The Outsiders
To be nobody but yourself in a world that's doing
its best to make you somebody else, is to fight the
hardest battle you are ever going to fight.
--ee cummings
Setting
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Oklahoma
1960’s
West Side vs. East Side of Town
the drive-in theatre
the lot
the church at Windrixville
the Curtis house
the hospital
Characters
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PONYBOY CURTIS
JOHNNY CADE
DALLAS “DALLY” WINSTON
Ponyboy Curtis
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narrator
good student
fourteen years old
likes watching sunsets and reading (Gone
with the Wind, Great Expectations, “Nothing
Gold Can Stay”)
Greaser
sensitive
Darry says Pony lacks common sense-doesn’t always “use his head”
Johnny Cade
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the “pet” of the gang
sixteen years old
physically small
lives in an abusive household
has been jumped by the Socs before and
now carries a blade with him
Dally is his hero
stabs and kills Bob
Dally Winston
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tough
lived in New York City
has been in jail
helps Pony and Johnny hide out after the
murder of Bob
robs liquor store at the end and “commits
suicide” at the hands of the police
Minor Characters
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Sodapop Curtis
Darrel “Darry” Curtis
Sherry “Cherry” Valance
Bob
Randy
Sodapop
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older brother
works at gas station
handsome
carefree
Darrel “Darry” Curtis
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oldest brother
athletic
guardian of Ponyboy when their parents
die in a car crash
makes chocolate cake for breakfast
stern
could have gone to college but had to take
care of the kids when his parents died
Cherry Valance
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Bob’s girlfriend
cheerleader
has red hair
says she could fall in love with Dally
acts as a spy for the Greasers
says she will probably not talk to Pony if she
sees him at school--he says he understands
likes to look at sunsets too
Bob Sheldon
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a Soc
Cherry’s boyfriend
has beaten up Johnny Cade before the
novel starts
wears rings on his fingers; this is how
Johnny knows Bob is the Soc who beat
him up
is stabbed by Johnny
Randy
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Bob’s best friend
After Bob’s death, he has a change
of heart about fighting
visits Pony and tries to make peace
with him
Themes (Be able to explain and support these)
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FAMILY
FRIENDSHIP
SOCIAL DIFFERENCES
VIOLENCE/GANG RIVALRY/
SENSELESSNESS OF VIOLENCE
BEING AN “OUTSIDER” / TRYING TO
FIT IN
Conflicts
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Man vs. Man (Ponyboy vs. Darry;
Greasers vs. Socs; Johnny vs. Bob)
Man vs. Society (Socs vs. Greasers)
Man vs. Himself (Dally vs. himself;
Ponyboy vs. himself)
Man vs. Nature (the boys vs. the fire)
Ponyboy’s Literary World
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Great Expecations:
Pony compares
himself to Pip from
this novel; Pip, like
Ponyboy, is an
orphan trying to
find his way in the
world.
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Gone with the Wind is
the book the boys read
while at the church.
Johnny compares Dally
to a Southern gentleman
which is how Johnny
views Dally, as a hero.
At the end, the note
from Johnny to Pony
telling him to “stay gold”
falls out of this book.
Ponyboy’s Literary World
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“Nothing
Gold Can
Stay” is the poem that
Pony and Johnny talk
about at the church.
The poem means that
nothing good can last
forever. Just as the
golden times in the
poem come to an end,
so too must their time
at the church.
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To Johnny, it means
to appreciate the
things one finds
amazing when one is
young. He wants
Pony (and, sadly,
Dally) to look for
sunsets and the good
things in life.
The Ending of the Novel
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What makes it unique?
What does it show us about the way
Ponyboy has dealt with all the events
that have happened to him?
Slang Within the Novel
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cancer stick=cigarette
JD=juvenile delinquent
booze=alcohol or beer
heater=hand gun
fuzz=police
jumped=to be attacked
rumble=gang fight
hoods=thugs (not Greasers)
lift=to steal
Allusions
(Be able to define allusion)
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Paul Newman
Dairy Queen
Corvette/Corvair
Hank Williams
madras plaid
drive-in theatre
Gone with the Wind
“Nothing Gold Can Stay”