Does the book, The Outsiders, have an optimistic or pessimistic view of life? Explain by using examples.

The classic S.E. Hinton teen novel obviously has elements
that are both optimistic and pessimistic. Certainly the ending is upbeat in spite of the
deaths of Johnny and Dallas: The Curtis brothers are allowed to stay together as a
family, and Ponyboy appears to be back on the right track, working on his essay in
English--and perhaps beginning his career as a writer. The greasers and Socs seem to
have earned a mutual respect for one another at last, and there is hope that the
violence between them has come to an end. Needless to say, pessimism rules during much
of the story: The greasers have little hope of ever rising above their social status,
and the Socs seem to revel in their upper-class snobbery. The most pitiful of them all,
Johnny, only suffers further horrors after being burned in the church fire; however, he
dies knowing that he performed an act of heroism by saving the children from burning
themselves. The doomed Dallas Winston suffered a similar fate; he took humor in the fact
that he was being hailed a hero, but he resorts to suicide-by-cop after Johnny's death.
The Outsiders may have its share of characters who look at life
from the outside in, but it does offer hope that a change for the better is still
possible.