Author / Context of The Outsiders
Susan Eloise Hinton was born in 1948, and has spent most of her life in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Those who
know her work may be surprised that she is a woman, since her narrators are almost always teenage
boys. Her simple explanation is, "I've always been a tomboy." She would usually rather talk about her
horses than her writing, since she has answered so many of the same questions in interviews over the
years. She wrote The Outsiders as a sixteen year old loner at a high school where almost everyone
belonged to one group or another. After a boy not unlike Dallas Winston was killed by the police, she
decided, like Ponyboy at the end of the story, to tell the world about life in her hometown. Though the
town is never named in The Outsiders, it is recognizable as Tulsa. This is true for most of her books,
even when she names the town something else. Her ideas about important stories have never strayed
far from home. She remembers herself as able to talk to all different groups in high school, since she
didn't belong to any of them. This allowed her to see "the big picture" better than most. She
understood that the fighting between gangs was useless, because every kid was an individual, not just
a unit in a group. She wanted to write about boys because, she says, at that time girls didn't do much.
They waited around for their boyfriends, concentrating on their hair and makeup. She didn't want to
be that way, so she spent time with boys and wrote about them. She felt that the books for people
her age lacked realism. (She describes them as "Mary Jane Goes to the Prom.") She wanted a book
that would reflect the experiences she saw going on around her. No book at that time described what
some kids her age had to deal with. She decided to write one.
This means that The Outsiders was written by a teenager about teenagers. It is told in a first-person
narration style, with the narrator being a 14-year-old boy. This story deals with issues that are very
close to the hearts of teens, whether in the 1960s when this book was written or today.
Ponyboy Curtis is the narrator of this story, and it is through his eyes that the events unfold. Ponyboy
takes the reader through a two-week period that will shape the rest of his life. No adults figure
prominently in this novel; Pony and his two brothers are living on their own because their parents were
recently killed in an automobile accident.
This novel is set in the 1960s in Oklahoma. The time period of the story is the same as the actual time
it was written. The references that allow the reader to determine the era are cultural: popular
musicians, television shows, and models of cars. To know the time period helps readers understand
some of the references, but it is not critical to understanding the story. The fact that it is in Oklahoma
is not necessarily a strong ingredient for the success of the story either. The author makes multiple
references to rodeos and basic horsemanship, but those details are not as relevant as the fact that the
story is set in a semi-large city. Walking from the East Side to the West side would take
approximately 20 minutes, according to the text, and from that information readers can infer the size.
The novel is built around the class division between the Socs, ("the abbreviation for the Socials, the jet
set, the West-side rich kids") and the greasers (a term that refers to the "boys on the East Side," who
are "poorer than the Socs and the middle class"). The members of many small neighborhood gangs
identify themselves as greasers.
The main characters in The Outsiders — Ponyboy Curtis, Darry Curtis, Sodapop Curtis, Two-Bit
Mathews, Steve Randle, Dally Winston, and Johnny Cade — make up a small gang of greasers.
pg. 1
Cigarette smoking, like many serious issues, is treated in the novel as part of everyday life. Several
reasons may explain the author's approach to smoking: The Surgeon General's report linking cigarette
smoking to cancer had just come out in l964 and the implications were not widely realized; the author
may have believed that, inevitably, some teenagers experiment with smoking; or perhaps cigarettes
were just a prop to help readers better visualize the characters. Whatever the reason, the treatment
of the subject did not affect the telling of the story. The importance, or lack of it, was even
underscored when the main character, Ponyboy, who is only 14, is surprised when an adult tells him
that he shouldn't be smoking.
Underage drinking is common throughout the book. An author writing today might treat the issue of
drinking and driving differently than Hinton did in the 1960s. In this book, the teens who are drinking
are often driving. One character, Cherry Valance, condemns adults and questions their motives when
they sell alcohol to minors, but teen drinking isn't meant to be the focus of the book.
The importance of remaining in school and graduating recurs throughout the novel, but that topic is
also not meant to be a primary focus.
Hinton allows readers to take an active role in this story. She uses foreshadowing as a strong writing
convention and almost challenges the reader to anticipate what is coming next. This convention works
well because it does not distract readers from the story's action; it encourages critical thought and
increases anticipation. The fact that this story ends with the same line that it opens with creates a full
circle. This twist prompts the reader to read the book again, this time discovering that the outcome is
within Ponyboy all of the time, it just literally needs to be spelled out for us, the reader.
pg. 2
Context: 1960s Background
Language:
A Gas A lot of fun.
All show and no Referenced to a car that had all the pretty chrome goodies, but wouldn't get
go. out of its own way.
Bad Awesome.
Bag To Steal. Example: Who bagged my towel? ; also see Score
Also; "What's your bag" meaning what's your problem or where are you
coming from.
Blitzed Drunk
Cruising Driving up and down the same street looking for races, girls, guys, etc.
Deuce A 1932 Ford. As in, "She's my Little Deuce Coupe, you don't know what I got".
(song lyric)
Dude In the 60's, a dude was a geek or nerd.
Pad Someone's house. Example: There wasn't much to do so we all hung out at
John's pad, drank Cokes and listened to records.
Thongs In the 60's, thongs were something you wore on your feet.
Music:
Movies:
Beatles
Elvis Presley
Chubby Checker
The Everly Brothers
Frank Sinatra
Psycho
The Alamo
The Time Machine
The Magnificent Seven
American News Headlines from 1960s:
Kennedy Wins Presidency, Democrats Sweep Congress
Two White Public Schools are the First to Integrate
Russian Astronaut Yuri Gayarin First Man in Space Circles Globe
East Germans Build Berlin Wall, Tensions Rise
Yo-Yos Become National Craze
pg. 3
Chapter Questions for the study of The Outsiders.
Chapter 1: the introduction
In Chapter 1 we are introduced to many things. We learn who the Socs (pronounced ‘soshes’, short for
‘socials’ —the rich) are. We learn that the protagonist, Ponyboy, is one of the ‘Greasers’ (because
they have long hair in which they put grease or oil). We meet all the gang. What else do we learn?
Stop-and-question moments
In this section, we meet Ponyboy, the Greasers and the Socs and get a good look at how these two
groups do not get along.



Ponyboy leaves the movies alone (pages 1-3).
Ponyboy is jumped by the Socs (pages 4-6).
The Greasers save Ponyboy (pages 7-15).
Remembering
1.
Name the members of Ponyboy’s group.
2.
Who starred in the film Ponyboy had been to see?
3.
What are the differences between the Socs and the Greasers?
Understanding
4.
How do Ponyboy’s relationships with Darry and Sodapop differ? Explain.
5.
In what way(s) does Ponyboy consider himself different from his brothers?
6.
Why is the ‘gang’ important to Johnny?
7.
What does Ponyboy do that puts him at risk?
8.
What’s the difference between ‘tough’ and ‘tuff’?
In what context would you use each of these words?
Applying
9.
Have you ever been in a situation where you felt unsafe? What was it like? How did you
handle it?
10.
Have you heard about any real gangs in your area? If there aren’t any, why do you think that
is? If there are gangs, what are they like?
What does Ponyboy mean when he says, ‘I lie to myself all the time. But I never believe me?
Do you ever do that? Why?
11.
pg. 4
12.
What does ‘There just isn’t a whole lot you can say while waiting to get mugged’ tell you
about Ponyboy’s personality?
How does the tone of this sentence give you this information?
13.
What does Ponyboy mean when he says Sodapop can ‘get drunk … without ever getting
near alcohol’?
14.
The story is told from the first person narrative perspective; it is Ponyboy’s view of events.
How would it change if told by someone else?
