The publisher believing that the book would have more credibility if people. She began writing the first draft of the novel when she was 15, and writing and rewriting took a year and a half before she was happy with the final copy. When he tries to make sense of Dally's reaction to Johnny's death, it dawns on him, 'Johnny was the only thing that Dally loved. The Outsiders was published in 1967, when Hinton was only 17 years old and attending Will Rogers High School. Ponyboy realizes this truth after Johnny's death. That was all Johnny had ever wanted.' And Dally needs Johnny as much as Johnny needs Dally. Just before Johnny dies, his relationship with Dally is clarified when Dally tells Johnny that he is proud of him: 'Johnny's eyes glowed. The relationship between these two boys is very interdependent. Johnny needs to follow in the footsteps of someone in his life and Dally, his hero, is the one he chooses. The Socs drive cars like Mustangs and Corvairs that were. Dally is living proof that one can survive without parents or family. Though the book does not directly state the year in which the story takes place, it is evident that the story takes place in the 1960s. Johnny idolizes gang member Dallas Winston. Ponyboy tells the readers, 'If it hadn't been for the gang, Johnny would never have known what love and affection are.' The theme of family love is clarified by Johnny many times, because his eyes have seen what family love isn't.

His parents abuse him both physically and verbally, and Johnny often opts to go anywhere but home. Johnny vows that, 'He would kill the next person who jumped him.' This beating puts him almost over the edge in fact, the Socs scared him so much that he even carries a switchblade in his pocket. Johnny had been severely beaten by a group of Socs before this story begins. Twenty-year-old Darry has sacrificed his dream of college to serve as the. Johnny Cade is 'the gang's pet.' The novel describes Johnny as a 'lost puppy' and a 'puppy that has been kicked too many times.' He is only 16 years old, but has already been beaten down by the cruelty of life. New York Herald TribuneBest Teenage Books List, 1967 Chicago TribuneBook World.

The outsiders book year