The Rationale for Banning The Outsiders Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Rationale for illegalize The Outsiders - Essay ExampleAs an initial matter, before addressing why the book was banned in accredited schools, it is useful to summarize the plot generally. The protagonist in this story was Pony Curtis. Pony was a unripened boy whose parents had died in a car accident as a result, he was cared for by his 20 year old brother, Darry. Pony was poor, though clever and a good student, and he did what all boys in this neighborhood did. He joined a crime syndicate, named the Greasers, and hung out with his gang as if they were an extended family. There was a rival gang, the Socs, made up of rich boys from a another neighborhood. A gang contender existed betwixt the two, and one day a fight ensued in which Ponys good friend killed a member of the Socs gang in self-defense. Ponys friend later died, and another friend was shot by the police after going crazy and trying to rob a store with a gun. Pony, however, did not suffer the same destiny as his f riends rather, after being inspired by a letter from Johnny, he decided to reconcile with his older brother and to try and improve his life. In short, Pony decided to reject the outsider life style and to participate more productively in his society and community. Given the hopeful ending, the transcending of obstacles, it seems odd that the book was so heavily criticized.The firstThe first basis for lit crit was that the figment promoted gangs. More specifically, this line of reasoning argued that the novel, by including both rich and poor children in gangs, glamorized and encouraged young readers to pursue similar affiliations. In this way, the novels critics believed that the novel was divisive, socially destructive, and immoral. It was socially divisive be pose it pitted rich boys against poor boys it was socially destructive because violence was utilise as a conflict resolution tool for disputes and, finally, it was immoral because the gang lifestyle promoted laziness, sub stance use, and revenge. Indeed, the commutation role of gangs in the novel was a central foundation for the criticism which ensued.A second criticism was the use of violence by young boys. One can distinguish between clubs with mild-mannered rivalries and gangs with deeper notions of rivalry and revenge. It is one thing to portray youthful pranks in the minds of the novels critics, however, it was quite another thing to portray children and adolescents intending to cause serious physical harm and genuine emotional trauma on their rivals. A particular spokesperson was the use of weapons in the novel. These gang members, for instance, carried knives, bats, and guns. Rivals werent simply embarrassed. Quite the contrary, as in the case of Johnnys conflict with Bob, close to people were killed. Thus, in addition to the portrayal of gangs, the vivid depiction of violence also furnished a strong basis for the subsequent criticism.A third criticism was the prevalence of substance use and misapply by underage boys. The references to cigarettes and alcohol were also found objectionable. These boys were underage. By associating public figures, in this case fictitious characters from a popular novel, with substance abuse, many people argued that schoolchildren would be influenced to behave similarly. Todays cigarette-smoking adolescents will become tomorrows marihuana users was the fundamental criticism. These