S.E. Hinton’s The Outsiders
Honors English I project
Though The Outsiders is a novel, it has basically the same elements
as a short story. To reinforce what you know about short stories, you will apply the short story
elements to this novel. This will be an outside assignment that we will not use class time to
complete. However, you will have plenty of time to complete the assignment. If you do not
have access to PowerPoint, don’t forget that you have a version with your Windows Live
account. I will make every effort to stay after school for any assistance you may need.
Assignment: (Remember, you may use bullets for each of these except the last one about theme should be a paragraph.)
1. Narrator: Who is the narrator; in what type of point of view is this story written, and why is it this pov? How
does this type of narrator affect the way the story is told? Is he/she a reliable or unreliable narrator? Use at least
2 quotations for support. This can be a bulleted list. You can use the last two bullets to put quotations with an
MLA parenthetical citation.
2. Tone: Based on the narrator’s voice and word choice, how could you describe the tone of the novel? Remember
this can shift throughout the book, and there is a plethora of words you could use to describe the tone. Choose
two chapters and describe the tone of each chapter in general with at least one example from those chapters to
support your tone description. These two examples can be paraphrased or quoted. Either way, please put a
parenthetical citation at the end of your example.
3. Characters: Create a list of the types of characters that are listed in our notes: protagonist, antagonist, round,
flat, dynamic, and static. Give an example of each with a one sentence explanation of why that character fits that
type. Please attempt to vary your examples. In other words, don’t write Ponyboy for every example. You do not
need any parenthetical citations here.
4. Characterization: Choose one character, and give 2 examples of direct and 1 example of indirect characterization
for that character. For direct, just give two quotes from the book (with MLA parenthetical citation). Indirect
should include a word that describes the character. Then, give an example from the story to support how you
characterize that character. This may be paraphrased or quoted exactly. This example, whether it is paraphrased
or quoted, should include a citation from your book using MLA style. This doesn’t have to be written in a
paragraph. You can just go through what you are supposed to do using bullets.
5. Conflicts: What are the conflicts of the story—give types and a sentence example for each. Give at least three
conflicts, but make sure you have at least two different types within these examples. This requires no quotations
or citations.
6. Plot: You may either map it or write a bulleted list. Keep in mind that it is usually best to find the climax first, and
then everything else will fall into place. Remember that the central action of the story follows what happens with
Ponyboy and Johnny.
7. Irony—Find at least two examples of any type. Be sure to give the type and an explanation of why your example
fits the type. Only put an MLA parenthetical citation if you are using quotations, which you will probably do for
verbal irony.
8. Theme: This must be written in paragraph form. Give what you believe is the theme of The Outsiders, and
explain with detail how this is exemplified in the story. If you use any quotations, please include a parenthetical
citation.
Mechanics:

PowerPoint should be a minimum of 15 slides.

Incorporate at least three images into your presentation. These images must have citations if they are taken
from the internet.

Your last slide will be a works cited slide. You will include a citation for The Outsiders, as well as information
for any pictures that you used.

Due _________________________________
In-text MLA citations: Whether you paraphrase, summarize, or quote material, you should use a parenthetical citation
before the period. Normally, it is the author’s last name and page number. Do not use p., pg., or pp.
MLA 2009 Book Citation
Lastname, Firstname. Title of Book. City of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication. Medium of Publication.
Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. New York: Warner, 1960. Print.
MLA 2009 page on a website citation
Lastname, Firstname. “Title of page.” Title of website. Publisher name, publication date. Medium of
publication. Date month year.
Remember to use n.p. if no publisher name is available and n.d. if not publishing date is given.
Title of the entire
website…sort of like
the title of the book
(italics)
“Title” of the actual page…sort
of like a chapter in a book
Date of
publication
wasn’t
found, so I
used n.d.
Medium of publication-
"How to Make Vegetarian Chili." Vegetarian Recipes. eHow, n.d. Web. 24 Feb. 2009.
Publisher—usually @ bottom,
sometimes with a ©
Date I accessed
information