Importance of family.

What would you do if your parents died when you were a child? Do you think that you could recover? Then you find out that your brothers have dropped out of school. The book “The Outsiders” is a great story that explains the importance of family and if you lose the support of your parents it could be a long road to recovery.

In the story “The Outsiders” the three brothers Ponyboy, Soda Pop, and Darry lost their parents in a terrible car accident at a very young age. They weny through many struggles and joined a gang. Soda Pop and Darry both dropped out of school but pressured Ponyboy to stay in school. If their parents were alive all three of them would not have been in a gang and would have been in school. In the story it says that Ponyboy smokes a lot. If he had real parents, not his older brother Darry acting as the parent, he would not have even thought to start smoking. The story also has parents who don’t care at all about their child along with dead parents.

Johnny, who is Ponyboy’s best friend, also struggles with family. His parents beat him and don’t care at all about him. He frequently comes to Ponyboy’s house and is found sleeping on their couch. If Johnny’s parents cared about him he would have been in school and also not in the gang. If he was in school he would have a better future and not ending up killing a Soc. In the story another Greaser struggles with his family.

Dally’s parents also abused him. At the age of eight he ran away from his home because he did not like his parents. To make it worse, his parents did not care at all. He also joined the gang and was often found at Ponyboy’s house as well. If his parents cared about him he would have had a better life than running around town and trying to find a home to sleep in. He would not have to worry about if Ponyboy’s family was home so that he could sleep there.

The story “The Glass Castel” by Jeannette Walls also talks about the importance of family like “The Outsiders”. The main character Jeannette writes about her family and their adventures. Her family was very poor and her parents were constantly spending their last bit of money on the father’s alcohol addiction. Her mother rarely went out of her house and was once found eating a chocolate bar under the bed covers when her family was starving. If Jeannette had a stable family she would not have had to worry constantly about if she would be able to eat that night. They constantly move around the city and tried to fit in. She could have lived a much better life if she had parents who cared about them.

The story “The Outsiders” was a great story that explains when you have dead parents, abusive families, or parents who don’t care about you, that your whole life will be changed entirely. Even though many people in the world have stable families, we need to be very thankful for what we have and not take it for granted. If all of these kids had good parents, it’s likely that none of them would have been in a gang. They would have been in school and not constantly getting in trouble. All of them need a good family.