The Outsiders To be nobody but yourself in a world that's doing its best to make you somebody else, is to fight the hardest battle you are ever going to fight. --ee cummings

Setting Tulsa, Oklahoma 1960’s West Side vs. East Side of Town the drive-in theatre the lot the church at Windrixville, Oklahoma the Curtis house the hospital

Characters PONYBOY CURTIS JOHNNY CADE DALLAS “DALLY” WINSTON

Ponyboy Curtis narrator good student 14 years old likes watching sunsets and reading Gone with the Wind, Great Expectations, “Nothing Gold Can Stay” (a poem written by Robert Frost mentioned in this novel) Greaser sensitive Darry says Pony lacks common sense--doesn’t always “use his brain”

Johnny Cade the “pet” of the gang 16 years old physically smaller than the rest of the group lives in a neglectful and abusive household has been jumped by the Socs before and now carries a switch- blade knife with him Dally is his hero stabs and kills Bob

Dally Winston tough lived in New York City has been in jail helps Pony and Johnny hide out after the murder of Bob robs liquor store at the end and “gets shot and killed” at the hands of the police

Minor Characters Sodapop Curtis Darrel “Darry” Curtis Sherry “Cherry” Valance Bob Randy Like in the show Spongebob Squarepants, the main character is Spongebob, while the rest of the characters, give or take a few, are just minor characters flying right beneath, or way below him.

Sodapop older brother works at a Gas Station handsome carefree

Darrel “Darry” Curtis oldest brother athletic guardian of Ponyboy when their parents die in a car accident makes eggs for breakfast stern could have gone to college but had to take care of the kids when his parents died

Cherry Valance Bob’s girlfriend cheerleader has red hair says she could fall in love with Dally acts as a spy for the Greasers says she will probably not talk to Pony if she sees him at school--he says he understands likes to look at sunsets, too

Bob Sheldon a Soc Cherry’s boyfriend has beaten up Johnny Cade before the novel starts wears rings on his fingers; this is how Johnny knows Bob is the Soc who beat him up is stabbed by Johnny

Randy Bob’s best friend After bob’s death, he has a change of heart about fighting visits Pony and tries to make up with him

Themes (Be able to explain and support these by the end of the novel) FAMILY FRIENDSHIP SOCIAL DIFFERENCES VIOLENCE/GANG RIVALRY/SENSELESSNE SS OF VIOLENCE BEING AN “OUTSIDER” / TRYING TO FIT IN

Conflicts Man vs. Man (Ponyboy vs. Darry; Greasers vs. Socs; Johnny vs. Bob) Man vs. Society (Socs vs. Greasers) Man vs. Himself (Dally vs. himself; Ponyboy vs. himself) Man vs. Nature (the boys vs. the fire)

Ponyboy’s Literary World Gone With the Wind is the book the boys read while at the church. Johnny compares Dally to a Southern gentleman which is how Johnny views Dally, as a hero. At the end, the note from Johnny to Pony telling him to “stay gold” falls out of this book. Great Expectations: Pony compares himself to Pip from this novel; Pip, like Ponyboy, is an orphan trying to find his way in the world.

Ponyboy’s Literary World “Nothing Gold Can Stay” is the poem that Pony and Johnny talk about at the church. The poem means that nothing good can last forever. Just as the golden times in the poem come to an end, so too must their time at the church. To Johnny, it means to appreciate the things one finds amazing when one is young. He wants Pony (and, sadly, Dally) to look for sunsets and the good things in life.

The Ending of the Novel What makes it unique? What does it show us about the way Ponyboy has dealt with all the events that have happened to him?

Allusions (Be able to define allusion and know these following allusions) Paul Newman Dairy Queen Corvette/Corvair Hank Williams madras plaid drive-in theatre Gone with the Wind “Nothing Gold Can Stay”