In my own opinion, my feelings towards the book have changed from when I first read it to when I finished the book. In the beginning, I felt remorse towards the Greasers and the automatically hated the Socs, they were hateful and just privileged and picked on the Greasers. The Greasers didn’t deserve that but little did I know that towards the end of the book my feelings towards the Socs would be different. I soon saw their side of the story and that not everything is what it seems. They have problems too.
The way my feelings have changed throughout the book, and how someone from a different time reading this book could have a different opinion too is called a Reader-Response approach to the book. It focuses on how we feel at the end vs. the beginning, and how we relate to the story by using our background, cultural beliefs, or religion. Practically meaning you see the story through your sunglasses. Tying in everything you’ve ever seen or known and relating it to the book. I pretty much put myself into the book and put myself in the character’s shoes, seeing what they see.
For Example, while I’m reading this book I think of myself as Ponyboy and how he feels throughout this journey which although it might seem a little bit exaggerated I can relate to him in many ways. I meanwhile I was growing up there was a short period of time where I was the one who lived in the ruts of the town, having barely enough money to put food on the table let alone a roof over my head, and having to watch your back everywhere you went making sure you didn’t get robbed. That background experience I have leads me to feel deeper into Ponyboy’s character. One more example would be how the Greasers always stay together and they have each other’s backs. In my family, there are a lot of relatives, so there are a lot of cousins and we are all around the same age. We always had each other and like Ponyboy I was one of the youngest.
Brotherhood 