S.E. Hinton created The Outsiders in her youth, motivated by gang violence at her Oklahoma high school. Ponyboy, as her narrator, becomes the reader's most recognized figure, and he stays representative of the novel and its issues. Ponyboy is his true name, which makes him even more different and unforgettable. He has blond hair like many other boys of his age, but because of a medical condition he looks younger than his friends. In addition to being blind, Ponyboy is deaf and mute. This does not stop him from becoming one of the main characters in the story or from experiencing all that it means to be part of a group of teenagers living in the city. Hinton based Ponyboy on one of her own friends, who she called "Pon" during her time at Norman High School. He had dark hair like many of the others and looked older than his real age (he was actually fifteen years old), so he seemed the perfect choice for her character. She also said that he resembled Tommy from The Breakfast Club, another young man who lived in an isolated neighborhood and who got involved with various kinds of trouble until he found out about love. Hinton wanted to write a book that would have an impact on her readers, and she thought that this character could help do that. Ponyboy comes from a poor family. His father is often away from home working as a mechanic to provide money for them to eat.