Rewrite a small section of the chapter from someone else’s point of view or write it from the third
person narrative perspective.
How does it change your response to the text?
15.
What is Ponyboy’s opinion of his own group? What words and phrases give you this
information?
Evaluating
16.
In this first chapter, do you think Hinton wants you to like the Greasers more than the Socs?
Write a paragraph explaining you reasoning. Use evidence from the text to support your
view.
17.
What happened that made Johnny ‘scared of his own shadow’?
What punishment do you think the four Socs who did this deserve?
18.
How does Ponyboy see Darry?
Do you see him the same way? Why or why not?
19.
Ponyboy tells us that Steve reminds him of Will Rogers and that he reminds himself of the
protagonist of Great Expectations. Find out more about these two characters and explain what
they tell us about Steve and Ponyboy.
20.
What do you think of Darry’s conclusion, ‘And if you did have to go by yourself, you should
have carried a blade’?
Making predictions
Just as good readers do, make some predictions about what is going to happen in the novel.
1.
What is going to happen to the relationship between Darry and Ponyboy?
2.
What is going to happen between the Socs and the Greasers?
3.
Will Sodapop marry Sandy?
4.
Will Ponyboy carry a blade from now on?
5.
What’s going to happen to Dallas, who ‘deserves everything he gets’?
pg. 5
As you can see, some of these questions will be answered very easily. For example, Ponyboy will
either be carrying a blade next time you meet him or he won’t. You will, however, learn something
about him in the decision he makes. Other questions you won’t know the answers to until the end of the
novel, perhaps. They need to be revisited continually to see what you have learnt as you go.
pg. 6
Chapter Questions for the study of The Outsiders.
Chapters 2 to 5
In these chapters we learn the details of what happened to Johnny. We also meet Sherry Valance
(Cherry). Things start to go very badly for Johnny and Ponyboy and they find themselves in a great
deal of trouble—trouble they really didn’t need.
Stop-and-question moments






Johnny pulls back Dallas from his dangerous actions (pages 30-31).
Ponyboy tells Cherry what happened to Johnny (pages 39-43).
Cherry and Ponyboy talk about how Socs and Greasers differ (pages 46-48).
Ponyboy dreams about his mother (page 60.)
Ponyboy and Johnny fight Socs at the fountain (pages 66-71).
Ponyboy and Johnny shelter at the church (pages 81-82).
Checking in
Were your predictions accurate? Was your reading strategy easy or difficult for you to maintain?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of the reading strategy you chose? What are your
predictions for the next section?
Breakaway tasks
Remembering
1.
Give definitions of the following words:








fuzz
bangs
ornery
cur
Civil War
plantations
gallant
cuss
2.
When and how did Pony’s parents die?
3.
What major event happens in Chapter 4?
4.
Who is the spy for the Greasers? Does this surprise you?
Understanding
5.
Ponyboy notes that the Greasers are nice to some girls they don’t see often but they still stand
on street corners and ‘say all kinds of lousy stuff’ about girls passing by. Why do they do this?
pg. 7
6.
What does Cherry explain is the difference between the Socs and the Greasers?
7.
If Dallas had seen people killed on the streets of New York’s West Side, why do you think he
looked 7 ‘sick now’ about Johnny being beaten?
8.
What does Pony mean when he says the Socs were “reeling pickled”?
9.
What does Pony mean when he says in Chapter 5, “I was supposed to be the deep one”?
Applying
10.
Greasers don’t mind being called Greasers by other Greasers. What other examples do you
know of this kind of privileged name-calling?
11.
Ponyboy says that, even if he didn’t like what Dallas had done, ‘you take up for your buddies,
no matter what they do’. Do you think that’s loyalty or something else?
12.
What is the difference between a gang and a pack, according to Ponyboy? Do you see the
difference?
Analysing
13.
How can you tell that Dallas has a special respect for Johnny?
14.
The last lines of Chapter 2 and 3 are both examples of ‘foreshadowing’. What is
foreshadowing? Make a prediction about what is being foreshadowed in each case.
15.
Hinton uses the language of the time and of the different social classes. How does this
contribute to each character’s identity, both as an individual and as a member of a group?
16.
How did Hinton foreshadow in Chapter 2 that Johnny would use his knife?
17.
Read Robert Frost’s poem Nothing Gold Can Stay. What do you think the poem means and
how can this apply to the characters in the novel?
Evaluating
18.
Cherry tells Ponyboy that ‘the rich kids, the West-side Socs … have troubles you’ve never
even heard of’ and that ‘things are rough all over’. Think about what happened to Johnny and to
Ponyboy and about the privileged lives the rich kids have. Cherry seems to be suggesting that there is
a reason fro the Socs’ behaviour towards the Greasers. Do you think Cherry is right?
19.
The theme of innocence is clear in this section. What is innocence? How is it lost? What happens
when innocence is lost?
Creating
20.
Johnny says, ‘It seems like there’s gotta be someplace without Greasers and Socs, with just
people. Plain ordinary people’. Draw and image of that place.
pg. 8
21.
Ponyboy and Cherry both comment on sunsets, seeing them as a common element in their lives,
and this idea brings them together. Draw or find an image of a perfect sunset.
Moving on again: Chapters 6 to 8









Johnny’s decision (page 106).
Dallas (pages 108-110).
Fire at the church (pages 110-114).
Ponyboy and Darry (pages 120-121).
Johnny (pages 124-125).
Making the papers (pages 130-133).
Randy’s reality check (pages 140-144).
Visit to the hospital (pages 145-151).
Learning more about Cherry (pages 155-158).
Remembering
Why doesn’t Dally want Johnny to turn himself in?
1.
What do you remember about the incident at the church?
2.
What is Dallas’s first reaction to the situation, with the fire?
3.
What does Jerry Wood tell Ponyboy he shouldn’t do?
Understanding
4.
What does Cherry Valance do that the Greasers consider very brave?
5.
Why does the idea of Johnny turning himself in make Dallas really worried?
6.
What does Darry do that makes Ponyboy suddenly realize what it was that Sodapop and
Two-Bit had been trying to tell him?
7.
Why would being crippled be worse for Johnny than someone else?
8.
What is a juvenile delinquent? Create a definition using the dictionary or internet.
9.
What does Pony mean by his comment in Chapter 7 that it was better to see Socs as ‘just
guys’?
Applying
10.
Of all the people at the church, which one’s reaction would probably be yours? Why?
11.
What would be your reaction to the news about Johnny’s condition if you were his friend?
pg. 9
Analysing
12.
When Johnny is in danger and is helping the children, Ponyboy notices that ‘he wasn’t scared
either. That was the only time I can think of when I saw him without that defeated, suspicious
look in his eyes’. How would you explain Johnny’s reaction?
13.
What other side of Dally is revealed in Chapter 6?
14.
How does the doctor’s comment in Chapter 8 foreshadow Johnny’s condition?
15.
Why does Darry get so angry with Ponyboy?
16.
What do you think Ponyboy’s dream is about?
17.
What does Ponyboy mean when he says the following? ‘We needed Johnny as much as he
needed the gang. And for the same reason’.
18.
“We needed Johnny as much as he needed the gang. And for the same reason.” What do you
think Pony means, and what is the reason?
Evaluating
19.
Was Johnny right to turn himself in?
20.
Ponyboy thinks he and Johnny are responsible for the children’s situation. Are they?
21.
“Maybe people are younger when they are asleep.” What do you think of this comment?
22.
What is it about Johnny’s situation that makes his prognosis (likely outcome of a patient’s
condition) worse than it would be for Ponyboy?
23.
What do you think Randy should do about the rumble?
Creating
24.
