The area of social concerns has always been one of the most important to the fiction of Hinton. Primary among the concerns of her fiction is the role of the modern teenage peergroup, especially as it is realized in gangs. The narrator of The Outsiders, Ponyboy, is cognizant of his role as a gang member throughout the novel. He feels that he belongs to his gang, that he must cooperate with them, and that even if members sometimes disagree, they are still united against common enemies. Most of all, he knows that one must "save face" in front of the gang, fighting in fights and protecting his own. The world of adult authority, with its rights and duties, is almost nonexistent in the novel, except for the role of the police and state agencies (who are seen mainly as troublemakers for members of the gang). Ponyboy's...