Title: The Outsiders (Hinton, S.E.)
Level Z
Quick summary: A story about Ponyboy (who lives with his two older brothers, their parents died a year ago)
and his gang of”Greasers” and their struggles and conflicts with social separation and being judged by social
rich kids called “Socs”.
Possible Reading Assignments: (8 days) 1: Ch. 1 2: Ch. 2
6: Ch. 6 -7 7: Ch. 8-9 8: Ch. 10-11
Summary
3: Ch. 3 4: Ch. 4
5: Ch. 5 – 6
Difficult Vocabulary
Ch. 1
Pgs. 1 – 18
Ponyboy, a “Greaser” is walking home alone from
the movies when he gets jumped by a gang of
“Socs” (Soshes). His two brothers and friends
from his gang save him. The rest of the chapter
introduces us to the main characters and the
different social classes; the “Greaser” and the
“Socs”
Socs (soshes) –
slang term for the
rich social kids who
live on the West
Side.
Greasers – A slang
term used for a
gang on the East
side, hoods.
Editorials pg. 3
Rumble pg. 3
Ch. 2
Pgs. 19 - 36
Dally and Pony decides to go to a drive-in movie.
Dally sees a couple of Soc girls alone and goes to
sit by them. He is very loud and obnoxious
towards them. Their friend Johnny comes by and
tells Dally to leave them alone, so does Ponyboy.
The girls are grateful to Johnny and Ponyboy and
ask them to come down and sit by them. One of
the girls is a cheerleader named Cherry. She and
Ponyboy go to get some popcorn and Pony tells
Cherry how Johnny got beat up by a group of
Socs not too long ago. Cherry tells him that not
all Socs are like that, that they have real
problems too.
Their friend Two-Bit comes along and then they
offer to get the two girls home. On the way to
Two-Bit’s house to get his car they talk about
how they aren’t so different. While talking a
Blue Mustang pulls up with Cherry’s boyfriend
Bob. They threaten Pony, Two-Bit and Johnny.
Cherry doesn’t like fighting and tells them she
will get in the car with them if they stop. When
Pony gets home it is really late and Darry is really
mad at him, he slaps Pony. Pony tells him he is
running away and leaves the house. He goes back
to the Park where Johnny is and hangs out. He
realizes how cold he is and decides he wants to
go back home.
Fuzz pg. 20 – A
slang term for
policemen.
Concessions pg. 20
Roguishly pg. 22
Ch. 3
Pgs.
36 - 52
Ornery pg. 39
Purpose for
reading/Comp. Strategy
Character Analysis: This
chapter introduces us to
the main characters of
the book – discuss each
character.
Ponyboy – Beginning
Darry – pg. 6
Sodapop – pg. 7
Steve – pg. 9
Two-Bit – pg. 9
Dally – pg. 10
Johnny – pg. 10
Essence of
Text/Questioning:
At the end of the
chapter Cherry says,
“Socs have troubles you
never even heard of”
What do you think those
troubles might be? What
might she mean?
Questioning:
What do you think the
differences are between
the Socs and the
Greasers? What do you
think they both have in
common? How are they
alike?
Ch.4
Pgs. 53 – 67
Ch. 5
Pgs. 68 – 84
Ch. 6
Pgs. 88-99
Pony is just about to leave the Park and go back
home when the Blue Mustang pulls up with the
Soc boys. They get out of the car and are very
drunk. Johnny is scared! The Socs grab Pony and
shove his head in the water of a fountain and
held him there. He is sure he is going to drown.
Suddenly he is released and then passes out.
When he comes to he sees Johnny there standing
over a dead Soc, Bob. Johnny stabbed him. Pony
and Johnny decide to go to Dally for help. Dally
gives them money, tells them to hop a train to
the next town and stay in an old abandoned
church. He gives Johnny a gun and Pony his
leather jacket. They jump on the train, walk a
ways to the church and fall asleep on the floor.
When Pony wakes up he sees that Johnny is gone
and he becomes concerned. Johnny soon returns
with some food and supplies. They cut and bleach
each other’s hair to disguise themselves. They
hang out for several days eating bologna
sandwiches, playing cards and reading Gone with
the Wind. Dally arrives after several days to
take them away someplace else. Dally has
brought a letter for Pony from Soda. He tells
them that the Socs and Greasers are having “All
Out” Wars. Cherry has been a spy for the
Greasers. She is sad about Bob but feels
responsible for everything that has happened.
Pony and Johnny leave with Dally; he takes them
to the Dairy Queen to get something to eat.
Dally explains how Cherry came to help their gang
one night because she felt it was all her fault.
She wanted to go tell the police about it and that
it was self defense. Johnny is listening and
decides he wants to go back to town and turn
himself in to the Police. Just then they look out
the review mirror and see the Church they were
staying in is on fire. Johnny and Pony hop out of
the car and run to the church. There is a group
of kids there on a field trip and some of them
are stuck inside with the fire. Johnny and Pony
run in to rescue them. Johnny gets knocked out
and barely escapes by Dally dragging him out.
They are taken to the hospital in an ambulance.
While in the ambulance Pony tells the teacher
the entire story of what has happened and what
they did. The teacher doesn’t car, he thinks they
are heroes. At the hospital, Darry and Soda
arrive. They are so relieved to see Pony. Pony
realizes how much Darry really does love him and
that he was just scared to loose him. Dally is
okay but Johnny is in serious condition.
Premonition pg. 67
Predictions:
What do you think Pony
and Johnny will do next?
What do you think they
should do? What would
you do?