Create the newspaper report on Johnny, Dallas and Ponyboy.
25.
Randy argues that Bob only ever wanted someone to say ‘no’ to him. Write a letter from Bob
to his parents explaining who he is and what he needed from them that he didn’t get. It should
also explain why he behaved as he did.
Checking in
Have you discovered the truth or otherwise about any of your predictions yet? Were you right or
wrong about what you thought would happen? The Outsiders is so interesting for some readers
because Hinton moves the plot along in unpredictable ways. Did you predict anything correctly? For
other readers, it is the complexity of her characters—they are not one-dimensional. So, time to make
predictions for the next section of the novel. What reading strategy are you going to use for the next
section?
pg. 10
Chapter Questions for the study of The Outsiders.
Moving on again: Chapters 9 to 11
The rumble is set between the Socs from the West Side and the Greasers from the East Side. If the
Socs win, nothing changes. If the Greasers win, the Socs will leave Greaser turf forever—hopefully
that will the end of Greasers getting jumped by mobs of Socs and being beaten to within an inch of
their lives. But Randy and Ponyboy have a bad feeling about what is going to happen. There’s more
on the line here than just gang pride. It’s about life and death.
Stop-and-question moments




The rumble (pages 172-177).
Johnny (pages 180-181).
Dallas (pages 186-187).
Randy (pages 197-200).
Remembering
1.
Which of the gang members likes to fight?
2.
What did Johnny get that he had always wanted?
3.
On the bottom of page 160, when Pony asks what kind of a world it is, what comment is he
making about how society judges people?
Understanding
4.
Why does Darry like a fight?
5.
Why does Ponyboy think that Darry is better than the rest of them?
6.
Why does Dallas feel worse than any of the others in the gang about what happened to
Johnny?
7.
What is the difference between Tim Sheppard’s gang and Ponyboy’s? Explain how Pony feels
this difference might give his group the upper hand?
8.
What do you think Johnny’s last words to Pony mean?
9.
How does Pony’s dreaming finally work in Chapter 10?
10.
Why was Johnny’s death far too difficult for Dally to handle?
pg. 11
Applying
11.
Ponyboy decides that he is going to be like Darry. Which character would be a role model for
you?
12.
Write a sentence or two explaining the conversation between Pony and Randy in Chapter 11.
Analysing
13.
What does Ponyboy mean when he says that young hoods just grow up to be older hoods and
the older they get, the worse they become?
14.
What’s the difference between a Greaser and a hood?
15.
Ponyboy tells Randy he got the details of the fight wrong. What does he think happened?
Why does he think so?
Evaluating
16.
Ponyboy asks, ‘What kind of a world as it where, all I have to be proud of is a reputation for
being a hood, and greasy hair? How would you answer his question?
17.
Ponyboy notes that it is because of the way a Soc looks that everyone assumes it is the
Greasers who start problems. Do you think that is true?
18.
Do we judge people by the way they look? What assumptions have you made about people
that have been wrong? If people do tend to ‘judge a book by its cover’, what might people
assume about you?
Creating
19.
Create an image that represents Johnny’s advice to Ponyboy.
20.
Ponyboy says that nobody will write a good editorial for Dallas Winston. Prove him wrong
and write a good one.
Checking in
Check out the accuracy of your predictions now that the novel is almost over. Make some more
predictions about the last chapter. How will the novel conclude?




What’s going to happen to the Curtis family?
What’s going to happen to the Greasers?
What’s going to happen between the Greasers and the Socs?
What, if any, is the lasting effect of what has happened to Dallas and Johnny?
pg. 12
Chapter Questions for the study of The Outsiders.
Moving on for the last time: Chapter 12
In this final chapter, Hinton tries to wind up as much as she can. Because the book covers very complex
social themes, it would be difficult to have a closed conclusion (all things sorted out). While some
readers really want a closed conclusion, others realise there are some stories that shouldn’t be
concluded in this way because of the nature of the stories themselves. What do you think? What kind
of conclusion are you looking for here?
Stop-and-question moments



The hearing (pages 202-203).
Sodapop in the middle (pages 212-214).
Johnny’s letter (page 216).
Remembering
1.
What is a tow-headed boy?
Understanding
2.
What does ‘stay gold’ mean?
3.
Why do you think Ponyboy doesn’t feel scared when the Socs approach him and he threatens
them with a broken bottle?
4.
Explain Soda’s comment on page 212 about the emotional; ‘tug of war’ he feels.
5.
Explain how Johnny’s letter to him, kick starts Pony’s essay for his English teacher.
Applying
6.
Ponyboy has to work out how to write about something that is important to him. If you had to
write about something that is important to you, how would you start?
Analysing
7.
Why can Ponyboy now remember everything without falling apart?
8.
How does the conclusion of the novel mirror the opening? Write out the author’s lines.
pg. 13
Evaluating
9.
What do you think of the conclusion of the novel?
Creating
10.
Write a new opening line for The Outsiders.
pg. 14
Characters/Characterisation
For each character below, describe how the author, S.E. Hinton, positions the reader
to understand him/her, giving evidence from the text.
Ponyboy Michael Curtis A 14-year-old boy who is the narrator and main character in The Outsiders.
His parents have been killed in an automobile accident, and he lives with his two brothers.
Example: S.E. Hinton positions us to realise that Pony is a deep thinker about life, able to look past the
stereotype ‘boxes’ teenagers have been placed in, to understand how his rivals think and feel.
Evidence: ‘“I’d help you if I could,” I said. I remembered Cherry’s voice: Things are rough all over. I
knew then what she meant.’ (p.143)
Soda(pop) Patrick Curtis: Ponyboy's 16-going-on-17-year-old brother. He is a high school dropout
and works at the local gas station. He is "movie-star" handsome.
Darrel (Darry) Shayne Curtis: The 20-year-old brother and legal guardian of Ponyboy and Soda.
He works too hard and too long, and would be in college, if his parents had not died.
Dallas (Dally) Winston: A fellow Greaser, who is originally from New York City. He is a bit tougher
than the others in Ponyboy's gang, and at 17 he has already seen the inside of a jail.
Johnny Cade: The "gang's pet." He is 16 years old, physically small, and comes from a physically
and verbally abusive home. Dally is his hero.
Steve Randle: Soda's best friend and fellow greaser. He is 17 and works at the gas station with
Soda.
Keith (Two-Bit) Mathews: The oldest of the gang, except for Darry, and still a junior in high school at
age 18. He is the wisecracking comedian of the gang.
pg. 15
Sherri (Cherry) Valance: A cheerleader and the girlfriend of Bob, the Soc who is killed. Cherry and
Ponyboy meet at the drive-in and become friends. Cherry is attracted to Dally, and becomes a spy
for the greasers.
Marcia: Cherry's girlfriend at the drive-in. She gives Two-Bit her phone number, but he throws it
away.
Bob Sheldon: The Soc who originally attacked Johnny, and then attacks both Johnny and Pony in the
park. Johnny Cade kills Bob during an altercation when some Socs try to drown Ponyboy.
Randy Adderson: The owner of the blue Mustang that haunts Johnny. He is Bob's best friend and
fellow Soc.
Tim Shepard: A fellow greaser, but not a member of the main characters' gang. His greaser gang is
rougher, and the members are termed "future convicts." He is both Dally's main rival and friend.
Jerry Wood: The overweight man at the church fire. He rides along with Pony in the ambulance and
calls the boys heroes. Pony confides everything to him, and he still calls them heroes.
Buck Merril: Dally's rodeo partner, a man in his mid 20s. Johnny and Pony find Dally at Buck's party.
