Robert Liu, Winner Level I Grade 4-6

Letter to S. E. Hinton, Author of The Outsiders

Dear Ms. S. E. Hinton,

"Why did I get an 84% on my math test? Why could I not have done better? Why did I not take better notes?"

Walking out of math class with a B in my hand was always the scariest event in my life.

Before April, I could not feel content in school. At that time, I could not satisfy myself, I could not accept my grades, I could not leave my world as it was before my eyes. I could not capitulate . . .

From page one of The Outsiders, I could feel it. The thoughts and emotions came like sunlight through stainless windows. My heart became tangled into the story through every minute of reading. All ended with a flood of tears and a melancholy laugh. I had laughed and cried out my dissatisfaction toward the world. After flipping the last page, I had started to look at the world through another lens.

From the moment Ponyboy was walking back from the movie, I could see he was my mirror image. He and I are similar in some aspects. Ponyboy is a very emotional character, just as I am. But just as a mirror shows left as right and right as left, Ponyboy was my opposite in many ways. Ponyboy lived in a dark, poor, and haunting world. Grades were nothing compared to the hardship he experienced daily. He and the "greasers" were excluded from the majority and taunted by the Socs. Yet adults turned a blind eye. As I read through Ponyboy's feelings, I asked myself, "How can a person live through that?"

The answer came between the lines. Ponyboy could live in that dark abyss because he could accept the world as it existed. He could tolerate being beaten up. He could accept his life as it was. Compared to me, this mirror image was a much stronger person. How could I not accept my grades when boys like Ponyboy are so unfortunate? How could I worry about school when they lived such pitiful lives?

My own self-realization went further when my heart leapt as Dallas got shot. Dally had feared the world and never loved anyone except Johnny. Thus, after Johnny died, Dally could no longer accept his life, and went to die. This event shocked me. If I did not change my personality, what would be the purpose of life when dissatisfaction was all I knew?

During the three days when I read this book, each day was filled with realization. Thank you, Ms. Hinton, for writing a book that has nudged me into the real course of life. You have wiped my stained window clean and shown me the real light. From the moment I flipped the last page, each time I earn an imperfect grade, I remember the plight of the "greasers," my own fortunate life, and the book I read over spring break. Silently in my heart, ever so silently, I thank you, the author who has shown me the truth behind life.

Sincerely,

Robert Liu

Princeton Day School, Princeton, NJ