samandcolbypost

[samandcolbypost]

every single character in the outsiders was broken by the system, not just your favs. not just the greasers, not just the socs, everyone.

darry works two jobs at the age of twenty—one per decade he’s been alive. he has to work to support his brothers financially. not only that, but he has the constant threat of the state taking both of his brothers away at any given moment. he’s probably had to fight so many custody battles just so they weren’t put into a boys home. he literally works himself to the bone just so he and his brothers can have food in their stomachs and a warm place to sleep. he’s not going to get to go back to college, and sometimes, the only thing he can do is hope that some sort of financial aid will be put into place just to get ponyboy through college. darry was well liked, yes. he was boy of the year. but he has to work like a dog every single day, sometimes two jobs in one day, just so the state doesn’t take his baby brothers away. that threat is constantly looming overhead, and it’s often overlooked.

sodapop genuinely believes he’s stupid because school shaped him out to be that way. he says himself that he was never smart in school, which i really don’t think was true. the american education system is known to tear kids down rather than build them up. it’s not even the american school system that broke him, the economic one did too. sodapop works full time at the age of 16 because that’s all he thinks he’s good for. he doesn’t think he can have a life outside of working at a gas station because he wasn’t perfect or even good at school. school smarts aren’t everything, but to america back then and even now, yeah, it is. he doesn’t think he has a shot in this world at all, and all he can really do is work his tail off to help give ponyboy a future and ensure all three of them have food in their stomachs.

ponyboy’s so clearly on a collision course with disaster. he’s the curtis family’s last hope, but he’s also a dreamer. the system doesn’t let you dream though. you can dream all you want but when you’re a greaser who lives below the poverty bar, dreaming really all you can do. he has an addictive personality as clearly seen by his drug issues with advil and painkillers. he’s fourteen and he’s seen five dead bodies in the span of eight months—his parents, two of his best friends, and a murder. he can’t get help because mental help was given through either lobotomy or by sticking you in an institution. he’s not well liked at school because he’s a greaser. he mentions that in the first chapter—people look down on him because he’s a greaser. he’s been shattered by trauma and the lack of help, and all he can cling to are tattered dreams.

johnny has the opposite issue that darry does—the state won’t help him. johnny cade lives in one of the most abusive hellholes in the entirety of the east side, which for pony to say that, given both the time the book was written and is set in, says a lot. he says himself “i can’t do this anymore, ponyboy. i’ll kill myself or something.” johnny would rather die than live in a society that doesn’t want him. he’s broken down and beaten up, yet the state refuses to intervene. even when the press writes that he, pony and dally are “hoods turned heroes”. they’re implying that johnny and the others had no capability for goodness before this. he can’t even ask for help because there’s nobody who will help him.

dally wasn’t born a criminal. something had to have happened for him to turn to crime life. i think dally only commits crimes because that’s what people expect of him. he loves his criminal record. he knows every officer at the station, he’s well known throughout town for jumping old people and little kids, and starting fights, and mugging, and stealing, and all these other crimes, so why would he change? society isn’t going to give him a chance, so why should he give it one? he has the capability to care—he cares about johnny, even if he has a funny way of showing it. his whole scene where he yells at johnny about “this is what happens when you help people you little punk!” shows so much about just how broken down he is. if people expect him to be a hardened criminal, so be it. that’s what he’ll be. he’s been painted in such a bad light for as long as he can remember that there’s no point in trying to be anything else. that’s what he’s known for, that’s what he’ll do. caring gets you hurt, in his eyes. dally’s death is so symbolic of this societal failure as well, between the method and the reason. it’s so crude, but i suppose so was he.

two-bit’s so codependent on alcohol that he relies on it just to make a name for himself. at some point he’s just expected to be some bumbling idiot because he doesn’t come from wealth, and that’s what he ends up being. the only thing he thinks he’s good at is being comedic relief and acting the part society expects him to be—a compete oaf. his dependence on alcohol is so much more than a habit, it’s an addiction, and one he needs in order to feel seen. two-bit does petty crime too—pony says that two steals for fun because he likes the thrill of it, and that two-bit doesn’t need half the things he steals anyway. he just does it for fun. because he’s expected to. the one time he breaks the persona he’s created for himself is when he screams at johnny’s mother for being a good for nothing deadbeat mom. he’s just expected to be stupid, so he lets people underestimate him.

steve, like johnny, can’t get help from the state with his dad. however, unlike johnny, steve doesn’t just accept this. he’s angry. he’s an angry person. he snaps at ponyboy for asking sodapop about sandy, he’s angry at the socs for beating up the greasers, he’s angry at the state for ignoring them because they live on the east side. again, for ponyboy to say that steve lives in a shitty household really does say a lot for the book’s time and setting. steve’s loud, he’s angry and he’s not afraid to show it, but he’s scared of cops. he’s afraid of what the cops are going to do to him, to his friends…but his fear manifests as anger. he can’t get help because help is for the weak, in his eyes. but he’s also the first one to break down when johnny dies. he’s also the one who fights to defend the greaser title, despite his girlfriend begging with him not to. he’s defensive. he’s a dog with its hackles raised and ready to bite, but he doesn’t know why. he’ll never know why.

bob was spoiled. majorly spoiled. he was never told no by anybody. not his parents, not police, not his school, not anybody. when you have everything in the world you could ever want, it all feels like nothing. and you want more, and more, and more until your selfishness leads you into an early grave. nepotism and wealth really is a poison that many people would willingly take. randy explains this to both the readers and to ponyboy—bob had everything, but he had no boundaries. people naturally crave. boundaries, and when we don’t have them, we scream out in ways we know will hurt people because you just want someone to say no. having everything leaves you feeling empty in a way having nothing does not. bob wanted boundaries and he was screaming out for some, but he never got any because his pushing led him to an early grave.

classism doesn’t pick who it affects. it affects everyone in different ways. that’s the whole point of the book—everyone has struggles and while they might not be the same or even equal, they’re still struggles. the american system has a way of breaking people down in such cruel ways—be it the rich, the poor or everything in between. we’re so divided by black and white thinking that we can’t see the shades of grey in between. that’s what the book is all about—grey exists when you look for it. understanding that is what matters.

