The banning of The Outsiders

Layla Hollis
Sharon Holmes
Forbidden Books
15 March 2019
The Banning of The Outsiders
For many kids there has been a time when they are so excited to read a book and then all of a sudden it’s been banned from their school. Well, this was the thought of many teenagers who had The Outsiders banned from their school because of its mature content. Don’t teenagers already know about drugs, violence and gangs? Well, not according to many schools. They say this book should be banned because the teenagers aren’t mature enough to handle this content. Ponyboy Curtis is the narrator and also the main character. Readers get a glimpse into his life of what it's like to be divided between the rich west side kids (called the “Socs”) and the dirty east side kids (called the “Greasers”). Ponyboy is a greaser along with his two brothers, Darry and Sodapop. They live alone because their parents died in a car crash. They represent typical juvenile delinquents and they have no cares and responsibilities. Some people say that this book has mature content that teens should not be allowed to read, like violence, drugs and gangs. What they don’t understand is that this book also teaches teens about loving friends and family. The Outsiders teaches teenagers about being mature and how to deal with hard situations which is why this book should not be banned.
    There are so many books that have mature content in them, but because teens are starting to read them, then schools want to ban them. Many schools have banned The Outsiders for its mature context. According to Marshall University, The Outsiders was banned in Williamsburg, Iowa from the 7th Grade curriculum in 2017.  The reasons they banned the book was “the book contained subjects that are socially, emotionally, and developmentally difficult for seventh-graders to deal with, including conflict, crime, death of a character, and gang fighting.”  This book also addresses diversity because there are two gangs that are divided from each other because of their social economic classes. This causes violence between the rich and the poor.
Some people think that The Outsiders deserved to be banned because of its mature content for younger viewers. In the book Ponyboy says, “Greasers can’t walk alone too much or they’ll get jumped, or someone will come by and scream “Greaser!” at them, which doesn’t make you feel too hot, if you know what I mean. We get jumped by the Socs” (Hinton 3). This could be problematic for diversity reasons because the greasers can’t even go outside without being picked on because they are poor. “I am a greaser. I am a JD and a hood. I blacken the name of our fair city. I beat up people. I rob gas stations. I am a menace to society. Man do I have fun”(Hinton 136). This quote represents the gang life and how it has influenced their lives negatively. This quote is controversial because schools do not want their students learning about gang activity.
The Outsiders shows how even if you’re not really related, you can love your friends like your family. The Outsiders should not be banned because it shows kids about positive role modeling. In the book, Darry, the eldest brother, is always working and trying to be a better person for his two younger brothers. Also, this book teaches people about family and how you don’t have to be related to someone to love them. The greaser gang wasn’t related, but they stuck together like family. The Outsiders is also good for showing real world problems and how to properly deal with them. S.E Hinton says,  “I was mad about the social situation at my high school, which was basically the Socs versus the Greasers like it is in the book. I grew up in a Greaser neighborhood”.(S.E Hinton). She said this because she believes that the controversy in this book is just garbage because this book came from her heart and real life experiences that she went through.
People have been banning books since the 1640’s. The first book to ever be banned was called The Christian Commonwealth. It was 10 chapters about Native American life and the government felt like they should ban it because they didn’t want people to know the truth about Native American life. People should not have the right to ban books just to try and hide things from people because they will figure it out anyway. Overall, The Outsiders should not be banned because it gives people hope that maybe coming from nothing; they will soon see the light just like Ponyboy.


Works Cited
S.E Hinton, The Outsiders, New York, 1967.Print.

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