The Outsiders (novel)

The Outsiders
	File:Outsiders(book)cover.jpeg The Outsiders book cover
Author	S. E. Hinton
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre	Young adult novel
Publisher	Puffin Books
Publication date	1967
Media type	Print (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages	180 pp
ISBN	ISBN 0670532576 Parameter error in {{ISBNT}}: invalid character

The Outsiders is a novel written by (then 15 year old) S. E. Hinton and first published in 1967 by Puffin Books. The novel is an essay of a traumatic time in the life of a fourteen-year-old boy named Ponyboy Michael Curtis. Hinton explores the themes of class conflict, brotherly love, friendship, and coming of age by following two rival gangs, the Greasers and the Socs, short for Socials, who are separated by social-economic status, and political beliefs.

The Outsiders is ranked 43rd on the American Library Association's top 100 banned books of 1990-2000 [1], and 38th on their 1990-1999 list [2]. The book was challenged in South Milwaukee because of its portrayal of violence, language, drug and alcohol abuse, and the fact that "virtually all the characters were from broken homes."

Plot summary

Template:Spoiler The main characters in "The Outsiders" are Ponyboy Michael Curtis, Johnny Cade, Dallas "Dally" Winston, Darrel "Darry" Shaynne Curtis, Jr., Sodapop Patrick Curtis, Keith "Two-Bit" Mathews, and Steve Randle, a gang of Greasers in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The story is narrated by Ponyboy, younger brother of both Sodapop and Darry. The three boys are orphaned after a car accident kills their parents. Darry assumes the parental role to keep them from getting sent to different homes. Darry feels overly burdened and cannot provide all of the things they need.

The Greasers, who are generally poverty-stricken, derive their nickname from the grease they use to slick back their hair. The Socs (pronounced soashes, an abbrieviation of the Socials) are the products of privileged upbringing. Although "The Outsiders" may seem to refer to the alienated Greasers, both groups are set back by economic, social, or creative limits.

The story begins with Ponyboy, the narrator and main character, walks out of a movie house and begins walking home, on his way, a red corvair begins trailing him with a group of Socs in it. After a bit of trailing, the corvair stops and a group of Socs come out. They surround him and hold him down, with one Soc sitting on Ponyboy and holding a switchblade. The Soc asks Ponyboy if he needs a haircut then proceeds in setting a switchblade just above a held down Ponyboy's chin. Realizing that he could get killed, Ponyboy starts yelling for anyone in the gang. Moments later, the whole gang shows up and scares the Socs away and in the confusion, the switchblade brushes against Ponyboy's neck and cuts it. Later Dally says he is going to go to a drive in tomorrow night to hunt some action and Ponyboy and Johnny agree to go with him. Two- Bit agrees to arrive later if he is not drunken.

At the open drive-in theater that night, Dally, Ponyboy and his best friend, Johnny, befriend two Soc girls, Sherri "Cherry" Valance and her friend Marcia, after Dally leaves due to Cherry's criticism. Soon after, Two-bit arrives and they watch the movie and talk for awhile. Later, while Two-bit, Ponyboy, and Johnny are walking Cherry and Marcia home after the show, their boyfriends, Bob Sheldon and Randy Adderson, catch up to them, in their Mustang. Bob and Randy, who have been drinking, are angry that the Greaser boys are accompanying the girls. The situation worsens when Two-Bit happens upon the scene and is eager to engage the Socs in a fight, but the girls decide to return home with their boyfriends to defuse the situation.

Johnny is reluctant to go home when he hears his parents fighting as he approaches his house, so he and Ponyboy go hang out in a vacant lot. The boys fall asleep, which results in Ponyboy coming home later than he had intended. Darry is both worried about and angry with Ponyboy and hits him after a heated exchange. Ponyboy runs out of the house back to the vacant lot. He wakes Johnny, and the two of them run to the park to cool off.

While Ponyboy and Johnny are at the park, Bob, Randy, and their friends drive by. They begin to harass the two Greasers, but Ponyboy stands up to them. The Socs, intent on putting the Greasers in their place, kick Johnny down and a Soc named David attempts to drown Ponyboy in a nearby fountain. Johnny takes out his switchblade and stabs Bob to death. Randy and the other Socs run away in fright. The two boys seek help from Dallas, who gives them a loaded gun, money, and directions to an abandoned church in Windrixville, where they will hide out. Dallas tells them that he will go fetch them when everything has blown over. Ponyboy and Johnny hop aboard a freight train and are on their way.