[samandcolbypost]

[samandcolbypost]

this one. fuck this poem.

[samandcolbypost]

Pls explain how if I go to bed way earlier than usual I can’t fall asleep, but my usual time is 2am and I sleep perfectly. 😭

I work 2 jobs (which I know I can find something better, but beside the point rn) and my old job I start at 6am, and my new job is 3pm, so I working morning shift at my one job and night at the other. And fun fact I can manage to get through the day and still stay up like usual, maybe not twice in a row though.

[samandcolbypost]

Help, I’m still at the restaurant,

Still sitting in the corner I haunt.

Who else is stuck here?

[samandcolbypost]

pony and soda would do the trend where they make darry read brainrot words and they put water in their mouths and try not to laugh -aroaceoutsiders

Oh fo shizzle; Darry would NEVER pronounce any of the words right either so it’d just be Darry looking really confused while his brothers are just deceased in the background

[samandcolbypost]

whenever someone has darry and soda calling ponyboy “honey” or “baby” or “ponybaby” my personal favorite, “little colt”, an angel gets its wings.

[samandcolbypost]

My little demon angel 😇

whenever someone has darry and soda calling ponyboy “honey” or “baby” or “ponybaby” my personal favorite, “little colt”, an angel gets its wings.

[samandcolbypost]

Me with my 10yr age gap friend 😂

[samandcolbypost]

Can’t wait to not sleep at all on September 11th

[samandcolbypost]

"slut era" i say as i rot and decay in my bedroom and watch the years pass me by as i miss out on core experiences other people my age are having while i think about the past

[samandcolbypost]

I looked our outfits over. Most greasers don’t have real tuff builds or anything. They’re mostly lean and kind of panther-looking in a slouchy way. This is partly because they don’t eat much and partly because they’re slouchy. Darry looked like he could whip anyone there. I think most of the guys were nervous because of the ‘no weapons’ rule. I didn’t know about the Brumly boys, but I knew Shepard’s gang were used to fighting with anything they could get their hands on—bicycle chains, blades, pop bottles, pieces of pipe, pool sticks, or sometimes even heaters. — The Outsiders, S.E. Hinton

[samandcolbypost]

my favorite thing about the outsiders movie is that in so many of the scenes, pony just looks so dang confused, like I just saw an edit, and every scene he just looks cold, wet, sad, and confused,

give that man a break

[samandcolbypost]

[samandcolbypost]

Imagine not appreciating 1D songs. They are mostly upbeat, they are all danceable bangers, they are gay as the next day. Imagine not appreciating that. Imagine not appreciating fun.

[samandcolbypost]

ponyboy has such vivid dreams sometimes, to the point he can’t tell them apart from reality, even once he’s woken up. after johnny died, ponyboy started dreaming about him. dreams of fields, freedom. away from the classism in the world, away from the socs and the violence. johnny’s there. sitting on the hill by the church as the golden glow of the sunrise hits his face, illuminating his hair. the hill seems to go on forever…much higher and farther up than pony recalls. he climbs up and up, choking on the altitude and his own desperation until he finally reaches johnny. he reaches out to touch him, for reassurance…but his hand only goes through him. he can’t feel him. johnny turns around, but he’s faceless. it’s a flat, dark tan slate with white markings. pony can’t remember. his eyes were pretty large; right? his nose had a slight curve to it, didn’t it? was his scar over his right or his left eye? there’s no face attached to even help him remember. no voice for him to recall. it could’ve been deeper than what he thought. his accent could’ve been thicker. in an instant, before pony can even try to form a caricature of dream johnny, the field around them goes up in flames. johnny seemingly can’t hear pony screaming at him to move before the fire engulfs him. his hands pass right through his body while johnny’s faceless form stares ahead. dull. blank. dead. dead, lifeless. gone. never coming back.

he wakes up before the fire can whisk away the rest of his memories. he wakes up in a pool of his own sweat and tears, yet all he can do is clutch johnny’s jean jacket to his chest, trying to avoid getting his tears on it. he swears to himself he can still smell johnny. and the fire. he can feel him. and the heat of the embers raining down his back as he screams at johnny to move. he can still hear him and his screams as the beam fell onto his back, crushing him and any chance he had at life along with it johnny’s still there…he has to be. he’s growing old somewhere. his flame surely wasn’t snuffed out at sixteen… it was. johnny’s not coming back and deep down, pony knows that.

deep down, in a dark, dreary place that he can’t fathom venturing to, pony knows he’ll never see johnny again. he’ll never hear his soft voice. feel his reassuring hand on his shoulder. see that wild grin that ghosted his lips when he was getting sassy and on dally’s nerves. he’s never gonna experience life with johnny again. not even in his dreams.

[samandcolbypost]