Try Collegiate CareAuthor: S. E.
Hinton Character Analysis: Ponyboy Curtis -Ponyboy is a fourteen-year-old member of a gang called theGreasers. His parents died in a car accident, so he lives alonewith his two older brothers, Darry and Soda. He is a goodstudent and athlete, but most people at school consider him avagrant like his Greaser friends. Sodapop Curtis – Soda isPony’s handsome, charming older brother. He dropped out ofschool to work at a gas station, and does not share hisbrothers’ interest in studying and sports. Darrel Curtis – Theoldest of the Curtis boys, Darry is also the acknowledgedleader of the Greasers.
Johnny Cade – Johnny is Pony’sclosest friend and the gang’s pet. They are especiallyprotective of him since he is smaller than the rest, his fatherbeats him, and he is afraid to walk the streets alone after beingattacked by a group of Socs. Cherry Valance – Cherry is fromthe richer part of town and associates mainly with the Socs,but she befriends Pony and the other Greasers and gives theminformation about the Socs. Bob Gardner – Bob is Cherry’sboyfriend. Johnny murders Bob to stop him from killingPony.
Dallas Winston – A member of the Greasers, Dally hasspent time in prison. He helps Johnny and Pony by tellingthem to go to Jay Mountain to hide out and by giving themmoney. Two-Bit Mathews – The Greasers’ oldest member. Heacts like a mentor or mascot to the Greasers.
Steve Randle -Soda’s best friend and another member of the Greasers. Summary: The Outsiders is a coming-of-age story about agroup of boys engaged in a dangerous feud with the wealthierresidents of their town. The narrator, Ponyboy Curtis, is ateenager who lives alone with his two brothers. He isinterested in academics and sports, but does not receive thesame respect and treatment granted to the wealthier kids, whobelong to a different gang called the Socs. Pony has long hair,which he greases; he knows that people consider him ajuvenile delinquent based on his appearance. Pony is notcontent with his situation; he worries that his brother does notwant to take care of him and constantly fears attacks by theSocs.
Things get much worse, however, when he and hisfriend Johnny go to a park late at night. The Socs attack themthere and dunk Pony’s head in a fountain, long enough tomake him unconscious and almost drown him. When hewakes up, he realizes that one of the Socs is dead, and thatJohnny killed him. The two boys run away with the help oftheir friend Dally, who tells them to go to an abandonedchurch on Jay Mountain.
They hide out for a week, and thenDally comes to find them. Johnny wants to go back to turnhimself in, but as they head back to the church they see that ithas caught fire. A group of schoolchildren is there on a fieldtrip, and a few of the children remain locked inside the burningchurch. Pony and Johnny break the window and rescue thechildren as the fire spreads. Pony is able to climb back out,but Johnny is hit with a piece of falling timber and burnedseverely. The boys are written up as heroes in the newspaper,even though they are still wanted for murder.
Johnny is badlyinjured and will never walk again, if he lives. Meanwhile theGreasers are scheduled to fight the Socs. The Greasers winthe fight, and Dally and Pony go to the hospital to tell Johnnythe good news. He dies during their visit. Dally runs offheatedly, and later calls Pony’s house to say that he hasrobbed a store and is being chased by the police. They go tomeet him, but watch him pull a gun on the cops and fall backand die as they fire at him.
Pony moves on with his life, afterbeing acquitted in the Soc’s murder case. He is never thesame, however, and the memories of past events still haunthim. Finally, as an assignment for English class, he writesdown the story of what happened. Final Analysis: TheOutsiders is a story of rebellion, youth, and heroism.
Itfocuses on an endless, senseless conflict between two groupsof young people and the problems that result. Its maincharacter, Ponyboy, watches his world slowly fall apart as thebattle between the groups rages around him. The use of afirst-person narrator gives the reader a sense of belonging tothe greasers, encouraging sympathy for their struggle. Ponyboy is a strong, sensitive, intelligent young person whocares very deeply about his friends and brothers. He oftenfaces danger, and what he wants most is a sense of securityand stability.
Instead, events spiral towards an inevitabletragedy, and Ponyboy must accept his own powerlessness. The Greasers are young men who refuse to accept thesubordinate position that society has given them. The Socsmock the Greasers and the adults in town overlook them:rather than accept their status and live in peace with thewealthier citizens of town, the Greasers seek respect andrebellion. They are proud, strong-willed people who knowthey deserve better.
The result is a life of constant conflict andever-present danger. At the end of The Outsiders, Pony istransformed from greaser into a writer. He learns to expresshis resentment and anger through more creative means, nolonger resorting to violence. He is able to share his story withan authority figure, his English teacher, who does not belongto his crowd. The universal message of The Outsiders is thatpeace can come through understanding, communication, and awillingness to move beyond violence to resolve conflicts. Bibliography:
