A third theme that runs throughout this novel is one of colors in a black and white world. Hinton does an excellent job of painting verbal pictures. She uses contrasting colors to not only give impressions, but also to add depth to the story. Teens are often quick to see only right or wrong in a situation. But nothing is ever that cut and dried. Using colors, Hinton allows the reader to visualize the extremes and then mix them together to show that there is a middle ground. This theme is not the most important element in the story, but it is a good literary technique that allows the reader to visualize the story and internalize the intensity of the feelings that run strong in adolescents.
The Outsiders can be termed a coming-of-age novel because of the many topics that the story deals with.
Cigarette smoking, like many serious issues, is treated in the novel as part of everyday life. Several reasons may explain the author's approach to smoking: The Surgeon General's report linking cigarette smoking to cancer had just come out in l964 and the implications were not widely realized; the author may have believed that, inevitably, some teenagers experiment with smoking; or perhaps cigarettes were just a prop to help readers better visualize the characters. Whatever the reason, the treatment of the subject did not affect the telling of the story. The importance, or lack of it, was even underscored when the main character, Ponyboy, who is only 14, is surprised when an adult tells him that he shouldn't be smoking.
