The Outsiders
Name _______________
Period ____
1
2
A Letter from the Author:
S.E. Hinton
Dear Reader,
It is very difficult for me to write about myself, and especially The Outsiders, which was written at a
horrendous time in my life, was published by a series of mind-boggling synchronicities, and has gone further
than any author dared dream. But I’ll give it a shot.
I wrote The Outsiders when I was sixteen years old. Actually I began it when I was fifteen, as a short
story about a boy who as beaten up on his way home from the movies.
But I didn’t just write The Outsiders, I lived it. Looking back, I realize how important it was to me to
have another life at that time. To be someone else. To deal with the problems I had to face, and write my way
to some sort of understanding and coping. This is all in hindsight. At the time, I was mad about the social
situation in my high school. I desperately wanted something to read that dealt realistically with teen-age life.
I knew I was going to be a writer. I love to write. I began in grade school, because I loved to read, and
liked the idea of making stories happen the way I wanted them to. By the time I was in high school I had been
practicing for years. So I was both elated and not surprised when I received my publishing contract on the day I
graduated from high school.
Fans. I receive letters from every state, from dozens of foreign countries. From twelve-year-olds and
forty-year-olds. From convicts and policemen, teachers, social workers, and of course, kids. Kids who are
living like those in The Outsiders. Kids who can’t imagine living lives like those in The Outsiders. Kids who
read all the time. Ones who never before finished a book.
The letters saying “I loved the book” are good, the ones that say “I never liked to read before, and now I
read all them” are better, but the ones that say “The Outsiders changed my life” and “I read it fifteen years ago
and I realize how much it has influenced my life choices” frankly scare me. Who am I to change anyone’s life?
I guess the best reply is “It’s the book, not the author” and “It’s the message, not the messenger.” A lot of the
time I feel that The Outsiders was meant to be written, and I was chosen to write it. It’s certainly done more
good than anything I could accomplish on a personal level.
If this sounds like I am overwhelmed by the decades of incredible response to what began as a short
story I started when I was fifteen years old, well, I guess that’s the truth.
Stay Gold.
S.E. Hinton
Taken from the Author’s Foreword in The Outsiders Speak Platinum Edition, published by Penguin Group (1995)
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The Outsiders
Vocabulary Word List
Chapters 1 & 2
Chapters 3 & 4
sympathetic p. 8
unfathomable p.
10
incredulous p.
24 nonchalantly
p. 25
Chapters 5 & 6
implore p. 72
sullen p. 73
elude p. 78
indignant p. 80
bewilder p. 81
conviction p. 89
gallant. 37
wince p. 42
contempt p. 50
apprehensive p.
59
rueful p. 60
premonition p.
67
Chapters 7, 8 &
9
Chapters 10, 11,
& 12
bleak p. 103
exploit p. 113
divert p. 125
conformity p.
137
stupor p. 150
vague p. 155
delirious p. 157
acquitted p. 168
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This is a sample page. Copy this template for each word and
complete it in your journal.
Chapter ________
5
Sizing up People
Exercise A: View Power Point
Exercise B:
When you meet new people your age, what interests you about them? Use the rating scale at the left. Circle
the number that comes closest to showing how important you think each of the qualities on the right hand
column is to you. Then compare your responses with those of your classmates.
NOT VERY
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
2
2
2
2
2
2
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2
2
2
2
2
2
EXTREMELY IMPORTANT
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3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
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5
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the way they dress
their grades in school
the amount of money they have
the kind of possessions they have
the way they talk
their physical appearance
where they live in town
who their friends are
how they treat their friends
where they hang out
their ethnic background
their hobbies and interests
their sense of humor
their athletic abilities
1. Which of the qualities above are the most superficial? Which tell you something of true significance
about the person? Do two of each.
Superficial (shallow, not important)
Significant (important, matters)
*
*
*
*
2. Which one of these qualities would you want to be judged by? Which would you
not want to be judged by?
