Characters:
Ponyboy-good kif, he likes sunsets and loves reading, he is very book smart, not your typical "greaser"
Sodapop- not book smart, he dropped out of high school, very handsome, known as a "ladies man", works at a gas station
Darry- "father" of the house, must work in order to take care of his younger brothers Ponyboy and Sodapop, He is known to be better than a typical greaser but was unable to continue school when their parents died.
Johnny- good kid like Ponyboy, he is frequently abused by his parents and his only true family are the members of the "greasers" gang, he is very timid and calm as result of being beaten by the "socs"
Dally- very hard/tough, loves a good rumble and never wants to miss it even when he is injured in the hospital
Two-bit and Steve- other members of the greasers gang
Cherry Vallance- The girl friend of one of the "socs", she ends up getting to know Ponyboy and Johnny and realizes that the "greasers" arent so bad after all
Sodapop- not book smart, he dropped out of high school, very handsome, known as a "ladies man", works at a gas station
Darry- "father" of the house, must work in order to take care of his younger brothers Ponyboy and Sodapop, He is known to be better than a typical greaser but was unable to continue school when their parents died.
Johnny- good kid like Ponyboy, he is frequently abused by his parents and his only true family are the members of the "greasers" gang, he is very timid and calm as result of being beaten by the "socs"
Dally- very hard/tough, loves a good rumble and never wants to miss it even when he is injured in the hospital
Two-bit and Steve- other members of the greasers gang
Cherry Vallance- The girl friend of one of the "socs", she ends up getting to know Ponyboy and Johnny and realizes that the "greasers" arent so bad after all
Timeline of Important Events:
- Ponyboy walks home alone after a movie and is jumped.and we are first introduced to the different groups, "The socs"(The high class rich people) and "The greasers"(The low class poor people)
- "The greasers" end up watching a movie with some of the girlfriends of the "socs". Ponyboy explains to Cherry Vallance why Johnny is so timid because he was beat up by a guy with a lot of rings. After the movie they offer to walk the girls home but the "socs" end up seeing them and take the girls home.
- Darry yells at Ponyboy which gets him really upset and he runs away from home. He goes to find Johnny in the vacant lot to look at the stars with him.
- The "socs" come drunk and just itching for a fight. They pull up in their fancy cars and surround Johnny and Ponyboy. They start by almost drowning Ponyboy and while they do that Johnny ends up stabbing the leader of the "socs"to death. The boys don't know what to do so they find Dally and ask for his help. He gives them money and tells them to run away to a nearby town.
- Ponyboy and Johnny run away to the town by train and take up house in an abandoned church. On the 5th day there, Dally comes to take them to dinner and fills them in on whats happening back home. When they get back to the church it has caught on fire. Johnny and Ponyboy immediately run inside to save the small children who are stuck. They are able to save all the young children but end up having to go to the hospital.
- Ponyboy gets better but Johnny is in really bad shape.
- There is a big rumble scheduled with no weapons allowed. The "greasers" end up claiming the victory because the "socs" run out on it. Ponyboy and Dally rush to the hospital to tell Johnny about it. When they arrive they realize just how bad Johnny is getting. They tell him about the rumble and he says that it isn't worth it anymore. He tells Ponyboy to stay golden and then he falls asleep and dies right there in the hospital bed.
- Dally runs out of the hospital furious and upset because Johnny was family to him and the only person he truly cared about. He robs a store and the cops are on his tail. When they corner him in the vacant lot he pulls out a empty gun. They take it as a threat and shoot him dead.
- Ponyboy goes unconscious from the fight and everything that has occurred. He takes it all really hard and close to his heart. He is given the copy of Gone With The Wind from Johnny and when he works up the nerve to look at it he finds a note written to him from Johnny. It tells him to tell Dally a bunch of different things but Ponyboy realizes now it is too late.
- Ponyboy decides to write his theme about Johnny and Dally to get the true story out and to represent them in a greater light than anyone else knew. He wants them to live on through his words.
Memorable Quotes:
"Johnny Cade was the last and the least. If you can picture a little dark puppy that has been kicked too many times and is lost in a crowd of strangers, you'll have Johnny. He was the youngest, next to me."
"Sado is handsomer than anyone else I know. Not like Darry-Soda's movie-star kind of handsome, the kind that people stop on the street to watch go by"
"Sixteen years on the streets and you can learn a lot. But all the wrong things, not the things you want to learn. Sixteen years on the streets and you see a lot. But all the wrong sights, not the sights you want to see."
"It seemed funny to me that the sunset she saw from her patio and the one I saw from the back steps was the same one. Maybe the two different worlds we lived in weren't so different. We saw the same sunset"-Ponyboy
"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 even if you don't. Greasers will be greasers and socs will be socs."-Randy
"Stay gold, Ponyboy. Stay gold'...The pillow seemed to sink a little, and Johnny died."
(I do not know page numbers because I had the kindle version of the book, Sorry! :)
Hinton, S. E. The Outsiders. Puffin: New York, 1997. Print.
"Sado is handsomer than anyone else I know. Not like Darry-Soda's movie-star kind of handsome, the kind that people stop on the street to watch go by"
"Sixteen years on the streets and you can learn a lot. But all the wrong things, not the things you want to learn. Sixteen years on the streets and you see a lot. But all the wrong sights, not the sights you want to see."
"It seemed funny to me that the sunset she saw from her patio and the one I saw from the back steps was the same one. Maybe the two different worlds we lived in weren't so different. We saw the same sunset"-Ponyboy
"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 even if you don't. Greasers will be greasers and socs will be socs."-Randy
"Stay gold, Ponyboy. Stay gold'...The pillow seemed to sink a little, and Johnny died."
(I do not know page numbers because I had the kindle version of the book, Sorry! :)
Hinton, S. E. The Outsiders. Puffin: New York, 1997. Print.
Personal Reflection of Book:
I do not usually chose books where all the main characters are male and I also steer clear when there is not some sort of romance. My niece had read this book in school this past year and it seemed like the students were really getting into it. I decided that I would put it on my summer reading list once I finished my summer classes. I lucked out when we got to pick a book to read and I knew it was on the NYS reading list. I actually ended up really enjoying it and the book really surprised me. I got through it really fast because it was so new and so interesting to me. It was nothing like any other book I had read before and I really loved it! I can definitely understand why the middle schoolers were enjoying it so much. It is from the perspective of a 14 year old boy and even though I never was in a gang or got into fights I could connect with Ponyboy in some ways. The feeling of not being understood and being conflicted about doing what was right when my friends were doing the opposite. I am glad I had the chance to read The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who wants a unique and interesting read!