At the church, Ponyboy and Johnny cut off their long greasy hair to be less recognizable, and Ponyboy bleaches his hair with peroxide. During this time, the boys bond even more, and discover they both have a love for the beautiful things in life that are often not obvious, such as sunsets, while going through the daily struggles of living on the "wrong" side of town. To pass the time, they smoke cigarettes and play poker. Ponyboy also reads to Johnny from a paperback copy of Gone with the Wind. While they watch a sunrise, Ponyboy shares the Robert Frost poem "Nothing Gold Can Stay" with Johnny, confessing he never quite understood what the poem meant.

Dallas comes to visit Ponyboy and Johnny a week later. He brings them to a nearby Dairy Queen to get some hot food. While there, he tells them that Cherry is willing to testify that Bob had gone looking for a fight while drunk, and Ponyboy and Johnny had fought back in self-defense. After hearing this, Johnny tells Dallas that he and Ponyboy should go home and turn themselves in. Dallas is angry, feeling the boys had gone to a lot of trouble for nothing. He still agrees to the boys home and tells Johnny that he doesn't want to see Johnny get hardened in jail the way he did. Ponyboy is somewhat shocked, because Dallas has never been as forthcoming as he was then, but he stays quiet.

On the way back home, the boys see that the old church is on fire. Ponyboy feels guilty because he assumes that he and Johnny must have left a lit cigarette burning in the church, thus starting the fire. When they hear the screams of children trapped inside, Ponyboy and Johnny both run in to rescue them. Ponyboy describes this as the first time Johnny did not have his "usual scared, beaten-down look." Ponyboy and Johnny get all the children out safely, and Ponyboy is able to escape the fire, but Johnny is pinned by a burning roof beam that has fallen on his back. After knocking Ponyboy to the ground in an effort to put out the flames on the younger boy's jacket, Dallas hurries into the inferno to save Johnny.

The three are taken to the hospital in town. Dallas has burns on one arm and Ponyboy is bruised, but otherwise unhurt. Johnny, however, is in critical condition; his back had been broken by the falling timber and he was in severe shock and suffering from third-degree burns. Ponyboy reunites with his brothers, finally realizing that Darry's seeming harshness with him is only because he Darry loves him and is afraid of losing him.

Bob's death at Johnny's hand is the impetus for the Socs to challenge the Greasers to a "rumble," or gang fight. On the day of the rumble, Ponyboy is confronted by Bob's friend Randy. Randy reveals that he does not want to and will not take part in the rumble, because nothing good would come of it. He has grown sick of the fighting, to the point that he is ready to leave town, but before he did, he wanted to tell someone who would understand. Randy and Ponyboy part, each with a new perspective of the other.

Two-Bit and Ponyboy go to see Johnny and Dallas in the hospital. At first, the nurses will not let them see Johnny, but then a doctor says that he had been asking for them and "it can't hurt now." Johnny is happy to see them and manages a couple weak grins. He asks them to get him another copy of Gone with the Wind. When Two-Bit runs to the drugstore for the book, Johnny breaks down to Ponyboy that he does not want to die, because he is only sixteen and has not seen or experienced all that is out there. Johnny passes out cold and the nurse asks Ponyboy to leave just as Two-Bit returns. They go to see Dallas, who is yelling at his nurse. Dallas admits that he was scared he had might have accidentally killed Ponyboy back at the church when he tried to put out the fire on Ponyboy's back. He is also very upset about having to be in the hospital during the rumble and he asks to hold Two-Bit's prized switchblade. Right before they leave, Dallas tells them, "We gotta win that fight tonight. We gotta get even with the Socs. For Johnny."

Dallas breaks out of the hospital to fight in the rumble. Darry steps up first for the Greasers, and his challenge is met by a Soc named Paul, who used to be Darry's friend. With that, the rumble begins. Though outnumbered, the Greasers are the eventual victors. Immediately after, Dallas grabs Ponyboy and they rush to the hospital. The doctor on duty refuses to let them pass, saying that Johnny is dying. Dallas brandishes Two-Bit's switchblade, but the doctor replies that the knife does not frighten him. He admits that the boys are the closest thing to a family that Johnny has, so he lets them by. Dallas tells Johnny about winning the rumble, but Johnny says that "fighting ain't no good," so Dallas tells Johnny that he is proud of him. Johnny is ecstatic; his hero is proud of him. Johnny leans over to Ponyboy and faintly tells him to "stay gold." He then dies. Dallas runs from the room, completely devastated.