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STUDY GUIDE QUESTIONS
Chapters 1 and 2
Understanding What You Have Read
Answer the following questions in COMPLETE sentences.
Chapter 1
1. What is the story’s point of view? Be specific.
2. What two groups of teenagers does Ponyboy describe? Compare
characteristics of each group by using the T-diagram.
Greasers
Socs
3. What happened to Ponyboy on the way home from the movies?
4. Why is Darry upset with Ponyboy? What does this reveal about his
character?
5. Why do you think there is so much rivalry between the “Socs” and
the “Greasers”?
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Chapter 2
1. Why didn’t Ponyboy, Johnny, and Dallas pay to get into the drive-in
movie?
2. What is Cherry’s real name?
Why is she called Cherry?
3. What did Cherry do when Dallas brought her a Coke?
4. What did Cherry learn about the Greasers?
5. Give three reasons why Cherry and Marcia are not scared of Johnny
and Ponyboy even though, like Dallas, they are Greasers.
•
•
•
6. Why had Cherry and Marcia left their boyfriends at the drive-in?
7. What are two rules Greasers have for themselves?
8. What were “fair” rules for a gang fight? What did “Fair” mean? How
were the rules established?
9. How did Johnny get beaten up?
10.
What did Cherry mean when she said, “Things are rough all over?”
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Chapters 1 and 2
Characterization
In the opening chapters of The Outsiders, Hinton introduces a number of
characters. It is important to distinguish these characters from the
start and recognize their relationships to each other.
Fill in the following chart for each character.
Name
Dally
Description
Relation to others
Toughest and meanest of
the gang
Sodapop
Steve
Johnny
Ponyboy
Two-Bit
Darry
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STUDY GUIDE QUESTIONS
Chapters 3 and 4
Chapter 3
1. What did Cherry say was the main difference between the Socs and
the Greasers?
2. What was the name of Sodapop’s horse, and what happened to the
horse?
3. Why did Ponyboy think that maybe his world and Cherry’s weren’t so
different?
4. Why did Johnny stare at the rings on the Soc’s hand?
5. Why did Cherry and Marcia let their drunken boyfriends drive them
home?
6. What was the last thing Cherry says to Ponyboy before she leaves in
the car?
7. How long has it been since Ponyboy’s parents were killed?
8. Why was Ponyboy late getting home?
9. Why did Darry get angry with Ponyboy and hit him?
10.
Where did Ponyboy go after Darry hit him?
11. How does Ponyboy feel about Darry? How does Ponyboy think Darry
feels about him? Why does he feel this way?
Chapter 4
1. What does Bob say a Greaser is?
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2. Complete the following diagram by listing the actions that lead to
this problem.
Johnny stabbed Bob
Socs arrive to harass the boys
Boys run away
3. What does Dally give Johnny and Ponyboy?
4. Where does Dally tell them to go?
5. How do they get there?
6. How do they find the church?
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7. In Chapters 3–4, Ponyboy and Johnny get into trouble with the
Socials. Write the effects of the characters’ actions in the Effects
box.
CAUSES
EFFECTS
Dallas teases Cherry and
Marcia.
Ponyboy, Johnny, and Two-Bit
walk the girls home.
The Socs start a fight with
Ponyboy and Johnny.
The boys ask Dallas for help.
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Chapters 5 and 6
Chapter 5
1. Based on the supplies Johnny got, what can you conclude about
Johnny?
2. How does Johnny write a note to Ponyboy?
3. What is the one thing the Greasers are proud of?
4. What do Johnny and Ponyboy do to disguise themselves?
5. Why do Johnny and Ponyboy start crying?
6. How do Johnny and Ponyboy pass the time?
7. How does Johnny feel about Dally?
8. Ponyboy receives a letter from whom?
9. Where do the police think Johnny and Ponyboy have gone?
10. What is a “heater”?
11. Who is spying on the Socs for the Greasers? How could he/she do
this?