Buck loans Dally his T-Bird.
pg. 16
Character Poem
NAME IDENTITY
Write a Name Identity poem for Ponyboy. Use each letter of Ponyboy’s name (below) to create a
series of words and/or a phrase to describe Pony’s identity. Refer to Chapter 1 for most of the
character information.
Your poem may be free verse or rhyming but be creative in your choice of words: alliteration,
metaphors, similes, imagery, symbols and so on.
P ________________________________________
o ________________________________________
n ________________________________________
y ________________________________________
b ________________________________________
o ________________________________________
y ________________________________________
pg. 17
Conflict
Protagonist
The protagonist of a story is the main character who traditionally undergoes some sort of change.
Pony Curtis is the teenage narrator and protagonist of the novel. When his parents were killed in a
car accident, Darry, his twenty-year-old brother, began to provide for him. He resents Darry’s
bullying manner, not realizing that he does so because he loves him and wants him to make something
of himself. Pony belongs to an eastside gang of poor teenagers, called the Greasers; their rivals are
the Socs, the rich kids living on the west side of town.
Antagonist
The antagonist of a story is the force that provides an obstacle for the protagonist. The antagonist
does not always have to be a single character or even a character at all. Pony’s antagonist is his
status in life. Poor and from the wrong side of town, he gets no breaks in life, even though he is a
good student and studies hard. He joins the Greasers because it is the thing to do if you live on the
east side of town. Their rivals are the Socs, a gang of rich, spoiled kids living on the west side of town.
The Socs constantly pick fights with the Greasers, and Bob, one of the Socs, attacks Johnny and Pony
because they have been friendly with Cherry. Johnny kills Bob in self-defense, and he and Pony go
into hiding in a church in Windrixville. When the church catches on fire, Johnny and Pony try to save
the children trapped inside. Johnny is serious injured during the rescue and dies a few days later in a
hospital. Dally, who was Johnny’s best friend, is completely shattered by his death. Crazy with grief,
he robs a store and then threatens the police with an unloaded gun. As a result, he is killed. Now Pony
has lost two friends. He falls sick, becomes delirious, tries to deny Johnny’s death, and begins to fail in
school.
Climax
The climax of a plot is the major turning point that allows the protagonist to resolve the conflict. The
climax occurs when Pony reads the letter that Johnny has written to him before his death. Johnny
encourages his friend to “stay gold” - to look for the sunsets and good things in life. He tells Pony that
if he tries, he will be able to make something worthwhile out of his life. Reading the letter is the
turning point in Pony’s life.
Discussion Questions
Answer in your English exercise book, using longer answer format of full paragraph
answers with strong opening and closing sentences. Use textual evidence where
required.
1. The author, S.E. Hinton portrays both the Socs and the Greasers. Which gang is portrayed
more favourably and how? Use textual evidence from the novel.
2. Discuss the role of the novel’s physical setting. How does the division between the East Side
and the West Side represent the conflict within the novel itself?
pg. 18
3. Ponyboy likes to go to the movies to escape the reality of his own life. If you were to choose a
movie that best gives you the opportunity to escape your won life, what movie would you
select and why?
(Journal Entry please – at least one full page of writing)
4. The lament that life isn’t fair is one of the themes in this story. Choose one topic that Ponyboy
sincerely feels is unfair and explain the situation plus his feelings. Use textual evidence in your
answer. Do you agree or disagree with Ponyboy?
5. Though flawed, The Outsiders is an honest and sensitive portrayal of children living on the
wrong side of town. In a full paragraph answer, explain why you agree or disagree with this
assessment of the novel.
6. Discuss how Randy and Ponyboy’s relationship reflects the conflict between the Socs and
Greasers. Use textual evidence from both the opening chapters and the closing chapters of
the novel.
7. As the novel concludes, how does the author offer hope to the reader that Pony will be able to
work through his issues? Use textual evidence to back up your thoughts.
8. Is The Outsiders still relevant today? Explain your answer.
pg. 19
Nothing Gold Can Stay by Robert Frost
Nature’s first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf’s a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.
Read the poem out loud, several times. What do you think the poet is trying to express? Write a
few lines discussing your understanding of the poem.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
By using a metaphor from nature, the poet Robert Frost, suggests that the loss of innocence is as
natural as the death of a flower; it is an inevitable part of the cycle of life.
Use words from the poem to explain your understanding of how this statement applies to The
Outsiders.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Hinton, as a teenager herself, prefers to speak through Johnny to encourage Pony to “stay gold”
(p.181). Look up this page reference and find the quote.
Read Johnny’s letter to Pony on p. 216 of the novel.
pg. 20
Write a paragraph explaining your understanding of Johnny’s instructions to “stay gold” as well
as your understanding of his letter to Pony.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
pg. 21
Quotes and Analysis
1. "How'd you like that haircut to begin just below the chin?"
An anonymous Soc says this to Ponyboy in Chapter 1
The Socs have jumped Ponyboy, and are taunting him about his hair. At this point, they are
holding him down with a knife at his throat. The phrase is not just a threat of violence (it
implies the Soc is about to slit Ponyboy's throat), but a reference to the distinguishing quality
that makes Ponyboy stand out as a Greaser: his hair.
2. "Things are rough all over."
Cherry Valance says this to Ponyboy in Chapter 2
Ponyboy has just finished relating the story of Johnny's attack to Cherry, and to the reader for
the first time. Cherry is shocked, but points out to him that not all Socs act that way, just like not
all Greasers act like Dally. She insists that "We have troubles you've never even heard of."
In Chapter 7, as Randy tells Ponyboy that he is tired of fighting and is going to leave town
instead of going to the rumble, Ponyboy remembers Cherry saying "Things are rough all
over," and understands what she meant. By the end of the chapter, Ponyboy has decided that,
"Things were rough all over, but it was better that way. That way you could tell the other guy
was human too."
3. "Maybe the two different worlds we lived in weren't so different. We saw the same sunset."
Ponyboy as narrator in Chapter 3
After talking to Cherry and realizing he can really connect with her, Ponyboy uses the sunset
as a bridge between the world of the Greasers and that of the Socs. Throughout the story, he
notices the sunset and thinks of Cherry, and notes that she is seeing the same sunset. This daily
natural occurrence links two disparate worlds -- and the implication is that it links far more as
well.
4. "Next time you want a broad, pick up your own kind."
Bob says this to Johnny and Ponyboy in Chapter 3
Right before the Socs attack Ponyboy and Johnny, in the fight that results in Johnny killing Bob,
Bob describes the reasoning for the attack. He wants the Greasers to know their place in
society, and to stay away from Soc girls. Later, in Chapter 6, Dallas Winston echos Bob's
words when he explains how Cherry is acting as a spy for the Greasers, saying, "Man, next
time I want a broad I'll pick up my own kind." Ponyboy remembers Bob saying this, and a link
is created between Bob and Dally, both of whom die young before the story ends.
5. "You can't win, even if you whip us. You'll still be where you were before - at the bottom. And
we'll still be the lucky ones with all the breaks. So it doesn't do any good, the fighting and the
killing. It doesn't prove a thing. We'll forget it if you win, or if you don't. Greasers will still be
greasers and Socs will still be Socs."
pg. 22
Randy says this to Ponyboy in Chapter 7
This speech describes the plight of the Greasers, and the futility of fighting. Randy has
decided to leave town instead of attending the rumble that night, and here he explains to
Ponyboy why. Fighting and killing don't solve anything; the gap between social classes
remains, and continues to define the Greasers and the Socs.
6. "I am a greaser. I am a JD and a hood. I blacken the name of our fair city. I beat up people. I
rob gas stations. I am a menace to society. Man, do I have fun!"
