Reading response on The Outsiders

I am in the midst of reading The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. This book fits perfectly with the topic of " growing up " and " coming of age". This book reminds me of who I really am, and has taught me a lot about myself that I didn't really know/realize yet in life. A few things that this book has shown/taught me about myself so far are my views on violence and gangs, how lucky I am to have such a great family,  and what I personally feel is fair in this world.

Before I read this book, I wasn't really sure how I felt about gangs, and violence, in fact I didn't really have feelings for them at all. This is probably because I hadn't read or even been introduced to the topics so far in my life. Now, that's not the case. I believe that being in a gang isn't a good thing to do in the long run, but if you don't have a family, it sure can give you one. My views on violence are simple; if it's not self defense, it's not ok. Only fight back if you have to, or if they touched you first. If someone insults you with words, don't get physical, solve it with more words or simply walk away.

I have always had a great family. A family that loves me, and is always there for me, a family that i will always love, and will always love me back, a family that will always respect the choices i make in life. A family that takes care of me. It was not until this book that i realized something: NOT EVERY ONE HAS THAT FAMILY. Most of the characters in this book had either lost their family, or have one that doesn't even care about them. The main character, Ponyboy, had lost his parents when he was young, so besides his brothers, his real family was the greasers. His best friend Johny had a family, but they were mean to him and didn't even care about him at all. Not until this book did i realize how lucky i am to have this great of a family

This book has also changed the way I think and feel about fairness and carma in this world. In The Outsiders, Ponyboy, the MC, is getting beat up almost to death, so his best friend Johny kills the kid beating him up. Later in the book, Johny dies a hero, after saving several lives from a fire. At first, I wasn't sure if it was fair that Johny died, or unfair. After much consent, I think Johnys death was unfair. I believe this for two reasons; he only killed the kid in self defense, and not only that, but he saved five kids from a fire that would have killed them all. So overall, I don't think people deserve back what they did, it all depends on the circumstances they did it in in the first place.

The Outsiders, by S.E. Hinton, is a coming of age and growing up book, about a kid named Ponyboy going through a hard time in life, and gaining not only knowledge, but experience. This book has helped me gather how I feel about fairness and carma in this world, it has told me what a family provides for someone and how lucky I am to have such a great one,  and my thoughts on violence and gangs.