Contextual Research: The Outsiders
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Contextual Research: The Outsiders
Context: Tulsa and the 1960s
The Outsiders, published in 1967, is set in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Its narrator, Ponyboy Curtis, describes conflict between the Greasers, who are generally poorer, and the Socs (short for Socials), who are generally wealthier. These groups are fictional, but the novel draws on recognisable issues: economic inequality, social labels, youth identity and belonging. In the United States during the 1960s, teenagers encountered changing popular culture, growing car culture and unequal access to money and opportunity. Experiences varied widely by family, community and race; no single account represents every young person. Context can help readers ask why characters see one another as they do, but the novel itself remains the evidence for claims about its characters.
Source cards: weigh the evidence
These invented practice cards model different kinds of sources. They are not genuine historical sources and should not be cited as factual research.
Card A — Fictional diary excerpt “I had to save for weeks before I could buy the jacket. At school, people decided what sort of person I was before I spoke.”
Card B — Fictional museum label “Teenagers in the 1960s did not all share one lifestyle. Clothing, music and leisure differed between communities and families.”
Card C — Fictional advertisement “Cruise in style! The newest car makes you the centre of attention.”
Investigate and connect
Use the reading and practice source cards above. Where a question asks about the novel, draw on your knowledge of its characters and events; different well-supported interpretations are possible.
- A) Context proves exactly what every teenager thought.
- B) Context offers background that can help interpret a character, while the novel provides direct evidence about that character.
- C) Context makes the novel unnecessary.
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