Soda chants this as they leave the house for the rumble in Chapter 9
This chant begins the role-playing game, in which Two-Bit and Darry pretend to be Socs. The
game allows them to get excited about their rumble, but at the same time reveals how
conscious they are of their appearance to the rest of society. Though not all of the stereotypes
are true of all Greasers, they embrace their appearance, reflecting to a degree what they
feel society thinks of them.
7. "Stay gold, Ponyboy. Stay gold..."
Johnny whispers this to Ponyboy before he dies in Chapter 9
In his last words, Johnny references the same Robert Frost poem that Ponyboy recited aloud
when they were sitting on the back porch of the church, watching the sunrise. By dying, Johnny
fulfills the prophecy of the poem that "Nothing gold can stay." But he wishes that Ponyboy
would fulfill his own potential by not becoming a convict and using his intelligence to get out of
the hood.
8. "We're all we've got left. We ought to be able to stick together against everything. If we
don't have each other, we don't have anything."
Sodapop says this to Darry and Ponyboy in Chapter 12
Ponyboy and Darry's relationship has been strained since their parents died and Darry
became responsible for his little brothers. They fight all the time, and throughout the story try
to reconcile and come to an understanding. But they never think of how their fighting affects
Soda until Chapter 12, when he runs out of the house. When they catch him in the park, he tells
them the above quote, pointing out the unity that defines their family now.
9. "I've been thinking about it, and that poem, that guy that wrote it, he meant you're gold when
you're a kid, like green. When you're a kid everything's new, dawn. It's just when you get used
to everything that it's day. Like the way you dig sunsets, Pony. That's gold. Keep that way, it's
a good way to be."
This is an excerpt from the note Johnny writes Ponyboy, which Ponyboy reads in Chapter 12
This quotation is Johnny's explanation of his own last words, "Stay gold." Reading this note
inspires Ponyboy to write The Outsiders as his semester theme for English class. In the note,
Johnny says to "tell Dally" about staying gold, but Ponyboy knows it is too late, since Dally is
already dead by the time he reads it. So Ponyboy feels compelled to share what he has
learned from his own experience as a Greaser with others, so that the fighting might stop and
lives might be saved.
pg. 23
Research
Topic One:
Contextuality: Research and collect information on the 1960’s era, both in America and Australia,
through the eyes of a young person in those days:
- research driving age, make of cars, road laws of that era
- research school, subjects, grade levels and ages
- research the family structure of 1960’s – mum’s job? dad’s job?
- what did they read? movies they viewed?
- what music did they listen to, what style of dancing was in vogue?
- fashions?
- any other information about the 1960’s that you found interesting during your research
Topic Two:
In 1961, West Side Story won the Academy Award for Best Picture. This movie is also about gangs,
the Sharks and the Jets. Hinton would have been 11 years old when the movie first came out and she
wrote The Outsiders five years later.
Research the storyline, setting, characters and conflict of West Side Story. Record all of your
information including any visuals/images you can find.
How are The Outsiders and West Side Story similar? How are they different?
Topic Three:
Dally and Cherry, modern Romeo and Juliet? Just as the Greasers and Soc’s feud symbolises a barrier
between a possible relationship between Dally and Cherry, so too did the feud between the rival
families of the Montagues and the Capulets destroy Romeo and Juliet’s relationship.
Research the late 1500’s and early 1600’s, with a focus on William Shakespeare’s play Romeo and
Juliet for information about the two families, their feud and how this affected Romeo and Juliet. What
was the end result?
Record all of your information including any visuals you can find.
Create a chart to compare and contrast the differences and similarities between the two couples from
two totally different eras. Use images, bullet point info and headings. Be creative!
pg. 24
Themes
The Outsiders is a theme in itself. Looking at life as an outsider and feeling as though one is being
treated as an outsider is a matter of perspective or point of view. Someone who always feels like an
outsider may conclude that life is unfair.
Adolescence is a time when teenagers may consider themselves to be adults, but in reality teens are
still under the control of others. Parents, teachers, and other authority figures are always telling them
how to live their lives. This loss of control inevitably leads to the feeling that life isn't fair. For
example, Ponyboy knows that he is not safe walking the streets in his own neighborhood. He could be
attacked solely because of the way he is dressed; he feels like an outsider in his own town. His
feelings of powerlessness and vulnerability lead him to conclude that life is not fair.
Ponyboy sees injustice on a daily basis. His parents are dead, Darry is forced to work two jobs to
support the brothers, Soda has dropped out of school, and the greasers are looked upon as "white
trash." He explains that the gang warfare is actually warfare between the economic classes. Because
he is from the poor, East Side of town, his place in life is unfairly predetermined.
The evolution of the family relationships is a recurrent theme in the novel. Family relationships are
strained during the teen years, but in the Curtis family, the right to stay together as a family is a
constant struggle. Since the death of their parents, Darry has assumed the responsibility of
guardianship for Pony and Soda, and under that pressure he has aged beyond his years. He no
longer views the two boys as siblings, but rather as a responsibility. Darry recognizes Ponyboy's
potential and has high expectations for him. Ponyboy complains that Darry is a stricter disciplinarian
than his father, but by the end of the book he understands Darry's role: "Darry is a good guardian;
he makes me study and knows where I am and who I'm with all the time. . . . My father didn't yell at
me as much as he does."
Pony struggles with his expectations for Soda. He is self-conscious about the fact that Soda has
dropped out of school, and he wants him to finish his education. Soda did not do well in school, did
not like school, and is perfectly content to work in a gas station — a job he loves. Soda also believes
that he is doing the right thing by helping to support his family. Pony doesn't care about any of those
facts; he just wants Soda to go back to school. Gang relationships are included in the theme of family
love. Ponyboy's gang members need the support and security that they find in the gang. The home
life situations that these boys find themselves in are often abusive. They have turned to the gang for
the love and support that should have come from parents.
Johnny is painfully aware of the difference between the gang and a family and through him Pony
begins to understand how lucky he is to have caring family members: "I don't know what it was about
Johnny — maybe that lost-puppy look and those big scared eyes were what made everyone his big
brother. . . . I thought about it for a minute — Darry and Sodapop were my brothers and I loved both
of them . . . they were my real brothers, not just sort of adopted ones." Pony's eventual ability to
appreciate his family shows his growth.
pg. 25
The third major theme that runs through The Outsiders is the use of colors in a black and white world.
Adolescents have a tendency to embrace people and events as absolutes. For example, someone or
something is either right or wrong; there can be no middle ground. The characters in The Outsiders are
either Socs or greasers. People are either rich or poor, good or bad. Hinton descriptively uses color
throughout the book to define and add depth to the characters in their environments.
Early in the book, she associates warm colors with the Socs and cool colors with the greasers. Warmth
usually is equated with inside and cool is associated with outside, and the colors reflect the characters'
positions in society: The greasers view the Socs as insiders and themselves as outsiders.
Using many descriptive colors, Hinton paints the greasers as outsiders. In her original descriptions of
Ponyboy's gang, she uses cool colors: Ponyboy's eyes are greenish-gray, Darry's eyes "are like two
pieces of pale blue-green ice," Dally's eyes are "blue, blazing ice, cold with a hatred," and Two-Bit
Mathews has gray eyes.
Dally is the exception to the rule, "His hair was almost white it was so blond." White contains all of the
visible rays of the color spectrum. It is a crossover color that cannot be affiliated with anyone or
anything, so it is interesting that Dally, who was "tougher than the rest of us — tougher, colder,
meaner," was the one with white/blond hair.
