The Outsiders essay
Friday, July 9th, 2010The Outsiders essays: suggested essay topics
Class consciousness, gang rivalry, commitment, friendships- S.E.Hinton’s novel The Outsiders can be read from different perspectives. When writing The Outsiders essay there are yet many aspects that can be taken into account. Let us brief you on some of the essay topics that you can take up for your English coursework when evaluating the American coming-of-age novel.
1/. The Outsiders as a Bildungsroman: Bildungsroman is a genre applied to the works of literature which records the protagonist’s growth from childhood to adulthood. It generally brings to light the experiences that contribute to the person’s psychological, social and spiritual development. The Outsiders essays can be written taking into account the development of the protagonist narrator Ponyboy and other group members, both greasers and socs, and the way their relationships played an important role in each character’s individual growth or downfall.
2/. The portrayal of female characters in the novel: the female characters in the novel The Outsiders surface entirely as a product of the male narrator’s memory. They are either depicted as men’s companion, as their girlfriends; or are shown to be disloyal and characterless. We meet women in the novel only through the male gaze. You can write essay taking up a feminist aspect to the novel and focusing on the author’s depiction of women in a stereotypical light.
3/. The author’s view of literature as depicted in the novel: a constant reference to literature throughout the novel, ponyboy’s empathy with Dickens’ character Pip; passages he reads with Johnny from Gone with the Wind; and reading out loud Frosts’ Nothing Gold can Stay, makes literature a motif that builds the theme of literature as a bridging gap between cultures and society. Bring in other such instances from the novel that takes literature as a motif to highlight the theme of E.M.Foster’s “only connect”.
4/. The narrative style: the structure and narration of the novel is such that it encompasses the novel as the part of the plot. The circular narrative makes the novel come full circle as the end explains the beginning. At the end of the novel, we realize that the book we are reading is actually Ponyboy’s English assignment. The narrative technique used by Hinton makes the reader a part of the plot as they take active part listening to the protagonist. The Outsiders essay you write as your English coursework could be an analysis of Hinton’s narrative style and the manner in which the narrative contributes to the plot and its climax.
In case, you are looking for deeper and fresh insights into the novel or want an elaborate sketch of any of the above mentioned The Outsiders essay topics, get in touch with our literature essay experts who can guide you through any of your literature assignments.
