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Mr. Syme, Ponyboy's English teacher, is a genuinely kind and thought-provoking person. He challenges his students to think critically and cares about them as individuals. Upon Ponyboy's return to school, Mr. Syme offers him empathy and understanding. He works out a solution that will allow Ponyboy to still pass his class, challenging him to write a report on something that he deems important. Mr. Syme does not define importance for Ponyboy, and instead gives him room to explore that theme on his own. He remarks, "I want your own ideas and your own experiences."
These words are the reason that the story of The Outsiders gets told. Mr. Syme's assignment inspires Ponyboy to record a history that might have been forgotten otherwise. Ponyboy reflects on the deaths of his friends and laments that there were so many boys like Dally, who died thinking that there was no good left in the world. He thinks to himself that "someone should tell them before it was too late. Someone should tell their side of the story, and maybe people would understand then and wouldn't be so quick to judge a boy by the amount of hair oil he wore. It was important to me." As the novel ends, Ponyboy realizes that by sharing his story, he has the potential to give voice to all the boys out there who feel lost, misunderstood, and hopeless, and Mr. Syme's assignment is the catalyst for that realization.
