E X E R C I S E 1: Find words or phrases in the passage which mean the same as: COLUMN A COLUMN B a) the first letters of words, especially a person's
name
b) draw someone's attention away from
something
c) bring about a positive emotional reaction;
impress (phrase) d) being between the ages of 13 and 19; teenager
e) the state of being opposed in hostility
f) a person, organization, team, etc., that
competes with another for the same object or
in the same field
g) dispute, argument, or debate, especially one
concerning a matter about which there has
been strong disagreement
h) marked by sudden, violent outbreaks of feeling
i) bring into obedience; correct by punishment or
discipline
j) have as an important or central part of a book
k) having been made to withdraw or feel separate
from society
I) people who are of equal standing with one
another in a group
m) turn to another course
n) course of life or action
236 • ELS SUSAN ELOISE HINTON
Susan Eloise Hinton is an American author, born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1950.
As a young writer, Hinton decided to write under her initials in order to deflect
attention from her gender. She set out to write about the difficult social system that
teenagers create among themselves. Her books struck a chord with adolescents
who saw in her characters many elements of this system that existed in their own
schools and towns.
In 1967, while she was still in high school, Hinton published her first book, The Outsiders. The story of confrontation between rival groups of teenagers was
immediately successful with critics and young readers, and it won several awards.
There was some controversy about the level of violence in the novel and in her other
works, but Hinton was praised for her realistic and explosive dialogue. The financial,
as well as literary, success of The Outsiders enabled Hinton to continue her
education in college.
She graduated from the University of Tulsa in 1970. Her other novels for young
adults included That Was Then, This Is Now, published in 1971; Rumble Fish, in
1975; Tex, in 1979; and Taming the Star Runner, in 1988. Each of her books
featured a cast of characters suffering from society's ills. Young people alienated
from their families and from their peers were seen to veer into criminal paths.
Several of her books, including The Outsiders and Rumble Fish, were later adapted
as motion pictures.