White is also used many times throughout the novel to describe fright, "white as a ghost." The color
white symbolizes the internalization that there are no absolutes in the world. To realize that people
and events may not be purely right or wrong, good or bad, can be frightening. Dally's white hair
exemplifies this concept. Dally appears to be the stereotypical hood: cold, hard, and mean. But he is
not that extreme persona. Just like the color white contains all the colors of the spectrum, Dally's
character covers a broad spectrum. In addition to his cold, mean image, he is Johnny's hero, he is the
one who literally gave Pony the coat off his back, he helped to save the children from the fire, and he
was a scared boy who reached out to the Curtis brothers when he most needed help at the end of his
life.
Throughout the book, Pony matures and grows in his ability to see the full spectrum, to stop dividing
the world into black and white, good and bad, insiders and outsiders, greasers and Socs. Pony's
fascination with sunsets at the beginning of the book and, later, his appreciation of the countryside
around the church hideout ("I loved to look at the colors of the fields and the soft shadings of the
horizon") symbolize this development of his character.
A sub-theme within this story is the power of three. Three is a cardinal number that is common in
American literature and folklore, and to find it as a pivotal theme in this story is not surprising.
Americans have grown up with stories such as Goldilocks and the Three Bears and The Three Little Pigs.
The Holy Trinity is a major doctrine of the Christian faith.
The three Curtis brothers working together have the power to save their family. Three greasers
working together save the lives of children trapped by fire. And the three rings on the fist of a Soc
change Johnny's life forever, and ultimately lead to three deaths: Bob's, Johnny's, and Dally's.
pg. 26
The Outsiders Theme of Society and Class
Issues of American economic class are confronted head on by the portrayal of the rival gangs as rich and poor.
The rich Socs "jump greasers and wreck houses and throw beer blasts for kicks, and get editorials in the paper
for being a public disgrace one day and an asset to society the next." The poor greasers, conversely, "steal
things and drive old souped-up cars and hold up gas stations and have a gang fight once in a while." Each
group views the other as the enemy and "that's just the way things are." But circumstances will at least reveal to
a few that everyone is human although there will still be a rivalry.
Questions about Society and Class
1. From Pony's perspective, what advantages do the wealthier Socials have that he doesn't?
Why are these important?
2. At the rumble, Ponyboy thinks that Darry would be a Social if he didn't have Pony, Soda, and
the gang holding him back. What do you think Pony means by this? Is it a compliment, or an
insult?
3. Have you experienced, seen, or heard about gang conflicts like the ones depicted in The
Outsiders? Does the novel contribute to your understanding of these situations? Why or why
not?
4. What's the difference between a gang and a social club?
5. What might motivate Bob and his friends to beat up kids who have less money? What would
the story be like if it was told by Bob's point of view, or by one of Bob's friends?
Chew on This
Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.
The Outsiders makes an argument for a society in which wealth is more evenly distributed among
society's members.
The Outsiders argues that violence and criminal activity aren't isolated to people in the lower
economic classes, but that people in the lower economic classes are punished more often and more
severely for any crimes they commit.
The Outsiders Theme of Loyalty
Loyalty is a point of pride, honor, and principle for Ponyboy Curtis, star player in The Outsiders. He
doesn't like some of the people in his gang, especially dangerous Dallas Winston, but he would still
do anything for Dallas and would defend him from danger if possible. Loyalty, according to
Ponyboy, is the thread that holds his gang together. It cuts across their differences. They're loyal to
each other because they know each other well, have grown up together, and have faced hard times
together. In the case of the Curtis boys, their loyalty is because they are brothers, and orphaned
brothers at that. The novel explores what happens when Ponyboy and his oldest brother begin to lose
this loyalty for one another, under the strain of their lives.
Questions about Loyalty
1. Why does Ponyboy consider loyalty such an important quality for group members to have?
Do you agree with him? Why or why not?
2. What are some displays of loyalty seen in the novel?
pg. 27
3. Does Darry decide to raise Pony and Soda out of loyalty, love, a combination of the two, or
some other factor entirely?
4. After Bob gets killed, the other boys flee the park. Does this speak to their loyalties? What
might it say about them? Would Pony or any member of his gang ever leave a man behind,
dead or alive?
5. Do any of the characters have divided or conflicting loyalties? If so, which characters and how
are their loyalties divided or in conflict?
Chew on This
Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.
Cherry is torn between loyalty to the Socials (and the memory of Bob) and her newfound loyalty to
Ponyboy and the Greasers, yet she manages to resolve the conflict using honesty and courage.
Darry's loyalty to his brothers is founded in deep love for them.
The Outsiders Theme of Love
The Outsiders features hints of romance, but that isn't the main event. Our narrator, Ponyboy, is most
interested in showing us the love between gang members and challenging family relationships.
Ponyboy loves his brother Darrel, but since the loss of their parents, Darrel has become different.
Yeah. He's suddenly raising his two teenage brothers, and has taken on all of the responsibilities of a
parent. Oh, and Darrel's only twenty years old. Coming to terms with Darrel's position, and seeing the
love behind it, is a big part of Ponyboy's growth the novel. The Outsiders also looks at how, in the
case of Johnny Cade, lack of love and support at home can have tragic repercussions for a kid.
Questions about Love
1. Soda wanted to marry Sandy in spite of the fact that she became pregnant with another guy's
child. Does his decision tell us anything about his love for her, or about his ideas about love in
general?
2. What are some of the reasons Pony finds Soda so easy to love?
3. Why does Pony begin to doubt Darry's love?
4. Is Pony romantically interested in Cherry?
5. Why is Cherry afraid to fall in love with Dallas? Why is she attracted to him in the first place?
6. Why doesn't Darry have a love life?
7. What impact does the lack of love in Johnny's home have on him? Why isn't the love he gets
from the gang enough to counteract the non-love his parents dole out?
8. Why do Dallas and Johnny love each other so much? What makes them so close?
Chew on This
Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.
Dallas and Johnny care about each other so much because they're two halves of the same coin;
together they complete each other.
The Outsiders argues that parents, not a person's outside environment, have the biggest impact on how
a kid turns out.
pg. 28
The Outsiders Theme of Violence
The Outsiders is a very violent book. Gang violence, child abuse, stabbings, shootings – these drive the
action. The novel explores the impact of living in a place where a teenager can't even walk home by
himself and where fear is the predominant emotion, as is the case for recently orphaned Ponyboy
Curtis and his friends. While Ponyboy hates the violence and bullying in his neighborhood, he
recognizes the positive benefits of friendly sparring between boys, and even "rumbles," so long as
weapons aren't used and everybody plays fair. Such activities, he claims, help guys release their
endless supplies of energy and pent-up aggression.
Questions about Violence
1. Randy suggests that Bob is violent because his parents never told him "no" or gave him any
boundaries. Do you agree or disagree? Why?
2. How does it make you feel when Darry slaps Ponyboy? Would you consider him abusive?
Johnny gets hit at home – does that make Darry like Johnny's parents?
3. What are some of the reasons Dallas is violent, according to Ponyboy?
4. Will the Socials still terrorize Greasers after the story ends? Why or why not?
5. Did Bob deserve to die for the bad things he did?
6. Was it right or wrong for Johnny to kill Bob, considering the circumstances? Why or why not?
Chew on This
Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.
According to The Outsiders, fair fights (ones without weapons) aren't really violent; they're healthy
avenues for the boys' physical energy, and an opportunity to showcase their physical talents.
Even though Darry slaps Ponyboy, he's not an abusive "parent."
The Outsiders Theme of Isolation
At the beginning of The Outsiders, young narrator Ponyboy Curtis feels isolated from the members of
his gang, his brothers, and society at large. His intellectualism and his love of movies, books, and
nature aren't really appreciated by the gang, or so he thinks. Pony's status as a Greaser also makes
him feel like an outsider, locked out of opportunities that wealthier kids enjoy, and unfairly judged by
teachers and other authority figures. Things are looking grim for Ponyboy and the other guys in his
gang. But, as the story progresses, Ponyboy becomes more aware of connections between Greasers
and Socials and between his friends and loved ones. In the process of writing down his story, he learns
the powerful sense of connection that can come from reaching out to other "outsiders," and from
bringing their struggles to light.
