What would you do today if your parents were not there, or if they weren’t good parents? In a gang, in jail, or even dead? The Outsiders was written by S.E. Hinton’s world is one of few families and parents who are good. Johnny, Bob and most of the other gang members have or had parent issues. This is often due to their involvement in a gang. Hinton is able to let the reader infer that there are common issues among the gangs. The book makes it clear that the family, and parenting in general, are an important part of people’s lives and development.
Johnny’s abusive parents are one of the earliest and most obvious examples. He is beaten by his parents and made to feel like he’s not welcome. It has gotten so bad that he lives in the streets. Johnny, who has been abused by his family for years, joins a street gang in order to experience a little bit of family life. It was not forgotten that his parents were cruel, even though he found himself in a hospital bed, weak and vulnerable. “An nurse appeared through the doorway. Johnny opened the eyes when she spoke quietly. They were at first wide-eyed with shock, but then their eyes darkened. ‘I didn’t want her to see me’. Johnny was so abused by Johnny’s parents that he even ended up on the street when he was killed by a Soc. Ponyboy calls Johnny “a dark little puppy who’s lost in a crowded of strangers”. This is due to the circumstances he was put through. Johnny’s “kicking around” was the main reason for him to join a group. Johnny would have been a very different person if his parents hadn’t clenched their iron fists of evil. Darry is said to have completed schooling and had a successful career before the Curtis children needed a parental figure. Ponyboy, who is playing the role of three parents in a short time span, makes a comment at the start of the book which sums up the situation nicely. Darry, however, has experienced a great deal in his 20 years and is now an adult. Ponyboy is saying that Darry is mature and that Darry was willing to drop out of school in order to help Sodapop or Ponyboy. Darry nearly broke Steve’s jaw when Steve called him “all brawn and no brains” one time. Curtis was affected by either poor parenting or a complete lack of it.
Bob Sheldon can be a great example of a bad parent or family situation that has led to undesirable or unfavorable outcomes. Randy, Cherry and inferences are all that is known about Bob by the reader. Randy tells Ponyboy Bob isn’t actually a bad man, but his parents were allowing him to do what he pleased without any limits or boundaries. This led Bob to join a Greaser gang, terrorize them, and become a member of a gang. Cherry also confirms Bob’s good character after Ponyboy had invited her to Johnny’s hospital but she refused, saying that “you only knew the bad side of him.” He was friendly and sweet at times. “But when drunk” Bob had both a good and a bad side. His evil side fed on his parents’ indifference. Bob died because his parents did not care about Bob or watch him. Ponyboy, who is reading an old yearbook near the novel’s end, finally recognizes Bob from Cherry. “What did he look like?” I knew he loved to fight, was of the Soc school that said living in the West Side made one Mr. Supper Tuff. He looked great in dark wine sweaters and wore his rings with pride. But what of the Bob Sheldon Cherry Valance was familiar with?” Ponyboy is having a revelation. He sees Bob as he really is, not as his parents had him believe. He might not have died so young if his parents had been better.
The Outsiders (S.E. Hinton focuses on parenting as a way to develop characters and influence their decisions. It influences who they are, their actions and, most importantly, the character they become. The effects of parenting are positive and negative. In the case Johnny and Bob, bad parenting could lead to them being lost and dying. Such a theme can be easily missed in the story, but it is important to the character development of every single one.
