Unit: Close Study of a Novel Year 9 Unit overview This term we will be studying the novel The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. This unit will run for 10 weeks. Focus: How novelists use character to convey a theme. Assessment Task: Visual Representation and Speech. Due: Week Five (TBC.) What is a novel? A novel is a fictional story that fits neatly into the category of a narrative text. Novels describe aspects of human experiences and invites us, as readers, to experience the characters’ feelings and responses throughout the novel. There are five features of a novel: 1. PLOT: The action of the text (orientation, complication and resolution.) 2. SETTING: Where is the action taking place and when is the action occurring (time: present, past or future.) 3. CHARACTER: The ‘people’ (both real or imagined) – minor and major characters. 4. THEME: The central and often universal ideas and messages which are explored. 5. STYLE: The way the author writes (first, second or third person), who tells the story (narrator), language techniques and dialogue. About the author Susan Eloise Hinton (S.E. Hinton) was born in the 1950’s in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She began writing The Outsiders at the age of 15, inspired by her frustration with the social divisions in her high school. Hinton’s publishers decided that she should publish her book under the name S.E. Hinton in order to cloak her gender. They worried that readers would not respect her novel. The novel was published in 1967. The Outsiders examines the universal urge to form factions, compete and unite for survival. The Outsiders was made into a film adaptation in 1983. Which we will get to watch towards the end of the unit. The Outsiders in a nut shell The east side of town shapes the life of fourteen-year-old Ponyboy Curtis (protagonist and narrator). It is where he lives and where his friends are. Together they are the Greasers, a local gang with a tough reputation and a uniform of long oiled hair, blue jeans and t-shirts. The Greasers have a big problem, however. Their problem is the rival gang from the towns west side. The Socials, or Socs, as they are called, sport fancy cars, wear madras shirts, and party wildly. And, their favourite pastime is ganging up on lone Greasers. One such jumping begins the action of The Outsiders. The Outsiders is about two rival gangs. Before we start reading the novel, we need to understand what gangs are and have a look at some local gangs. Questions 1. Why do you think people join gangs? List at least three reasons. 2. What do you know about gangs? What kind of activities do they partake in? 3. Police often try to outlaw gangs, and ban the colours associated to that gang. Do you think banning “gang colours” make a difference? Why or why not? 4. What are some ways that members of a gang can be identified? 5. Do you know of any other gangs? Either local or global? Comprehension Questions Chapter One 1. How does Ponyboy describe himself? 2. Briefly outline what happens to Ponyboy on his way home from the moves. How does Ponyboy feel as he is being followed? What signs does he show that tell you this is how he is feeling? 3. What do you know about Ponyboy, Sodapop and Darry? 4. How does Ponyboy’s relationship with Darry and Sodapop differ? Explain. 5. Why is the ‘gang’ important to Johnny? Characterisation The characters are introduced in this chapter. The narrator tells the reader their ages, appearance, backgrounds, personalities, and things that are important to them in life. Construct a table like this in your workbooks. Character Age Appearance Background Personality Likes/Dislikes In Pairs: Using the table list information about each character (Ponyboy, Darrell, Sodapop, Steve, TwoBits, Dallas and Johnny) Your pair will be assigned one character to report on, use the chart to write a brief description (½ a page) about your assigned character. Each pair will then introduce their assigned character to the class. Do Now Activity Chapter one of The Outsiders introduces us to the Greasers and Socials. List all the character traits of these two groups. Be sure to use specific words and phrases from the novel. Greasers VS Socials Greasers Socials Greasers VS Socials GREASERS SOCIALS (SOCS) Long greasy hair Short, neat hair From the ‘wrong side’ of town (East Side) Violent/ trouble making reputation Low expectations to live up too (a lot of high school drop outs) Rich part of town (West Side) Smart/High School educated Snobby Poor/lower middle class Streetwise High social expectation Low academically Not streetwise Carry blades, prepared to fight Drive their own cars Territorial Middle class/wealthy families Like to jump greasers if they are alone Comprehension Questions Chapter Two 1. Who is the fuzz? 2. Are the names Ponyboy and Sodapop nicknames? Why or why not?. 3. Who is Cherry and Marcia? 