Questions about Isolation
1. What isolates Pony the most? In what ways is Pony an "outsider"?
2. Does Pony break out of his isolation by the end of the story? Explain your answer. If he does,
what are some of the tools he uses?
3. Who is the most isolated character? Why?
4. Are the Socials isolated by their wealth?
5. What, if anything, do Pony and Johnny learn during the week they hide out in the church,
away from society?
pg. 29
Chew on This
Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.
Darry is isolated by his decision to care for his younger brothers, but the love and satisfaction he gets
from doing so more than makes up for it.
When Johnny dies, Dallas feels completely isolated from the rest of humanity.
The Outsiders Theme of Appearances
With a narrator as obsessed with his hair as Ponyboy Curtis is, it's no surprise that that the other
characters' looks are also important to him. Clothing and hairstyles might seem like superficial
markers, but they're also the means by which people express their public identities. Pony and his gang
don't have the cash for designer clothes, but they still manage to develop a distinctive style, which
identifies them as Greasers. For much of the story, Pony wishes he had the money to dress more
fashionably like the Socials. But he comes to learn that expensive clothes and cars aside, the Socials
have problems just like the Greasers do.
Pony also spends a lot of time on faces. Dallas Winston has "dangerous" and "hardened" written all
over his face. And you can take one look at Johnny Cade and see in his eyes that he's a victimized,
hungry, frightened kid. Of course, both Johnny and Dallas are also much more than this, as Pony
comes to see. Johnny is also brave-hearted and Dallas is full of love, if only for Johnny. Pony learns
he's misread both of his brothers too, because he hasn't been looking at life from their perspectives
and has been fooled by their appearances.
Questions about Appearances
1. How does Pony see himself at the beginning of the story? Does this change? If so, in what
ways?
2. What does Ponyboy's hair mean to him? What does he think it says about himself? Why does
he agree to let Johnny cut and dye his hair?
3. Do you think fashion is important? Why or why not?
4. Does Ponyboy misjudge anyone based on their appearance?
Chew on This
Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.
Appearances in The Outsiders tell only half the story; ultimately, actions speak louder than
appearances.
Ponyboy writes his story to encourage others to stop judging Greasers by their appearances.
The Outsiders Theme of Education
The Outsiders is what's known in fancy literary circles as aBildungsroman, a German term that literally
translates to "novel of education" (source). This usually refers to the main character's journey toward
self-discovery, and discovery of his or her place in society. Ponyboy Curtis, our protagonist, definitely
fits this bill. The novel also examines inequities in educational opportunities due to social and economic
pg. 30
factors. Both of Ponyboy's older brothers have had to limit their educations in order to work and
support their family. And Ponyboy also feels like lots of teachers are prejudiced against Greasers.
But it's not all bad. Ponyboy's English teacher, Mr. Syme, doesn't see things in "Greaser" vs. "Social."
He recognizes Pony's talent and takes into account all the trauma his student's been subjected to and
how this might impact his performance in school. Then Mr. Syme gives Ponyboy a writing assignment
that really helps Ponyboy develop as a person, the assignment which turns into the book we're
reading, The Outsiders.
Questions about Education
1. Pony gets good grades, but he thinks it's easier for Socials to do the same. Do you agree with
him? Why or why not? Do teachers treat Greasers different than Socials? Since we don't get
to see inside a classroom in the book, consider your own experiences in school. Does one's
outside-of-school environment have anything to do with school success?
2. Does Pony feel like it's his fault that Darry can't go to college? Why or why not?
3. Why does Ponyboy have trouble writing for his English class after Dallas and Johnny die?
4. What are a few things Pony learns about himself? What are some things he learns about
others? What is the most important thing Pony learns, and why is it important?
Chew on This
Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.
In The Outsiders, Hinton works hard to show that even though lower-income people might be less
educated than their wealthier counterparts, it doesn't mean they're less smart.
In The Outsiders, it is mainly through the tools provided by education that Ponyboy is able to break
down boundaries and connect with others.
The Outsiders Theme of Choices
In the The Outsiders many factors limit the choices of Ponyboy and his friends, including lack of money
and fear of violence. For example, Ponyboy wants to spend more time alone, in quiet contemplation
and artistic musings. But that's not exactly an option – he has to stay with his gang for protection. Also,
even though Darrel did great in school and sports, and even earned a scholarship, college was
outside of his financial range. However, over the course of the novel, Ponyboy starts feeling less
trapped as he learns more about the choices that he does have – including choices of violence vs.
nonviolence – and begins exercising them.
Questions about Choices
1. Why does Pony boy walk home alone, even though he knows it's not safe? Is he just making a
stupid decision? Is he trying to assert his right to walk home alone? Does he secretly want to
get into a fight? Have you ever done something, even though you knew it wasn't safe?
2. Does Johnny make the right decision when he fatally stabs Bob? If he hadn't stabbed Bob, do
you think Ponyboy would have died? Did Johnny have any other options besides violence?
3. Why does Darry choose to raise his brothers, rather than pursue his own dream of going to
college?
4. Do you agree with Ponyboy that Dallas committed suicide? Why or why not? If so, why do you
think he made that choice?
pg. 31
5. Randy tells Pony that he wouldn't have gone into the burning church to save the children. Do
you believe him? Why doesn't Dallas? Would most people risk their lives to save people in a
burning building?
6. What's the worst decision Pony makes in the book? Not to get all personal, but what's the
worst decision you ever made, and why do you consider it to be the worst? What, if anything ,
did the experience teach you?
Chew on This
Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.
Although Pony doesn't mention it, his choices on the night of Johnny's death make the tragedy possible,
but this still doesn't mean it's his fault.
Darrel's choice to raise his brothers after their parents' death is out of love, not obligation.
pg. 32
Symbols
Two-Bit’s Switchblade
Two-Bit’s switchblade is his most prized possession and, in several ways, represents the disregard for
authority for which greasers traditionally pride themselves. First of all, the blade is stolen. Second, it
represents a sense of the individual power that comes with the potential to commit violence. This
symbolism surfaces most clearly when Dally borrows the blade from Two-Bit and uses it to break out
of the hospital to join his gang at the rumble. It is fitting that Two-Bit finally loses the blade when the
police confiscate it from Dally’s dead body. The loss of the weapon, at this point, becomes
inextricably linked with the loss of Dally—a figure who embodies individual power and authority.
Cars
Cars represent the Socs power and the greasers’ vulnerability. Because their parents can afford to
buy them their “tuff” cars, the Socs have increased mobility and protection. The greasers, who move
mostly on foot, are physically vulnerable in comparison to the Socs. Still, greasers like Darry,
Sodapop, and Steve do have contact with automobiles—they repair them. We can interpret this
interaction with cars positively or negatively. On one hand, it symbolizes how the greasers have a
more direct and well-rounded experience than the Socs with the gritty realities of life. On the other
hand, the fact that the greasers must service and care for Soc possessions demonstrates that the Socs
have the power to oppress the greasers.
Bob’s Rings
Bob Sheldon’s rings function similarly to the Socs’ cars. Throughout literature, rings and jewelry have
been traditional symbols of wealth. The rings in this story represent the physical power that
accompanies wealth. By using his rings as combative weapons, Bob takes advantage of his economic
superiority over Ponyboy and the other greasers, using his wealth to injure his opponents.
