Read this excerpt from the outsiders. i about decided i didn't like it so much, though, when i spotted that red corvair trailing me. i was almost two blocks from home then, so i started walking a little faster. i had never been jumped, but i had seen johnny after four socs got hold of him, and it wasn't pretty. johnny was scared of his own shadow after that. johnny was sixteen then. what is the universal theme of this excerpt? hard work pays off. love conquers all. dramatic life events cause change. things are seldom what they seem.