| A | B |
|---|
| Author of The Outsiders | S.E. Hinton (Started writing it when she was 15) |
| narrator/protagonist | Ponyboy Curtis |
| Define protagonist | the main character in a work of fiction and usually the character that readers want most to succeed |
| Ponyboy's gang | greasers |
| Full name of Socs | the Socials |
| Non-physical characteristics of Ponyboy | digs movies and books, does well in school, doesn't always use his head, not like all the other greasers |
| setting | Oklahoma, late 1950s, early 1960s |
| Ponyboy's brothers | Darry and Soda Pop Curtis |
| What is a greaser, include stereotypes | poorer than Socs and middle class, wild, live on the East side of town, steal things, drive old-souped up cars, have a gang fight once in a while |
| Greaser looks/clothes | long, greased back hair, jeans and t-shirts, leather jackets, boots or tennis shoes |
| What is a Soc? | Members of the "jet-set," West-side rich kids, privileged social class, jump greasers, wreck houses, beer blasts |
| Clothes/appearance of Socs | Madras shirts, clean cut |
| What made Johnny's beating by a Soc more painful? | The Soc was wearing a lot of rings. |
| How is Johnny different from the other Greasers | Smaller, gang's pet, beat up by family, not as tough, doesn't really like to fight |
| Blue Mustang represents what? | Money = Power, social class differences |
| How do the greasers define a fair fight? (5) | Not rough, no weapons, just skin on skin, no ganging up, fair fight between two |
| Two greaser rules | Stick together and don’t get caught. |
| Proof that friendship is a theme | Johnny is supportive of Ponyboy when PB wants to run away after Darry hits him. Johnny saves Ponyboy from being killed by Socs. Dally gives PB and Johnny money, a gun, and a plan, and he gives PB dry clothes and a jacket. PB and Johnny stick together after the killing. Johnny remembers that PB wanted a copy of Gone with the Wind and gets it for him. PB and Johnny support each other when they have to change appearances at the church. |
| Why Johnny and Ponyboy don’t turn themselves in after Johnny kills Bob? | They thought Johnny would get the electric chair and Ponyboy would get sent to a reformatory for boys. They did not think they would be treated fairly. |
| Why are Ponyboy and Johnny’s changes in appearance significant? | Their greaser looks are gone. Loss of pride. Loss of connection as a greaser. |
| What foreshadows the church fire? | “But this church gave me a kind of creepy feeling” (67). “We could take whatever was coming” (75). Johnny bought matches. ***”We were careful with our cigarettes – if that old church ever caught fire there’d be no stopping it” (79). |
| Poet of “Nothing Gold Can Stay”? | Robert Frost |
| Meaning of “Nothing Gold Can Stay.” | Nothing stays innocent, new, young, fresh forever. Everything ages, changes. Gold = goodness. (Class notes) |
| Book Johnny buys for Ponyboy? (Ponyboy reads to Johnny?) | Gone with the Wind |
| Why does Ponyboy decide to go into the burning church to save the children? | PB and Johnny thought the fire might have been their fault, but more importantly, going into the burning building shows their character. PB and Johnny are good people who are willing to risk their lives for others. They do not match the stereotype of greaser or hood. |
| Why does Johnny look like he’s having the time of his life during the church fire? | This is the first time he has ever felt truly needed. He is doing something worthwhile and helpful for others. |
| Mrs. O’Briant and I think you were sent straight from heaven” (irony) (Ch. 6) | Ironic because they are characterized as greasers who are usually thought of as bad because they are wild, get in gang fights, and steal. Now being called angels. |
| What does Randy believe about the rumble and whether or not things will change? | Greasers will never win. They will always be at the bottom and Socs will always be at the top. |
| What does Pony decide about Randy after their talk? | That he is actually a good person and is human, too. “You would have saved those kids if you had been there” (117). |
| Randy explains what Bob and most of the Socs really want and need. What is it? | Someone to tell them no and to set limits. Stop giving them everything they want. |
| Ponyboy says he understands now what Cherry meant when she said, “Things are rough all over.” What did she mean? | No matter what social class people are from, they all have problems. No one is exempt from trouble. |
| What does Ponyboy realize about Darry in the hospital? | That he really does love him and it is his love and fear of losing another person he loves that causes him to be so strict. |
| Why does Dally raise the gun to the cops even though it is not loaded? | He wants to die. He cannot stand the idea of living without Johnny. |
| What is the symbolism behind Pony picking up the glass after he threatens the Socs with the broken bottle? | He is making the decision to never truly be tough and hardened and like the other greasers. |
| What does Johnny think the poem “Nothing Gold Can Stay” means? | You are gold when you are a kid. Gold = precious, treasured, valued Kid = green, new, dawn = innocent and good. |
| What is one reason Johnny is okay with dying? How does Pony learn this? | He is proud that he saved the kids because he believes their lives are worth more than his. He writes this in a letter to Pony that he leaves in Gone with the Wind. |
| What does Ponyboy understand about life after he reads Johnny’s letter? | Enjoying sunsets is gold. There is still good in the world, even if you are a greaser or a hood. He decides to tell greasers and hoods this through his story, which becomes the book The Outsiders. |
| What are some themes in The Outsiders? (Know three.) | Appearances vs. reality, friendship, loyalty, family, choices/decisions, power of stereotyping, class differences, love. |