Ponyboy returns home to tell the rest of the gang that Johnny has died. The gang is shocked, despite knowing that Johnny's condition was grave, and saddened. Ponyboy tells Darry that he is scared for Dallas and what he might do next. As if to validate Ponyboy's fears, Dallas calls from a pay phone a few minutes later. He has robbed a grocery store and is on the run from the police. The gang races to meet Dallas at the vacant lot, where he is surrounded by police. Dallas then pulls out an unloaded gun and commits suicide by police. Ponyboy wonders for a split second why Dallas had pulled out an unloaded gun, but then realizes that Dallas had 'wanted' to die; having lost the only thing that he truly loved, Dallas had lost the will to live. Overwhelmed by the situation at hand, injuries sustained in the rumble, and general sickness, Ponyboy passes out.

Ponyboy wakes up a few days later, his mind foggy. As he becomes more lucid, he enters a state of denial, telling himself that it was he that killed Bob, not Johnny. Darry makes Ponyboy stay in bed by for at least a week until he recovers fully. During this time, Ponyboy has several visitors, one of whom is Randy. Randy does not blame Ponyboy for Bob's death, but Randy mentions that Johnny was the one who killed Bob, Ponyboy deliriously insists that he himself was the killer.

A court trial is scheduled to decide if the Curtis brothers will be allowed to stay together or if Sodapop and Ponyboy will have to be sent to a boys' home. The judge determines that Darry is a fit guardian, and the boys are allowed to stay together.

Ponyboy, who normally made A's and B's in school, finds his grades slipping, thanks to being distracted by the recent turmoil in his life. His English teacher gives him a chance to pass the class by turning in a special composition. Darry and Ponyboy have another argument, this time, regarding Ponyboy's composition. Sodapop suddenly shouts at his brothers to stop fighting and runs out the door. Darry and Ponyboy discover a letter that Sodapop's girlfriend had returned unopened, thereby breaking up with him, and they put aside their argument to chase after Sodapop together. Ponyboy and Darry catch up to Sodapop at the park. Sodapop tells his brothers that he feels scared and helpless when they fight, so Ponyboy and Darry vow not to fight again for their brother's sake.

While flipping through the copy of Gone With the Wind Two-Bit had bought for Johnny, Ponyboy finds a letter Johnny wrote to him, explaining that "staying gold" in the Frost poem meant to always appreciate the things one finds wondrous when one is young. "Staying gold" is the way to be, and Johnny urges Ponyboy to tell Dallas this. It is, of course, too late to tell Dallas, and Ponyboy thinks about other kids in the world that are in similar situations. He thinks about Johnny, Dallas, Bob, and all the others who would die young; who would stay hoodlums forever. Inspired, Ponyboy starts writing his English composition, beginning by recounting the events of the day that changed his life forever, which was also the very first sentence in the book: 'When I stepped out into the bright sunlight from the darkness of the movie house I had only two things on my mind: Paul Newman and a ride home.' Template:Endspoiler

The Socs

, (pronounced "soshes", as in "social"), are spoiled kids from well-to-do rich families. (Soc is often incorrectly pronounced "soch", and even occasionally "sock".) They have no reservations about "jumping" Greasers without provocation. Template:SpoilerMain characters who are Socs include:

Robert "Bob" Sheldon: He was revealed to have beat up Johnny before the events in the book. He was Cherry's boyfriend. According to Randy, though Bob was spoiled by his parents, he really just wanted them to say no to him every once in a while and set limits for him, instead of accepting the blame as bad parents and buying him off. Bob and his friends corner Johnny and Ponyboy at the park and try to kill them for talking to Cherry and Marcia. Johnny stabs and kills Bob in self defense.
Sherri "Cherry" Valance: Bob's girlfriend, whose nickname comes from her fiery red hair. She sympathizes with the greasers and becomes Ponyboy's friend. She becomes a spy for the greasers.For example, she telhe turned her off by being drunk ls them how the Socs are playing in the big rumble. She also, admits to Ponyboy that she could fall in love with Dallas and hoped to never see him again because of it. Though Cherry is appreciative of Johnny telling Dallas to leave her alone at the drive-in, she refuses to go see Johnny in the hospital because he killed Bob.
Randy Adderson: Bob's friend, who is tired of the fighting between the greasers and the Socs. He is the only person shown to voluntarily not participate in the rumble. When he visits Ponyboy at home, he tells Ponyboy that he is impressed with the younger boy's heroics and admits that he would have been too scared to do the same. But Ponyboy insists that he would have done the same thing.