Chapter 6
1. Why is Cherry helping the Greasers?
2. When they are at the Dairy Queen, what does Johnny tell Dally he is
going to do?
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3. How have Johnny’s parents reacted to his running away?
4. What do the boys see when they reach the top of Jay Mountain?
5. When is the only time Ponyboy can remember seeing Johnny without a
defeated, suspicious look in his eyes?
6. Why does Dally hit Ponyboy?
7. How does Dally get burned?
8. How does Johnny get hurt?
9. What does Darry do when he sees Ponyboy in the hospital?
10. What did Ponyboy learn about Darry? Why was it so hard for Darry
to show Ponyboy he cared about him in a way that Ponyboy would
understand?
11. What did Ponyboy mean when he said, “I have taken the long way
around, but I was finally home. To stay,”?
12. Reread pages 114-115. The teacher asks Ponyboy if he was sent
from heaven. Why does Ponyboy respond the way he does?
STUDY GUIDE QUESTIONS
Chapters 7, 8, and 9
Chapter 7
1. Why does Ponyboy tell a reporter at the hospital he would if he
could do anything he wanted?
2. Was the headline “Juvenile Delingquents Turn Heroes” accurate or
not? Explain.
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3. Reporters fill the hospital to interview the boys. What about the
boys’ social background might make the reporters so interested in
the story?
4. What do the doctors say about Dally’s injuries?
5. What do the doctor’s say about Johnny’s injuries?
6. What one food does Ponyboy, Soda, and Darry all like for breakfast?
7. What is implied, but not stated, about Sodapop’s and Sandy’s
situation? Infer why Sandy moves to Flordia to live with her
grandmother.
8. Why does Darry leave the front door unlocked?
9. What charges were being brought against Johnny?
10.
What will the court decide about Ponyboy?
11.
What is it about Ponyboy that made other confide in him?
12.
What did Ponyboy learn from Randy about the Socs?
Chapter 8
1. Why did the doctor let Two-Bit and Ponyboy in to see Johnny?
2. What two things does Johnny tell Two-Bit he wants him to bring?
3. Who comes to visit Johnny besides Ponyboy and Two-Bit?
4. What does Two-Bit give to Dally?
5. What does Two-Bit say keeps Darry from being a Soc?
6. Why does Cherry say she can’t visit Johnny?
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7. Did Johnny know he was going to die? How did he feel about that?
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8. Compare Johnny’s mother with Ponyboy’s mother.
Johnny’s mom
Ponyboy’s mom
Looks
Looks
Acts
Acts
Says
Says
Feels
Feels
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Characterization
Chapter 7 and 8 Reader Response
In Chapters 7–8, visitors come to see Johnny at the hospital. Describe what Johnny says and does
and what this reveals about him.
Character Description Map
Character
What the Character Does
What this shows about the
character
Johnny
Johnny likes hearing Ponyboy read about the southern gentlemen who rode off to war, knowing that
they would die. How is Johnny similar to a southern gentleman?
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Chapter 9
1. What are the two things the Greasers have to be proud of?
2. Who is the only Greaser who doesn’t like fights?
3. Why is Tim Shepard’s kid brother, Curly, not going to be at the
rumble?
4. What weapons are going to be used at the rumble?
5. Why does Ponyboy feel he and his gang don’t belong with Tim
Shepard’s gang and the Brumley boys?
6. What are the rules for the rumble?
7. Who joins the rumble at the last minute?
8. How did Dally get out of the hospital?
9. How does the fight end?
10.
Where do Ponyboy and Dally go after the rumble?
11.
How do they get there so quickly?
12.
Do you think that Johnny died happy? Why or why not?
13.
What did Johnny mean when he told Ponyboy to “stay gold”?
