SE Hinton's The Outsiders: When the Family Within Crumbles, A New One is Forged Without
--Ubaji Isiaka Abubakar Eazy
Two major functions of the family as the basic unit of society are socialising and integrating its members into the larger society. Where it fails to do so, its members are forced to seek love, attention, and care elsewhere. Faced by the physical absence of parents or the lack of parental attention and care in their homes, many young Americans turn to the streets to adopt new families and friends that they pledge absolute allegiance to. Hence, many young children are easily drawn into the world of juvenile delinquency with peer pressure as an incentive for their violent and antisocial acts.
The adult world is such a distant place from the world of adolescents cum teenagers, yet adults are quick to assume that they know all about youngsters (we fool ourselves with the 'been there, done that, and seen it all' mentality). We fail to see that the world is constantly evolving and our realities as teenagers might not be the same as those of our children. The need to study our teenage children, understand how they see life and existence from their viewpoint, and provide proper attention and guidance as parents are perhaps some of the focal points of SE Hinton's The Outsiders. The novel is a serious indictment of the American style of parenting.
The Outsiders tells the story of the rivalry between two street gangs or 'hoods' (as they prefer to label themselves); the Greasers and Soches; with the narrator Ponyboy as the main character. The Greasers are from the lower rank of society and their trademark is their long hairs heavily soaked in hair oil. The Soches, on the other hand, are typically rich kids from the rich part of the city and they are known for their fancy appearances and cars.
The battle for supremacy and the need to maintain an inflated reputation would lead to several bitter and fatal clashes between the two groups as they slug it out.
The turning point for Ponyboy comes after Bob is stabbed to death by Johnny who wants to save Ponyboy from being drowned by Rob. Ponyboy and Johnny soon become fugitives, running from the law. However, a heroic act (after agreeing to turn themselves in) brings them back home, but not in one piece. Johnny's spine is badly damaged after a heavy burning log of wood falls on him while rescuing trapped children in a dilapidated church on fire.
See the video of this review here.
Johnny's chances are very slim; he is not likely to survive the accident. This tortuous moment and the eventual death of Johnny moves Ponyboy into a state of reflection as he begins to question the gang's codes and he comes to realise that everyone does what others think is okay without questioning the relevance of such actions. The boys' last gang fight ends in a state of disillusionment for them all. The Greasers win the fight, but too much disaster leaves them grovelling. They sustain so many wounds from the fight, Johnny dies, and to top it all, Dally is shot dead before their very eyes by the police on the street just outside their house. Their victory is worth nothing much after all.
Peer pressure has a great influence on gang life. Gang members feel the need to live up to the image of the tough guy. They are easily attracted to violent and dangerous acts such as stealing, fighting, and beating each other up to prove just how tough they are. Even their disrespectful attitude towards girls is to emphasise their toughness. Ponyboy's conversation with Two-Bit proves this to be true:
If everybody jumped in the Arkansas River, ol' Two-bit would be right on their heels. I had it then. Soda fought for fun, Steve for hatred, Darry for pride, and Two-Bit for conformity. Why do I fight? I thought, and couldn't think of any good reason. There isn't any real good reason for fighting except for self-defense. (137)
Also, when Ponyboy asks Dally why he is not in hospital and comes for the 'great' rumble when he ought to be in hospital, Dally's retort is: 'Don't you know a rumble ain't a rumble unless I'm in it?' (144).
For most of the boys, it is all about maintaining their reputations and not wanting to lose face especially as that is what gang life is all about: '... if you got tough, you didn't get hurt' (158). Two-Bit, for example again, steals from shops not because he needs what he steals but rather because if he stops stealing, his reputation as the sleekest light-fingered boy in the hood is ruined. Dally, another example, is always desperate to maintain his bad-boy reputation to impress his gang members, they just have to know that he cannot be broken. This is why he attends the final rumble despite an injury on the arm and why he prefers to go down by police bullets rather than surrender and be arrested. Randy, who is Bob's best friend, also contemplates vacating town for fear of being labelled a coward (chicken) after he decides not to participate in the rumble following his best friend's death. On the streets, the code remains to show how tough you are to force others to fear and respect you.
