S. E. Hinton Suzan Eloise Hinton

S. E. Hinton Born in July 22, 1950 in my hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma. We don’t have a lot of information on the life of S. E. Hinton as she is a very private individual. On her website, she mentions that she enjoys spending time with her family and fulfilling her passion for horseback riding.

S. E. Hinton She began writing out of frustration of the lack of good books written for younger readers. In Tulsa, she attended Will Rogers High School. Her first book The Outsiders was published when she was just 17 years old. Her publisher told her to go by her initials rather than her full name. This way, the boys wouldn’t write the book off because it was written by a female. Many readers believed S. E. Hinton was a male.

S. E. Hinton She had a difficult time writing after the release of The Outsiders. She battled a three-year-long writer’s block. Her boyfriend, frustrated with her situation, encouraged her to write two pages per day. If she didn’t, he wouldn’t take her out. She worked this way long enough to finish That was Then, This is Now in the summer of 1970.

S. E. Hinton She attended the University of Tulsa. In 1975, she published Rumble Fish Rumble Fish received mixed reviews. Some critics claimed it to be her best, others claimed it to be her last. Tex was her next novel, and with this one, she gained even more respect in that many of the critics noted the more sophisticated elements of writing present in this novel.

S. E. Hinton Then, in 1988, she published Taming the Star Runner. In 1989, she received the Margaret A. Edwards Award presented by the Young Adult Library Services Association. In 1997, she received the Arrell Gibson Lifetime Achievement Award from the Oklahoma Center for the Book. She continues to write, but her books have moved away from young adult literature. Her last book, Some of Tim’s Stories was published in 2006.

S. E. Hinton Most of her books were made into movies. The Outsiders was released in (I went to see it in the theaters when it first came out! I was ten years old.) It was filmed in Tulsa, and S. E. Hinton worked very closely with the cast and with the famous director Francis Ford Coppola. She often had small cameo appearances in the films. Unfortunately, many of the areas/landmarks in the film have been torn down.

S. E. Hinton One structure that is still going is the Admiral Twin Drive-In Theater.

S. E. Hinton The Outsiders showcased some relatively unknown, young actors, including: –Tom Cruise –Matt Dillon –Rob Lowe –Patrick Swayze –Ralph Macchio –C. Thomas Howell –Emilio Estevez –Diane Lane

S. E. Hinton Speaking of “that was then this is now….” Tom Cruise:

S. E. Hinton Matt Dillon:

S. E. Hinton Rob Lowe

S. E. Hinton Patrick Swayze:

S. E. Hinton Ralph Macchio

S. E. Hinton C. Thomas Howell

S. E. Hinton Emilio Estevez

S. E. Hinton Diane Lane

S. E. Hinton Shots of the author in the film versions of her own novels…. The Outsiders:

S. E. Hinton Shots of the author in the film versions of her own novels…. Rumble Fish

The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton

The Outsiders The story is told from Pony Boy Curtis’s point of view. Pony Boy and his friends are greasers. Greasers are the poor, blue collar, lower class kids who are, by society, pitted against the socs (pronounced “Soash”) The Socs are more high-society and white collar. It’s a classic story of “the haves” against “the have-nots.”

The Outsiders Pony Boy and his brothers live a pretty tough life. Their parents died in a car-train wreck They are all living in the care of the eldest brother, Darrel or “Darry.” Pony Boy and his friend, Johnny, run away from home after Pony has a scuffle with “Darry.”

The Outsiders The story chronicles the times the boys spend in exile, their return to their society, and their discovery that things never really change. It is a story that focuses on the expectation of social class. It deals, also, with the struggle of some to understand why certain boundaries are drawn, separating folks from a wider community.