The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton Dialectical Journal: Discovering and Analyzing Motifs

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1 The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton Dialectical Journal: Discovering and Analyzing Motifs Motifs are themes that are repeated throughout a literary work. Themes are underlying ideas or messages the author tries to get across in the story. The four (4) motifs you will be tracking and analyzing in The Outsiders include 1. Life as an Outsider 2. Loyalty 3. Class Conflict 4. Family Relationships While reading The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, you will discover and record analysis of these four (4) motifs in a dialectical journal. A dialectical journal (also known as a reader-response journal ) is a double-entry journal that records a dialogue. The dialogue is the conversation between the ideas in the text, written in the author s actual words, and the thoughts and analysis of the reader. Your dialectical journal will be recorded on the sheets that follow. On the left side, write the theme for the chosen passage, the page number of the passage and then quote the passage. On the right side, you will include your response. Your responses will fall into one of the following categories: o Connect : make a connection to your life, the world, or another piece of literature o Question and clarify : ask a question and then provide an answer with textual evidence o Reflect : think deeply about the meaning of the passage, drawing conclusions about the world or human nature o Evaluate : make judgments about the text including why you might agree or disagree with the ideas Note that both incorrect and correct examples have been given for you to examine as you begin this part of the literature study. Please refer to these as you write your entries. This assignment is worth 90 POINTS. Each entry is worth 5 points. You will be allowed to drop the two (2) lowest scored entries.

2 Examples of Dialectical Journal Entries Life as an Outsider 2 Greasers can t walk alone too much or they ll get jumped or someone will come by and scream Greaser! at them, which doesn t make you feel too hot.... We get jumped by the Socs... the Socials, the jet set, the West-side rich kids. ( Note: You may use ellipses to reduce sections of the quote if the meaning is not lost.) Family Relationships 3 Quote or idea from text: I could have waited to go to the movies until Darry or Sodapop got off work.... Or I could have gotten one of the gang to come along, one of the four boys Darry and Soda and I have grown up with and consider family. We re almost as close as brothers; when you grow up in a tight-knit neighborhood like our you get to know each other real well. Sample analysis of quote from text: INCORRECT ANALYSIS The Greasers are living life outside the cool life of the Socs. They often get hurt as outsiders. (TOO BRIEF!) CORRECT ANALYSIS: It is obvious from the first pages of the novel that the narrator is living life as an Outsider. He belongs to the group from the East-side the wrong side of the tracks. He is, therefore, vulnerable to mistreatment from those who belong to the West-side. This is a painful experience to him, which can be seen when he says being called a Greaser doesn t make you feel too hot. This is unfortunately true in the world today. We see people who do not belong to our race or religion sometimes as less. There are some people who want only certain nationalities to be allowed to immigrate to the United States. There are some people who hate other cultures and religions without any reason. ( Reflect ) Sample analysis of quote from text: INCORRECT ANALYSIS: The narrator thinks about inviting someone to the movies with him, either a brother or someone from the neighborhood. (TOO GENERAL!) CORRECT ANALYSIS: As the narrator is walking home from the movies he realizes that he has more family than just his brothers. Sometimes neighbors or friends become family either out of necessity when we have challenges, or simply because our lives are seen and shared by those in tight-knit neighborhoods. This has been true in my life in every place I have lived, especially when far from immediate family. We have many honorary family members who have helped us through difficult times and loved us as if we were blood relatives. ( Connect )

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