However, we must know that gang life does not suddenly become charming to youngsters; lack of parental presence in their life is also a very crucial factor. Our definition of the lack of parental presence also encompasses parental neglect, not only absence. As can be observed in the novel, the teenagers either have no parents or have parents who are too doting. Some parents also neglect and abuse their children too.
Ponyboy and his two elder brothers have lost their parents with Darry, the eldest, taking on the role of a parent to his siblings. At about 17 and now 20, Darry cannot be expected to morally guide his brothers while catering to their material needs, albeit he makes a good job of doing so and sacrifices his own success to ensure his siblings are well taken care of. However, he has little to no influence when it comes to stopping his brothers from being involved in gang fights as he himself also participates in these fights.
In the case of Johnny, there is much parental neglect and abuse. His father beats the living daylight out of him for almost no reason at all and can only care less if he is lives or dies. This is why Johnny sees the gang as his family. He loves the members more than his own parents and prefers to hang around with them than be at his own house.
Bob, Randy, and Two-Bit have parents who are too doting and give too much freedom to their kids. Bob really yearns for some form of control; an authority figure to order him to stop and reflect on his actions but his parents only go on praising him. Randy's father is only concerned about his reputation when his son gets into any form of trouble. Two-Bit's mother is so loving that she would let her son get away with anything, including murder. With parents like this, should it be surprising that their children muddle their hands in acts of juvenile delinquencies?
The authoress appears to advocate for the need to readjust the parenting style by parents enforcing more discipline or take it to the extent of spanking their children; if the situation warrants it. In American society, much strictness and little freedom for children is considered a form of child abuse and can cause children to detest their parents. A child could even have his or her parents arrested and locked up for beating him or her. However, some of the characters in the story, like Bob, yearn to have such control from their doting parents who never say 'no' to him. Ponyboy would also come to realise that Darry is hard on him because he is worried sick about him not turning out right or turning into a school dropout like himself and Sodapop. When Ponyboy looks into the future of many of the gang members, he notices that it is quite grim; they will either end up in jail or get killed.
Nonetheless, the portrayal of the character of Johnny and the neglect and abuse he suffers at home shows that the writer believes there should be moderation in the form of discipline applied so that we do not end up pushing our children to point of finding love and attention in the streets as Johnny does. An equal admixture or equilibrium of both discipline and love is needed to bring up children as embodied in the character of Darry who is both strict and doting on his youngest brother, Ponyboy.
One aspect I find intriguing about the novel is that it will make for a very good comparative analysis with some of the modern novels or films from African Americans. I mean, children of both races live in very similar and dissimilar worlds. A stereotypical African American novel of the 20th century might showcase single parenthood instead of parental neglect and abuse, the gang life but with more dangerous weapons, out of school kids involved in drug business with the police always on their trail instead of stubborn school kids who get into fights at regular intervals. A similar aspect might perhaps be the death of Dally, felled by police bullets because he had a gun pointed at the police officers. However, we get to see that those we are always quick to assume live the perfect life are not without their own problems too. Even within themselves, these White youngsters who live in White neighbourhoods and attend the same school still easily find division in social class. For this, we have SE Hinton to thank for showing us this rarely unexplored outlook of life in a typically White American community.
One could also say that the novel has a limited viewpoint as it fails to explore the multiculturalism or pluralism of the American society since all characters are Caucasians and nothing was said of Blacks, Hispanics, Asians, Mexicans, American Indians, etc.; all dwelling in the same space as these White youngsters. However, when we consider that the novel was written while the authoress was 16 and that the American society was still only just beginning to loosen its segregation claws at the time the novel was written and published, the limited viewpoint can easily be excused to celebrate the writer's thoughtfulness and profound discernment of a social malaise, the increasing laxity in parenting in most American homes.
All in all, the novel is a scintillating tale of friendship, loyalty, love, and the human need for a sense of belonging. It is also an awakening call to society and parents to girdle her nurturing belt and pay more attention to their adolescents for when the family within crumbles, a new one is formed without.
Work Cited
Hinton, SE. The Ousiders. New York: Penguin Books, 2012. Print.
© Ubaji Isiaka Abubakar Eazy 2021
Comments
Post a Comment