Imploringly pg. 72
Plantations pg. 75
Eluded pg. 78
Fiend pg. 78
Connections/Text to
Self:
Have you ever been really
tired and hungry or felt
really alone?
Other Connections…Text
to Text, Text to World.
Cinders pg. 92
Embers pg. 92
Questioning/Delving
Deeper for meaning:
What do you think the
author is trying to tell
you? What do you think
Johnny is thinking at this
point? Do you fell all
Socs are bad? Do you
feel all Greasers are
bad?
Ch. 7
Pgs.
100 – 118
Ch. 8
Pgs.
119 – 130
Ch. 9
Pgs.
131 - 149
Pony leaves the hospital and drives home with his
two brothers. They are so glad to be together.
Pony falls asleep on the way and Darry and Soda
have to carry him in the house. The next morning
Darry and Soda go to work and Pony hangs out
with Two-Bit. Two Bit shows Pony an article in
the paper about how they are heroes. Pony and
Two-Bit stop to get a coke and one of the Socs
with the Blue mustang comes in and wants to talk
to Pony. They go outside to his car and talk. His
name is Randy and he tells Pony how he is not
going to go to the Rumble and all about Bob’s
problems at home. He thinks the fighting won’t
do any good. He tells Pony that he would have
never been brave enough to go in the burning
church and pull out the children. Pony sees a
human side to a “Soc”. Randy says “Thanks
Greaser”. Pony says, “mine name is Pony”.
Two-Bit and Pony go to the hospital to visit
Johnny. He is real bad! Johnny’s mother shows
up and Johnny doesn’t want to see her, gets
upset and passes out. Pony and Two-Bit go to see
Dally. He wants to leave the hospital to fight in
the rumble and asks for Two-Bit's knife. They
take the Bus home. When they get off they see
Cherry, she tells them that the Socs won’t bring
weapons to the rumble and promise to fight by
the Greasers Rules. Two-Bit goes home and Pony
stays longer to talk to Cherry. He is upset that
she won’t go to see Johnny. She explains that
she doesn’t agree with Bob, but Johnny killed
Bob. She tells Pony about Bob’s good side. Pony
and Cherry say good-bye. Pony understands.
It is almost 7 p.m. and time for the big rumble.
Ponyboy and his brothers are getting cleaned up
for the fight. Darry is worried about Pony. They
all go to the fight. They meet up with the other
Greaser Gangs. Pony’s gang is pretty good. They
are not hoods; they are just a group of good
friends. Pony wonders why they even fight-he
really doesn’t HATE. He doesn’t feel he has a
good reason to fight. The rumble begins and
Dally has snuck out of the hospital for the fight.
The Socs run and the Greasers win. After the
fight Dally grabs Pony and rushes him to the
hospital to see Johnny, he is dying. They make it
there just before he dies. Johnny tells Pony to
“STAY GOLD” (from his poem). He tells him that
fighting is useless, and then dies. Dally is very
upset!
Essence of Text:
We see how everyone is
an important as an
individual and everyone
has problems. They may
be different problems
but everyone has
something with which
they struggle.
Connections/Text to
Self, Text to World,
Text to Text:
Suggestions…
An unloving and uncaring
parent.
Amplifier pg. 137
Questioning:
Why even fight? How do
you feel about their
fighting? (Pg. 137
Paragraph 2)
How do looks matter?
What do you think?
(Pg. 141 Paragraph 2)
Ch.10
Pgs.
150 - 160
Ch. 11
Pgs.
161 – 166
Ch. 12
Pgs.
167 – 180
Ponyboy wanders around - confused and upset by
Johnny’s death. A man picks him up and gives him
a ride home. When he gets in the house he tells
everyone that Johnny is dead. Pony passes out
from exhaustion. He wakes up three days later
and finds out his brothers have never left his
side. They are all exhausted.
Ponyboy remains in bed. His friends come to
visit. The Soc, Randy, comes to see if he is okay.
He reminds Pony about going to court to testify.
He tells Pony to tell the truth. Pony does not
want to believe that Johnny is dead. Pony is
trying to convince himself that He killed Bob.
Pony decides to go to Juvenile Court. Randy and
Cherry and a few other Socs tell the Judge the
story of what happened. The Judge doesn’t ask
Pony any questions about that night. He just asks
him if he likes living with his brothers. A little
later Pony returns to school and is struggling with
his grades and emotions. He is forgetting things
and his favorite English teacher tells him the
only way he can pass the class is if he writes a
good last essay. When Pony gets home he and
Darry argue about school. Darry is concerned
about Pony. Soda is sick of the arguing and runs
out of the house. He is sick of being in the
middle of Darry and Pony. They go after him.
They return home and Pony decides what he will
write and begins is essay. The story he writes is
“The Outsiders”.
Concussion pg. 156
Delirious pg. 158
Questioning:
What do you think is
really the most important
thing to Darry, Soda, and
Pony?
Questioning:
Why do you think that
Pony wants to believe
that he was the one who
killed Bob?
Carpetbagger pg.177
Authors Craft:
This story is told in the
eyes of Pony. It begins
with the ending and ends
with the beginning.
Other Activities/Ideas:
1) Have students read an interview with S.E. Hinton or look it up on the internet, about when and why she wrote
this book.
2) S.E. Hinton was 15 years of age when she began writing this book. By the time she graduated from high school
at the age of 17 (and on graduation day) she received her first writing contract. Have students discuss how they
feel about this, if they think this is something that they might do or if they think it is something attainable.
3) S.E. Hinton doesn’t’ go by her full name, this was because her publisher felt females at that time did not get
recognition or purchased as writers. Have Children discuss how they feel about this and if they feel it is the same
today.