Greaser Hair
The greasers cannot afford rings, cars, or other physical trappings of power that the Socs enjoy.
Consequently, they must resort to more affordable markers of identity. By wearing their hair in a
specific style, greasers distinguish themselves from other social groups. Conservative cultural values of
the 1960s called for men to keep their hair short, and the greaser style is a clear transgression of this
social convention. It is not only distinctive, but, as a physical characteristic, this hair is truly an organic
part of the greaser persona. When the Socs jump Ponyboy at the beginning of the novel, they ask him
if he wants a haircut and threaten to cut off his hair. By doing so, they would rob him of his identity.
pg. 33
Suggested Essay Questions
Compare the characters of Bob and Dally.
On the surface, Bob and Dally couldn't be more different. However, the two boys are linked
together by the phrase, "Next time you want a broad, pick up your own kind." Right before
the Socs attack Ponyboy and Johnny, in the fight that results in Johnny killing Bob, Bob states
the reasoning for the attack. He wants the Greasers to know their place in society, and to stay
away from Soc girls. Later, in Chapter 6, Dally echoes Bob's words when he explains that
Cherry is acting as a spy for the Greasers, adding: "Man, next time I want a broad I'll pick up
my own kind." Ponyboy remembers Bob saying this not even a week before. Both boys are
victims of the violence between the Socs and the Greasers, and die before the story is over.
They both have violent tendencies, look for fights, and end up losing their lives because of it;
more important, both draw ideological lines in the sand.
Discuss the relationship between Johnny and Dally.
Johnny feels hero-worship toward Dally, and thinks of him as the most gallant of all the gang.
Dally wants to protect Johnny and keep him from turning out the way he himself has. As they
drive back to the church in Chapter 5, he explains, "You get hardened in jail. I don't want that
to happen to you. Like it happened to me..." After Johnny dies, Dally reacts with
uncharacteristic emotion. Ponyboy realizes that "Johnny was the only thing Dally loved. And
now Johnny was gone."
Discuss the relationship between Ponyboy and Darry, and how it changes over the course
of the novel.
At the beginning of the novel, Ponyboy resents Darry for being too strict and always
bothering him for not using his head. He recognizes the sacrifices that Darry has made to raise
his two little brothers, but still thinks Darry just doesn't care for him at all.
But in Chapter 5, when Soda and Darry come to the hospital, Ponyboy has a revelation. He
sees his oldest brother cry for the first time in years - he didn't even cry at their parents'
funeral - and realizes that "Darry did care about me, maybe as much as he cared about
Soda, and because he cared he was trying too hard to make something of me." He
understands that Darry is terrified of losing another person he loves, and wonders "how I could
ever have thought him hard and unfeeling."
In Chapter 10, when Ponyboy wakes up momentarily, he asks Soda if Darry is sorry he's sick.
He also worries throughout the chapter that maybe he didn't ask for Darry while he was
delirious, but Soda finally confirms that he did. This concern for Darry's feelings is a huge
change from the way Ponyboy regarded his oldest brother in the beginning of the novel. Now
he is worried that, because deep down he feels he can relate better to Soda, he might have
left Darry out in his unconscious babbling.
pg. 34
How do Ponyboy's feelings toward Randy reflect the conflict between the Socs and the
Greasers?
At first, Ponyboy sees Randy as a violent Soc to be avoided; he is Marcia's boyfriend, and is
involved in jumping the Greasers. But in Chapter 7, they have a conversation in Randy's car,
and Randy explains why he is leaving town instead of attending the rumble. He says, "You
can't win, even if you whip us. You'll still be where you were before - at the bottom. And we'll
still be the lucky ones with all the breaks. So it doesn't do any good, the fighting and the
killing. It doesn't prove a thing. We'll forget it if you win, or if you don't. Greasers will still be
greasers and Socs will still be Socs." Ponyboy begins to see Randy as someone who can
appreciate sunsets, and feels a connection to him regardless of their different social statuses.
However, in Chapter 11 when Randy comes to visit Ponyboy at home, Ponyboy's denial about
Johnny's death and the events leading up to it cause a rift between the two boys again.
Ponyboy decides, "He was just like all the rest of the Socs. Cold-blooded and mean."
What do Johnny's last words mean?
Johnny's last words echo in Chapter 12 when Ponyboy breaks a bottle to defend himself
against the Socs. Two-Bit says, "Ponyboy, listen, don't get tough. You're not like the rest of us
and don't try to be..." Ponyboy is confused by what Two-Bit means, since he felt nothing when
the Socs approached him. But he proves that he is still "gold" by bending down to pick up the
pieces of broken glass from the ground without even thinking about it.
How does Gone with the Wind represent an ideal for Johnny?
Johnny puts his last note to Ponyboy inside his copy of Gone with the Wind. The gallantry of
the Southern gentlemen in the book, who rode to their certain deaths bravely, inspires Johnny
and reminds him of Dally. This allows Ponyboy to see Dally in that light, too, and to consider
that his death might have been gallant. Johnny dies as a result of rescuing children from the
fire in the church, so in that way he lives up to the ideal in Gone with the Wind.
What is the difference between Ponyboy the narrator and Ponyboy the character?
It is always clear that Ponyboy is narrating The Outsiders from a point in the future, after the
events of the story have taken place. However, this rift between narrator and character
becomes definite in Chapter 11, when Ponyboy's pretending makes him an unreliable narrator
for the first time in the story. When Randy comes to visit, Ponyboy says that he was the one
who killed Bob, and that Johnny is not dead. He repeats it aloud to convince himself of it. But
as narrator, he says, "Johnny didn't have anything to do with Bob's getting killed." The reader
has depended upon Ponyboy's narration to dictate the events of the story, and now the frame
of reference is thrown off, since we know he has moved into an alternate reality.
pg. 35
Discuss Ponyboy's "dreaming", particularly in regard to Johnny's death.
Ponyboy's reaction to Johnny's death has been foreshadowed by Ponyboy's tendency to
create alternate realities for himself throughout the story, but the difference is that "this time
my dreaming worked. I convinced myself that he wasn't dead." Throughout the story, Ponyboy
creates these alternate realities in order to cope with situations he feels are unbearable. For
instance, in Chapter 3 he dreams of a life in the country, with his parents still alive and Darry
kind and caring again. What is important to note is that he concedes that his dreams are only
dreams, and that he admits to use them as a mode of escape.
Describe how eyes are used as a characterization technique.
Ponyboy's view of other characters is often reflected by his interpretation of their eyes. For
example, he says that "Darry's eyes are his own. He's got eyes that are like two pieces of
pale blue-green ice. They've got a determined set to them, like the rest of him... he would be
real handsome if his eyes weren't so cold." Darry's eyes reflect Ponyboy's view of his oldest
brother as "hardly human." In contrast, Sodapop's eyes are "dark brown - lively, dancing,
recklessly laughing eyes that can be gentle and sympathetic one moment and blazing with
anger the next." Johnny is defined by his emotive eyes; the difference between his mother and
him is clear to Ponyboy because of their eyes: "Johnnycake's eyes were fearful and sensitive;
hers were cheap and hard."
In what way is The Outsiders a call to action?
The Outsiders ends with its own opening sentence, as Ponyboy begins to write his assignment
for English class, and it becomes clear that the story the reader has just finished is the
assignment itself. It is inspired by Johnny's letter to Ponyboy, in which he explains what he
meant by his last words: "Stay gold." There is no reason for lives to be cut short because of
senseless violence between the Greasers and the Socs. Ponyboy feels called to action by
Johnny's note, and wants to save the lives of other hoods who might end up like Dally. In
Chapter 12, this goal is underlined:
"There should be some help, 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."
pg. 36