First off, I am an emotional reader. If a character dies I tend to outright cry. With that being said I will continue on with my review.
I really enjoyed reading this and found it interesting how the author set it up in that the book was written by Ponyboy for a homework assignment. I feel like the themes explored in this text can really hit home to a young reader. I know that I am still rather young myself, according to the current definition of adolescence I still am one. If I can connect to the text I feel like my future students could do the same. At first I thought that the text would feel outdated, but the themes are still relevant. The character's search for a place to belong, struggle against so many challenges, and are on a quest for answers. A sense of belong is sought amongst family, friends, and in society. Struggles range from wanting to belong, to the complicated issues of trying to just survive and keep going alongside of losing loved ones.
A controversies that I see that might come up would be the issue of gang fighting. When I was reading this though it brought to mind the Sharks vs Jets of West Side Story which is Romeo and Juliet and most have to read that in school. It may depend on the school district area to if this topic would b a hot button issue. The class issues might be a tad bit of a sticky topic as well.
I most likely would not have picked this book out for myself, but I am glad that I read it. This book probably has a stronger pull for male readers, but I do think that it can appeal to the female reader population as well. As an adolescent I believe the appeal of this book may just lie in the title itself; for they tend to feel like they themselves are Outsiders.
I really enjoyed reading this and found it interesting how the author set it up in that the book was written by Ponyboy for a homework assignment. I feel like the themes explored in this text can really hit home to a young reader. I know that I am still rather young myself, according to the current definition of adolescence I still am one. If I can connect to the text I feel like my future students could do the same. At first I thought that the text would feel outdated, but the themes are still relevant. The character's search for a place to belong, struggle against so many challenges, and are on a quest for answers. A sense of belong is sought amongst family, friends, and in society. Struggles range from wanting to belong, to the complicated issues of trying to just survive and keep going alongside of losing loved ones.
A controversies that I see that might come up would be the issue of gang fighting. When I was reading this though it brought to mind the Sharks vs Jets of West Side Story which is Romeo and Juliet and most have to read that in school. It may depend on the school district area to if this topic would b a hot button issue. The class issues might be a tad bit of a sticky topic as well.
I most likely would not have picked this book out for myself, but I am glad that I read it. This book probably has a stronger pull for male readers, but I do think that it can appeal to the female reader population as well. As an adolescent I believe the appeal of this book may just lie in the title itself; for they tend to feel like they themselves are Outsiders.
Hi Megan! I empathize with you on being an emotional reader :) And, it surely sounds like there's a lot of room for emotions in The Outsiders.
ReplyDeleteI'm looking forward to reading this novel after so much discussion about it in class and then your post.
I think it's wise to consider the issue of gang fights. If reading a book that incorporates that idea could exacerbate tensions in the school, maybe it's best to press the pause button. However, if the audience of students could benefit from the sections of gang violence it's probably worth it!
I wonder how it would go to do a project combining The Outsiders, West Side Story, and Romeo and Juliet! Could be interesting! :)