The Greasers

While the Socs live carefree lives of privilege, the Greasers come from hard-knock backgrounds. They like to listen to the music of Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley and their attire usually consists of tight fitting t-shirts, leather jackets, and jeans. Many Greasers are engaged in criminal activities, which causes many people to incorrectly assume that all Greasers are juvenile delinquents.

Ponyboy Michael Curtis, 14: The youngest of the Curtis brothers and main protagonist of the novel, he is a daydreamer, painter, and a bit of a bookworm. Ponyboy watches the sunsets from his backyard and wonders what it would be like to live in a world where there is no discrimination against the rich and the poor. First he thinks that only the greasers have problems, but later on then he realizes that the socs deal with many of the same problems they do. He realizes that some of the socs are tired of fighting just like they are, they too want to live in a fearfree environment where you dont have to be worried about getting jumped everytime you leave the house. A heavy smoker, Ponyboy is also a star on his school's track team and is best friends with Johnny Cade. Ponyboy is a deep analyzer, but sometimes overlooks the obvious. He is particularly attached to his hair and was upset when Johnny told him that he had to cut it when they were on the run. Ponyboy hates fighting, and the stereotypes put on people, such as "Greasers" and "Socs." He often wonders what life would be like were there are no Greasers or Socs; no labels, just people. He has a very close relationship with his second-oldest brother, Sodapop, who he feels is the only other person, besides Johnny, that he can confide in. His parents recently died in a car crash. So now his brother Darry takes care of them as a parent, Ponyboy feels that Darry is too hard on him and doesn't love him. But later he realizes that Darry only wants him to achieve the things he missed on.

Johnny Cade, 16: "If you can picture a little dark puppy that has been kicked too many times and is lost in a crowd of strangers, you'll have Johnny," says Ponyboy. Johnny is a small and timid boy. His shy and nervous nature stems from years of abuse from his parents, and a recent jumping from a Soc, who is later revealed to be Bob Sheldon. Bob wore many large rings on his hand when he jumped Johnny, which scarred Johnny's face. Ever since then, Johnny never walks alone, and carries a six-inch switchblade in his back pocket. He looks up to Dallas Winston and is prone to instability and emotional oversensitivity. Although he never finished school, Johnny is very good at analyzing things that many other people do not understand. Johnny is the "gang's pet, everyone's kid brother," and relies on the Greasers for the love and affection he does not get at home.

Dallas "Dally" Winston, 17: The tough guy of the group, Dallas is considered extremely dangerous. He grew up on the streets of New York and was arrested at the age of 10. Although he is not muscular, even Darry Curtis is afraid to fight him. Dallas is the opposite of Johnny; he is prone to react rashly and violently, even to his friends, and avoids showing emotion as much as possible. He does, however, have a soft spot for Johnny, and is very protective of the younger boy. Ponyboy on Dallas: "He had an elfish face, with high cheekbones and a pointed chin, small, sharp animal teeth, and ears like a lynx. His hair was almost white it was so blonde, and he didn't like haircuts, or hair oil either, so it fell over his forehead in wisps and kicked out the back in tufts and curled behind his ears and along the nape of his neck. His eyes were blue, blazing ice, cold with a hatred of the world."

Sodapop Patrick Curtis, 16: The middle Curtis brother, he is described as extremely good looking and is an undefeated fighter, though he is not the runner his brothers are. Sodapop is very carefree, preferring to play around rather than do any work. He isolates himself and smokes only when he's upset; otherwise, he is social and hyperactive. Although he is generally very optimistic, when reality hits him, it hits him hard enough to sink him into an extremely deep funk. Sodapop is always sticking up for Ponyboy around Darry and tells Ponyboy things he tells no one else. Sodapop is the only person who can tease Darry and get away with it. Towards the end of the novel Soda is stricken with grief as he finds that his once true love Sandy, has gotten pregnant from another man. While Soda offers to still take her in she refuses by simply rejecting the letter he writes to her by unopening it and mailing it back from Florida where she moves to live with her grandmother, inorder to raise the baby. "I guess she didn't love him, like he thought she did." Darry to Ponyboy after Soda runs away.

