The Outsiders, by S.E. Hinton
NAME_____________________________
_
Setting a Purpose:
Chapter 11-12
OVERVIEW:
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Ponyboy cannot come to terms with the death of his friends, Johnny and Dally.
He becomes increasingly depressed and withdrawn.
Ponyboy even behaves in an uncharacteristic way when accosted by a group of Socs!
Pay attention to this part.
The Curtis brothers (Ponyboy, Darry and Soda) explode with conflict.
The novel ends as it began, with the same line. What’s that about?
Vocabulary To Know
acquitted- cleared of a charge
BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE:
You’ll want to know about these things before reading this section.
The Carpetbaggers: This was a popular book in the 1960s
(written by Harold Robins) about power, money, and
Hollywood dreams.
Perry Mason: was a famous detective series that began as a
radio show and became a tv show in 1957. In the shows, Perry
Mason, a defense attorney, got his clients off by exposing the
real culprit on the witness stand.
CHARACTER TRAITS
absent-minded
ambitious
boastful
bossy
brave
calm
careless
care-free
cautious
charming
clever
confused
courageous
cowardly
cruel
hard-working
daring
demanding
dependable
determined
fearful
forgetful
forgiving
friendly
generous
gentle
gloomy
greedy
helpful
honest
intelligent
kind
lazy
loyal
mischievous
obedient
organized
outspoken
patient
playful
polite
quarrelsome
quick-tempered
quiet
reasonable
reckless
relaxed
restless
rude
self-centered
selfish
sensitive
serious
sharp-witted shy
sneaky
soft-hearted
stern
stingy
suspicious
talkative
timid
trusting
unfriendly
unkind
wise
withdrawn
stubborn
understanding
witty
What kind of person was (s)he?
Using textual evidence to explore character traits
Review the sample character trait list and pick one to describe the
character.
I PICKED THIS CHARACTER
TRAIT…
PONYBOY
DALLY
JOHNNY
…because the character does this
in the novel.
(GIVE MORE THAN ONE
EXAMPLE OF THIS CHARACTER
TRAIT, IF YOU CAN. – Record the
page number!!)
These characters are dynamic characters.
Describe how the character changed. Use textual evidence to support your
answer. You may use the character chart to help you find character traits.
I PICKED THIS CHARACTER
TRAIT…
PONYBOY
DALLY
JOHNNY
…because the character does this
in the novel.
(GIVE MORE THAN ONE
EXAMPLE OF THIS CHARACTER
TRAIT, IF YOU CAN. Record page
numbers!!)
YOUR LAST CQE: HOW TO MAKE IT A GOOD ONE
Select one of the character/examples OR the confict/examples from your chart. You should
probably pick the one that has the strongest example.
TOPIC SENTENCE:
Tips: Be clear and firm! Stay away from “I” statements. Come right out and state what
you’re going to prove!
YES: Ponyboy believes that self-defense is the only good reason to fight.
NO: I’m going to prove that Ponyboy believes that self-defense is the only reason to fight.
CONTEXT:
Tips: Find the part in the book that you’re going to use as evidence first. Once you do, you
can write the context. Clearly state what’s going on in the story at that time.
YES: Ponyboy is asking the rest of the gang about why each one fights.
NO: He’s talking to the rest of them about why they fight. (Not clear. Who is “he”?)
QUOTE:
Tips: Introduce the quote, so we know who is talking. Cut out any parts that you don’t
need. If you need to change a word to clarify, use brackets. [ ] Follow with the page
number in parentheses.
YES: Ponyboy tells the reader that he “…only fights in self-defense” (125).
NO: “I only fight in self-defense” (125). (Who is talking?)
EXPLANATION:
Tips: Don’t simply restate your topic. That’s boring and insults the reader. Think of another
way to say what you’re proving.
NO: This quote shows that Ponyboy believes that self-defense is the only reason to fight.
YES: This quote demonstrates that Ponyboy would not choose to fight unless he felt it was
necessary to protect himself.