Name: _____________________
Date: _________________
Outsiders Question Guide
Main Character Descriptions
Ponyboy Curtis
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Darry Curtis
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Sodapop Curtis
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Steve Randle
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Two-Bit Matthews
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Sandy
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Evie
Name: _____________________
Dallas “Dally” Winston
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Date: _________________
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Chapter Study Questions
Chapter 1 & 2 Questions
1. Why do you think Ponyboy loves going to the movies? What do movies do for
him?
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2. What does Ponyboy mean when he says that he does well in school but he doesn’t
“use his head”?
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3. What are some of the reasons Ponyboy gives for Darry’s strict rules?
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4. Why doesn’t Ponyboy think Darry loves him?
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5. What is Johnny’s life at home like? What do the Greaser’s give Johnny that he
doesn’t get at home?
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6. How does Ponyboy feel when Soc’s tease him?
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Name: _____________________
Date: _________________
7. Who does Ponyboy think looks like a movies star?
a. Sodapop
b. Johnny
c. Steve Randle
d. Himself
8. What is Two-Bit Matthews famous for?
a. fixing cars
b. eating 4 dozen eggs
c. shoplifting
d. weightlifting
9. Why doesn’t Ponyboy live with his mom and dad?
a. they don’t want him
b. they were killed
c. he chose to live with his brothers
10. Who is Sodapop’s girlfriend?
a. Sandy B.
b. Evie C.
c. Sylvia D.
d. Marcy
11. Who was the captain of the football team in high school?
a. Dally B.
b. Darry C.
c. Ponyboy
d. Steve
12. Which of the Greasers was in jail at 10 years old?
a. Dallas B.
b. Two-Bit Matthews
c. Darry D.
d. Sodapop
Chapters 3 & 4 Questions
1. Why does Ponyboy dream about the country?
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2. Why does Ponyboy think that Dally could never love anyone or anything?
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Name: _____________________
Date: _________________
3. Why does Ponyboy feel bad when he talks about his unhappy home life to
Johnny?
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4. Why would a Soc like Cherry Valence be attracted to a Greaser like Dally?
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5. When he is talking to Cherry, what does Ponyboy say separates Greasers from
Socs?
a. money
b. locations
c. cars
d. feelings
6. According to Cherry, what is the main difference between Greasers and Socs?
a. money
b. location
c. cars
d. feelings
7. Who was Mickey Mouse?
a. Soda’s horse
b. Soda’s puppy
c. Soda’s car
d. Soda’s toy
8. According to Bob, what is a Greaser?
a. white trash with madras and Mustangs
b. white trash with long hair
c. white trash
9. Who helps Johnny and Ponyboy escape after the murder?
a. Two-Bit
b. Dally C.
c. Buck Merill
d. Darry
10. Where do Ponyboy and Johnny high out after the murder?
a. a train
b. a church
c. a school
d. a field
Name: _____________________
Date: _________________
Chapters 5 & 6 Questions
1. What do the boys do to their hair the day after they arrive at the church? Why?
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2. Why can’t Ponyboy tell anyone but Johnny about the “sunrise and clouds and
stuff”?
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3. How does Ponyboy feel about hunting? Why do you think he is afraid to tell
Dally he feels this way?
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4. How does Johnny feel when he finds out his parents weren’t looking for him?
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5.
What is the reason Dallas gives for not wanting to see Johnny go to jail?
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6. Why do you think Johnny looks happy when he’s in the burning church?
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7. The boys pass the time in the church by reading:
a. Time magazine
b. Gone With the Wind
c. the comics
8. What makes Johnny think of Dallas as “gallant”?
a. is success with girls
b. coolly accepting blame for something another gang member did
c. the way he helped the boys hide out
d. his criminal record
Name: _____________________
Date: _________________
9. Who writes Ponyboy a letter when they are hiding out?
a. Soda B.
b. Cherry C.
c. Darry D.
d. Two-Bit
10. Where do the police think Johnny and Pony have gone after the murder?
a. NY
b. Texas
c. Oklahoma
d. Kansas
11. What does Ponyboy find most scary about Dallas?
a. his criminal record
b. his hair
c. his realness
d. his intelligence
12. Who is the “spy” for the greasers?
a. Randy B.
b. Bob C.
c. Marcia D.
d. Cherry
Chapter 7 & 8 Questions
1. Why do you think most adults in town aren’t aware of the segregation between
the Greasers and the Socs?
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2. Why is Darry so worried when Ponyboy tells him he has a dream the other night?
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3. Why does Soda’s girlfriend move to Florida with her grandmother?
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4. What does Ponyboy realize when he listens to Randy and Cherry talk about Bob?
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Name: _____________________
Date: _________________
5. Why isn’t Randy showing up at the rumble that night?
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6. How does Ponyboy get into the house after coming home from the hospital?
a. he crawls
b. through the window
c. Darry carries him
d. he walks
7. Darry dislikes being referred to as “all brawn and no brain” because:
a. he knows he isn’t very smart
b. he works hard at body building
c. he wanted to go to college, and should have
d. he can carry two bundles of roofing up a ladder
8. What does Soda eat for breakfast?
a. scrambled eggs and catsup
b. scrambled eggs and chocolate syrup
c. scrambled eggs and grape jelly
d. scrambled eggs and mustard
9. What does Dally ask Two-Bit for the hospital?
a. a magazine
b. a copy of Gone With the Wind
c. to give Johnny a hug for him
d. Two-Bit’s black switchblade
10. Why won’t Cherry go see Johnny in the hospital?
a. he’s a greaser, and he killed her boyfriend
b. she’s terrified of hospitals
c. she hates Johnny
d. her parents won’t let her go
Chapters 11 & 12 Questions
1. Why does Randy come to visit Ponyboy before the hearing?
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2.
Why does Pony feel proud of Soda and Darry for admitting their friendship with
Dally?
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Name: _____________________
Date: _________________
3. What is significant about Pony threatening the Socs with the broken bottle?
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4. What sign of hope is there for Randy?
a. He feels “lousy” about letting his father down
b. He can afford to pay a fine
c. His parents will be at the hearing
5. What nickname does Darry call Pony that he usually reserves for Soda?
a. Mickey Mouse
b. Little Buddy
c. Gilligan
d. Honey
6. What does the judge ask Pony about at the hearing?
a. Who killed Bob?
b. Pony’s daily life
c. Who Pony would like to live with?
7. What is the outcome of the hearing?
a. Pony is put on probation
b. Pony is convicted of Bob’s murder
c. Pony is acquitted
d. Pony is put in a foster home
8. How can Pony improve his English grade?
a. by writing a poem about a sunset
b. by writing a report about Gone With the Wind
c. by retaking a test
d. by writing a composition
9. What happened with Sandy that has Soda so upset?
a. Sandy lost the baby
b. Sandy married someone else
c. The baby wasn’t Sodas
d. Sandy doesn’t ever want to see Soda again