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STUDY GUIDE QUESTIONS
Chapters 10, 11, and 12
Chapter 10
1. Do you think the rumble was worth the trouble? Why or why not?
2. At the rumble, Darry faces a former classmate and teammate, Paul
Holden. Why are Darry and Paul rivals?
3. Why did Dally want to die?
4. Who phones Darry, and what does he want?
5. When the police catch up with Dally, what happens?
BE SPECIFIC!
6. What was wrong with Ponyboy? Why did Ponyboy tell himself not to
think, not to remember?
7. What did Johnny leave for Ponyboy?
8. Why wouldn’t Ponyboy eat anything when he was sick?
9. Why is Ponyboy worried about whether or not he called Darry when he
was sick?
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Chapters 11 and 12
1. How does Ponyboy describe Bob?
2. Why was Ponyboy concerned about his friends seeing his house, but
not about Randy seeing his house?
3. Why did Ponyboy say he’d killed Bob and that Johnny wasn’t dead?
4. What do you think the doctor told the judge before the hearing?
5. What does the judge decide about Ponyboy?
6. Why did Ponyboy’s life seem so different after the hearing?
7. Was Darry right that Ponyboy was living in a vacuum and that this
situation couldn’t go on? What does “living in a vacuum” mean?
8. What does Ponyboy do when he’s confronted by three Socs?
9. Why does Two-Bit grin when Ponyboy picks up the broken glass?
10.
Why was Sodapop upset?
11. Why did Soda think that being like Dally before he died was
worse than being dead?
12.
What do you think Ponyboy will write about in his theme? Why?
13.
Why is the last sentence of the book unusual?
Characterization
Response to Chapters 9-11
In Chapters 9-11, Johnny and Dallas die. List details about each character and his
actions in the T-chart.
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T-Chart
Dallas
Johnny
Do Johnny and Dallas die as greasers or heroes, or both? Explain.
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Name______________________________________
Period______
Reader-Response to Chapter 12
1. Comparisons How are the circumstances of Ponyboy’s life better by the end of the story? How are
they worse? Use the word circumstance in your response.
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2. Dialogue After Soda runs out of the house, the three brothers have a talk about their relationship.
What does their conversation tell you about how the boys feel about each other?
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3. Connect Think about what might happen if you had to make a decision about life, and school could
not teach you the answer. Compare this to The Outsiders. What does life teach Ponyboy that school
does not?
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4. Author’s Purpose In Chapter 12, Ponyboy wants to write about the Greasers for his English class.
List the details of Ponyboy’s theme in the Five Ws Chart.
FIVE W’S CHART
What is it?
Who is it about?
Where is the setting?
When does it take place?
Why does he write it?
5. Author’s Purpose Why does Hinton end the book this way?
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Name____________________________________________________
Period______
Directions: You will create a Wanted poster for a character from The Outsiders. You will determine
whether he/she shows acts of loyalty or rivalry in the book. Fill out the information below before
finalizing your poster.
Loyalty- acts of devotion, allegiance, and/or faithfulness
Rivalry- acts to equal or outdo others
1. Name of character: _________________________________________________________
2. Wanted for acts of (circle one):
Loyalty
Rivalry
3. Detailed physical description: _________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
4. Personality traits: ___________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
5. Specific acts of loyalty or rivalry: ______________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
6. Consequences of acts (directly stated or inferred):
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
7. Known hangouts: ________________________________
8. Nicknames (if any): ______________________________
9. What to do if found: __________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
10. Reward amount:
______________________________________________________________________________
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WANTED
________________________________________________
Name
For Acts of _______________________________
Physical Description: __________________________
______________________________________________
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______________________________________________
Personality Traits: _____________________________
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______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
Also known as ________________
Specific acts include: _________________________________________________________________
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Positive or negative consequences for these acts include:
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Suspect last seen: ___________________________________________
Favorite hangout: ___________________________________________
If found, please______________________________________________________________________
Name:__________________
Period:_________
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