Darrel "Darry" Shaynne Curtis, Jr., 20: The eldest of the Curtis boys, Darry is tall, broad-shouldered, and muscular. Darry is occasionally perceived as cold and uncaring, as a result of assuming the role of parental figure after the death of his parents, in order to keep the family together. Ponyboy had believed that Darry did not love him, yet later realizes otherwise when Darry cried for him, since Darry did not cry at the death of their parents. Because of his build, Darry is often referred to as "Superman" or "Muscles." One time Steve calls him all brawn and no brains. For this, Darry nearly shatters Steve's jaw. He roofs houses for a living. He is Ponyboy's opposite; he is as logical as Ponyboy is imaginative. He is attentive to Ponyboy's grades, though not upset about Sodapop dropping out of high school. Darry is very bitter about the fact that he never went to college, even though he had been offered an athletic scholarship. Even though Darry is associated with the Greasers, he keeps his hair cut short. Ponyboy notes that Darry is very Soc-like and too "smart" to be a Greaser, and the only reason that Darry was not a Soc was because he would not turn his back on his brothers or the gang.

Keith "Two-Bit" Mathews, 18 and a half: He has been known as "Two-Bit" for so long that even his teachers have forgotten that his real name is Keith. Two-Bit is the joker of the gang, always smiling and cracking jokes. Like Sodapop, he lives for action and fun. Though nearly 19 years old, Two-Bit is still a junior in high school because he finds school "entertaining." With his long sideburns and deep grey eyes, Two-Bit is known as both a shoplifter and a ladies' man, though he is not perceived to be as good-looking as Sodapop. He loves fighting, his black-handled switchblade, blondes, and flirting. He flirts with Marcia, even though he knows that she is the girlfriend of a Soc.

Steve Randle, 17: He has thick greasy hair that he combs back "in complicated swirls." Steve is tall, lean, cocky, and arrogant, though smart and skilled at driving. He is the only one of the gang who does not care much for Ponyboy. Steve has been Sodapop's best friend since grade school; the two even work at the same gas station. Steve and Sodapop often bicker and get into wrestling/arm-wrestling matches to vent their excessive energy. Steve does not think before he speaks and sometimes says hurtful things to his friends, even if he does not mean what he says. On one occasion, he called Darry "All Brawn No Brains," which infuriated Darry so much that he punched Steve in his jaw and nearly shattered it. He does not like it when Sodapop takes Ponyboy with them to places.

Tim Shepard, 18: He is a friend and associate of the main characters. Tim runs his own gang, the Shepard gang. They have rumbled the Curtis' and their friends in the past. They show up at the rumble to beat to Socs. Tim is described as having dark, curly hair and blue eyes. A tramp slashed him with a broken pop bottle, so he has a scar from his temple to his chin. He dishes out harsh discipline to his gang. He's had his nose broken twice (a third time during the rumble). He and Dallas are "two of a kind".

Template:Endspoiler

Slang within the book

The slang in the book reflects both the times of the setting and its cast; much of it is 50s slang, while the remainder dates from mid-60s, when the book was created. The following is a partial list.

booze - Any form of alcohol; particularly beer. Likewise, boozed means drunk
broad – An attractive girl/boy
cooler – Jail
cancer stick – Cigarette
Chessy Cat -Cheshire Cat
hacked off – To be angry
heater – A hand-gun
hot - recently stolen
fly – An attractive girl
fuzz – Police/law enforcement
jumped – To be attacked; the Greasers use this to describe attacks by the Socs
lift – To steal, shoplift, or pick-pocket
lighting up – Smoking
lone it – Doing something alone
rank – Something uncool and not fun
rolled – To have been robbed or to have robbed
rumble – Gang fight
scrap – To fight
switchblade- hand knife used to defend or show off, usually opening at the push of a button
tuff – Something cool
weed – drug (In this novel it refers to cigarettes)
woofin - to be kidding

Film version

A film adaptation of the novel was made in 1983 by Francis Ford Coppola. In September 2005, Coppola re-released the film, including 22 minutes of additional footage, entitled The Outsiders: The Complete Novel, reinserting scenes that were left out of the previous version, making this new version much closer to the book.

S.E. Hinton, the author, played the nurse in the film.

