1960s America The World of The Outsiders General

1960’s America The World of The Outsiders

General Setting The Outsiders takes place in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where S. E. Hinton grew up. We mostly see the east side of the city, from the perspective of the Greasers.

A u o b h t t u A e r o th S. E. Hinton When Susan Eloise (S. E. ) Hinton was a young girl, she wanted to be a cowboy or a writer. She grew up in Tulsa and says that earning a grade of “D” in creative writing in high school in some ways encouraged her to write a novel. (She says the earned the “D” largely due to poor spelling. )

A u bo t A e th o h t u r S. E. Hinton She published The Outsiders, her first novel, in 1967, and it led to a revolution in young adult fiction. Teens identified with the peer pressure, stereotypes, violence, social status and parental abuse. She began to go by “S. E. ” when The Outsiders was published because there was concern that boys might not want to read the book if they knew a female had written it.

o b A ut A e th o h t u r S. E. Hinton based her writing on her experiences with “greasers” and “socs” in Tulsa. The characters are composites of people she knew, with some of herself mixed in. She published a follow-up novel called That Was Then, This Is Now. She is also the author of Rumble Fish and Tex.

Fashion During the time period of the novel, Soc “types” would wear madras shirts and khakis. You can see an example of typical clothing below. Madras Shirts Hair Grease James Dean embodied the cultivated Greaser image. Leather jacket, jeans, white t-shirt and boots were typical of boys who emulated the free and uncontrolled lifestyle Dean seemed to live.

Music and Film Here are some images of popular artists and movies. Elvis Presley The Beatles Beach movies The Beach Boys Paul Newman

Drive-ins Watching movies at the drive-in theatre was a popular thing to do, especially for teenagers. The car culture was a big part of society. You’ll notice that cars are often mentioned in the novel.

Cars Here are two cars and a gas station that are mentioned in the novel. Chevy Corvair 1965 Ford Mustang DX Gas Station

Drive-in Restaurants These restaurants were a typical place to take a date. They were also where gangs hung out.

The American Dream Happiness for the characters of The Outsiders was a girl, a car, some money, a strong group of friends, and probably an ice-cold bottle of soda.

A Look Back at the 1960 s https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=KUe. Ok 8 ms. A 0