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Share Your Ideas in The Outsiders Essay Contest!
The English Department is inviting all students to take part in The Outsiders Essay Contest, a schoolwide writing opportunity designed for you to share your thoughts and ideas on this fall’s theatrical production of The Outsiders.
To participate, students should engage with the story by watching the play, reading the novel, viewing the film, or reading the screenplay. They will then write a 500–700 word personal essay reflecting on their own experiences in connection to the themes and ideas explored in The Outsiders.
The writing prompts are:
- Write an essay that reflects on social cliques– how they form, why they exist, and your own personal experience with this topic.
- The Outsiders shows the disparity between socioeconomic groups among young people in the same community. To what extent are these issues present here in our community? What does BBA do to address it as a community? Does it work? What could be done to make this better?
- “Nothing Gold Can Stay” is a crucial allusion in The Outsiders. This reference is about loss of innocence and the struggle to maintain your values as time passes. Write an essay that considers this theme in your own life.
- The Outsiders shows a very chaotic (and violent) world where young people experience the beauty and value of friendship, especially in adverse situations. Write an essay about your own experiences with friendship being a beacon in a chaotic world.
- Free choice! Write a personal essay that connects to a theme or element in The Outsiders.
The contest is open to all students, with one winner selected from each grade. Winners will receive an exciting prize: a trip to see The Outsiders live in Boston. Essays are due by Tuesday, December 3rd.
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