Differences between the film and the novel

Template:Spoiler

In the book, Ponyboy has long hair. However, his hair is short in the movie.
In the movie Dallas has brown hair in the book he has blonde hair.
In the movie, there is a much greater description of where the Socs and the Greasers hang out.
In the novel, the two main sides of town are East and West; in the film, they are North and South. S.E. Hinton originally wrote it as North and South; it was changed to East and West because North/South was a real rivalry at the time. Coppola made the decision to go with the original in the film
Two-Bit's switchblade is changed to a balisong, or butterfly knife, in the film.
While talking to Cherry for the first time in the film, Ponyboy does not mention a few things he talks about in the novel; among them, Soda's favorite horse, "Mickey Mouse", and watching sunsets.
It is mentioned in the novel that Steve Randle almost had his jaw shattered by Darry after remarking that the older boy was "all brawn and no brain." In the film, he says this without any consequences before the rumble. Also, while he breaks three ribs during the rumble in the novel, he escapes with only cuts and bruises in the film, along with a missing tooth.
Although Sodapop's girlfriend Sandy leaves him in the novel, she is not mentioned again in the film after Sodapop announces his plans to marry her.
Dallas is approached by a little girl in Windrixville in the film. This was not in the novel. The part of the little girl is played by the director's daughter, Sofia Coppola.
Ponyboy talks with Dally during the rumble in the novel; in the film, he does not.
The Brumly Boys do not fight in the rumble in the film, although they are present in the novel.
Ponyboy keeps Two-Bit from arguing with Johnny's mother in the novel because he doesn't like to see women get verbally abused "even if they deserved it"; however, in the film, he does not intercede when Two-Bit cusses out Johnny's mother.
Randy did not go see Ponyboy after the rumble in the film but he did in the novel.
Darry pushes Ponyboy in the film but hits him in the novel
Randy Adderson's last name is spelt "Anderson" in the film credits.

TV version

A 13-part television series based on the characters from the novel was aired in 1990 by Fox Network. S.E. Hinton co-wrote the pilot episode with Alan Shapiro.

Allusions/references from other works

In the movie Mean Girls, when Damian come into Cady and Gretchen's English class dressed as Santa Claus, behind him on the chalkboard it says "Test on Friday - The Outsiders"
In the TV series My Name Is Earl, Earl the protagonist tells his ex wife Joy about how he used to hang out in an abandoned barn with Donnie (his friend) "Ponyboy" style, while the police were after them.
New Found Glory's first major label album was titled Nothing Gold Can Stay. Additionally, an early recording of the song "Hit or Miss" included a clip of Johnny and Ponyboy discussing the sunset.
Bowling for Soup has an album named Let's Do It for Johnny!.
The Get Up Kids have a song named "Stay gold, Ponyboy".
Massachusetts metalcore band Bury Your Dead recorded a song called "The Outsiders" on their 2004 album Cover Your Tracks. During live perfomances of the song the band orchestrates a mosh pit known as a wall of death and simulates a gang fight.
Nickelodeon's animated show CatDog has a gang called "The Greasers", which beats up the main characters a lot.
The Japanese manga Gravitation references Ponyboy and The Outsiders when the protagonist makes a drastic change from black hair to blonde hair.
Comedian Julie Brown's eighties novelty hit "The Homecoming Queen's Got a Gun" ends with, "I did it for Johnny," as the explanation of her killing spree.
In Veronica Mars, Veronica tells a classmate to, "Stay Cool, Sodapop".
In Roseanne, Darlene tells a boy attempting to put his arm around her, "Stop right there, Ponyboy. You and the rest of The Outsiders can just go rumble someplace else."
In an episode of Lost, entitled Everybody Hates Hugo, a friend of Hurley's, ironically named Johnny, tells him in a flashback, "Not only will I stay gold, Ponyboy, I will drink to it."
In the book Nothing But the Truth by Avi, the main character Phillip reads "The Outsiders".
In the video game Bully, random greaser NPCs can be heard saying "Stay Gold Ponyboy" and "Do it for Johnny". Additionally a mission called 'Rumble' Chapter III parallels the fight between the greasers and the socs/preppies.
In an episode from the first season of Gilmore Girls, Rory asks Dean to just call her Ponyboy. Later in the episode Dean says "Hey, Ponyboy."
In the South Park episode The Mexican Staring Frog of Southern Sri Lanka Jimbo is reading the book to Ned when he is catatonic and in hospital. The text Jimbo reads, however, is not anywhere in the book.
in the platform game Dance Dance Revolution ULTRAMIX 3 the song Midnight Frankenstein is by a band called stay gold ponyboy.

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