an alcoholic female parent, a drug addicted male parent, or what have you. Librarians talked of being able to set the right book in the custodies of a fighting adolescent, which non merely got them reading, but every spot as of import, gave them a manner to speak about what was go oning to them and therefore acquire aid. ” Obviously, immature grownup readers continue to associate to these “ job novels ” as they see themselves or lose themselves within the pages.
Mirror Books
Chris McGee provinces that any survey of the immature grownup genre should take to inquire, “ Who immature grownup novels are written for, what fantasies they fulfill, and what purposes their ‘authentic ‘ narrative voices serve ” ( 172 ) . Cheryl Kelin, senior editor at Arthur A. Levine Books/ Scholastic, would reply that kids is “ what immature grownup novel are written for, ” the “ phantasies they fulfill ” is that they allow kids to see themselves in the text, and “ their intent of ‘authentic narrative voice ” is to associate with the reader. At her talk entitled, “ Black and White and Read All Over: Diverseness and Inequity in Children ‘s Publication, ” Klein defined the term as a manner that “ allows [ s ] kids to do connexions deeper than the colour of tegument, with connexions based on features of specific characters in books ” ( Stewart 1 & A ; 10 ) . For case, “ even though the character in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is black – something that Klein can non do a full connexion with – the character is a misunderstood, lonely, nerdy adolescent who finally overcomes all to go ‘super successful and amazing. ‘ Klein said that character reminded her of herself, doing a mirror and a connexion ” ( Stewart 1 & A ; 10 ) . Now, I will compare the term “ mirror books ” with S.E Hinton ‘s The Outsiders ; even though the novel is set in 1966, a reader of any society, cultural and time-period can easy associate to the subject and characters of the novel. I will exemplify this point by detecting the Hinton ‘s character development, secret plan, and techniques.
Character Development
The character development of S.E Hinton ‘s The Outsiders makes the novel more comparative to the readers. Hinton first introduces Ponyboy, the storyteller, as a undependable teenage who is both insecure and confident at the same clip, as he wants to look “ tufa, ” but knows that his expressions are what sets him apart from the remainder of his friends.
I have light-brown, almost-red hair and greenish-grey eyes. I wish they were more grey, because I hate most cats that have green eyes, but I have to be content with what I have. My hair is longer than a batch of male childs wear theirs, squared off in back, and long at the forepart and sides, but I am a wetback and most of my vicinity seldom fusss to acquire a haircut. Besides, I look better with long hair ( Hinton 1 ) .
Though Ponyboy is non superhuman, he, and the other characters are worlds after all, which makes them more comparative with the readers. After Pony, and Johnny saves a clump of kids from a firing abandon church, Two-Bit responds to a headline about their deliverance, “ Y’all were heroes from the beginning ” ( ) . At first, Pony does non understand what Two-Bit is say, nevertheless, when others tell him that they are impressed by his deliverance of the kids, he merely shrugs and claims, “ anyone would hold done the same ” ( ) . I will now name few other features of Ponyboy that read can associate to. He is smart, and has “ good classs and a “ high Intelligence quotient ” ( Hinton 4 ) . Yet, he is a spot naA?ve at times, like when he tried to convert himself that the lone difference between the Socs, and the Greases is that Greasers like Elvis and do non like the Beatles and Socs like the Beatles and do non like Elvis ( ) . Last, when Johnny dies, Pony feels loss for the decease of his friend, and dislocated from the world. For case, he tried to convert himself that Johnny is non dead: “ That still organic structure back in the infirmary was n’t Johnny. Johnny was someplace else-maybe asleep in the batch ” ( ) . Even though Ponyboy is from a different category, cultural, or society than the reader, the reader can still associate with his insecurity, courage, modestness, smarts, partially naA?ve, and loss of a love one.
Plot
S.E Hinton ‘s The Outsiders is about a fourteen-year-old named Ponyboy, he is tough, and confused, yet he is sense behind his bold forepart. Since his parents ‘death, his truenesss have been to his brothers and his pack, the rough, singing, long-haired male childs from the incorrect side of the paths. When his best friend, Johnny, kills a member of a rival pack, a incubus of force Begins and necessarily envelops Ponyboy in a turbulent concatenation of events. The fresh tackles issues that striplings can easy place with such as self-destruction, adolescent gestation, minor smoke and imbibing, the importance of remaining in school and graduating, and, finally, the demand to “ suit in: ” that sense of belonging to a group who understands their jobs and with whom they can associate. Manny of these issues are still common today because the battles and the emotions the characters trade with are cosmopolitan subjects which histories for the novel ‘s lasting entreaty with teens, and grownups of today.
Techniques
Hinton uses a first-person narration that is easy identified by the usage of “ I ” in stating the narrative ; this narrative manner efficaciously expresses the anxiousnesss and insecurities of a fourteen-year-old, which makes for an intimate reading experience, and helps the reader relate with the storyteller ‘s narrative.
When I stepped out into the bright sunshine from the darkness of the film house, I had merely two things on my head: Paul Newman and a drive place. I was wishing I looked like Paul Newman – he looks tough, and I do n’t – but I guess my ain expressions are n’t so bad. I have light-brown, almost-red hair and greenish-grey eyes. I wish they were more grey, because I hate most cats that have green eyes, but I have to be content with what I have. My hair is longer than a batch of male childs wear theirs, squared off in back, and long at the forepart and sides, but I am a wetback and most of my vicinity seldom fusss to acquire a haircut. Besides, I look better with long hair ( Hinton 1 ) .
As illustrated, with this first individual point of position, the presence of the writer is removed about wholly from the narrative ; hence, she does non do break with the subjects and secret plan of the novel. The characters ‘ teen-age voice captures the address beat of modern young person, and many critics believe that Hinton ‘s ability in this country is inordinately consummate. One critic named Michael Malone suggested in a 1986 State article that Hinton ‘s ability “ to arouse for her audience how teen-agers feel about those clangs [ of ideals ] is incontestable. ” Hinton decidedly has a gift for the exact vocabulary, and the sentence structure of the modern adolescent. Therefore, the novel seems to take on an air of being true for the reader, even if the state of affairss seem sentimental or cliche at times.
Mirror books continue to be the theoretical account for composing successful immature grownup literature