4. Briefly outline what happens at the Nightly-Double. 5. Why doesn’t Ponyboy like referring to Sodapop as a ‘drop-out’? 6. What is Ponyboy comparing two-Bit to when he calls him a “cheesy cat”. List two techniques that is being used in this figure of speech. 7. Describe what happened to Johnny. Plot In Chapter 3, the conflicts are intensified. First Ponyboy realises that Cherry’s boyfriend Bob, is probably the Socs in the Mustang that beat up Johnny. Now bob and his friend have found their girlfriends walking with greasers. Ponyboy expresses his feelings about Darry to the others. Finally, when Ponyboy gets home late, he and Darry get into a fight and Ponyboy runs away. Although Ponyboy decides to return home, the chapter ends with his comment “Things gotta get better, I figured. They couldn’t get worse. I was wrong.” Creative Writing - Predicting the Future Compose a diary entry from Ponyboy’s perspective. Discuss the events that have happened from Chapter 1 through to Chapter 3. Refer to and include what Ponyboy has said in the text. Predict what is going to happen next. Pretend you are the author, what will happen that is worse than everything he has been through so far. Be descriptive! Do Now Activity – Vocabulary Exercise Define the following terms: oConscious oUnfathomable oCowlick oSavvy oPerspiration oSympathetic oConflict oIncredulous oAcquire oMadras Foreshadowing Foreshadowing is when the author mentions or hints (gives the reader clues) that indicate or predicts events that will occur later in the story. Foreshadowing is used to build suspense, or anxiety in the reader or viewer. For example: in films the music often gives away that something bad is going to happen. Comprehension Questions Chapter Three 1. What does Cherry explain as the difference between the Socs and the Greasers? 2. Why don’t the Socs feel anything and the Greasers feel too violently? 3. What does Ponyboy discover about the Socs who were in the blue Mustang? 4. Briefly outline what happens when Ponyboy comes home after his curfew. 5. Why does Johnny like it better when his father is hitting him? 6. At the end of the chapter, how does the author foreshadow that bad things are about to come. Comprehension Questions Chapter Four 1. What does Ponyboy mean when he says the socs were “reeling pickled”? 2. What is the rising action of chapter four? Briefly outline what happens. 3. How did the author foreshadow that Johnny would use his knife in Chapter 2? 4. What would your advice be to Johnny and Ponyboy if they’d come to you for help instead of Dally? 5. Do you think Bob’s death was justified? Why or why not? Do Now Activity – Vocabulary Exercise Define the following terms: oHastily oApprehensive oRoguishly oDefiance oGallant oContemptuously oAloof oSmoldering oElite oGingerly Comprehension Questions Chapter Five 1. Why does Pony have a problem with Johnny’s idea to disguise themselves? 2. What does Ponyboy mean when he says “I was supposed to be the deep one”? 3. Why does Johnny think Darry is a hero? Do you think Dally is a hero based on what he did? 4. What’s a ‘heater’? Why does Dally have one? 5. Why are the Socs and Greasers going to fight in the vacant lot? 6. Who is the spy for the Greasers? Does this surprise you? Why or why not? 7. What’s a characteristic Ponyboy repeats about himself in this chapter? 8. What is it that foreshadows Johnny’s predicament? Ponyboy recites ‘Nothing gold can stay’ by Robert Frost to Johnny. He says that he doesn’t know what the poem means. Locate one example of the following poetic devices: Personification Alliteration Rhyming Couplet Metaphor Briefly explain what you think is meant by this poem. By Robert Frost Nature’s first green is gold, Her hardest hue to hold. Her early leaf’s a flower; But only so an hour. Then leaf subsides to lead. So Eden sank to grief., So dawn goes down to day. Nothing gold can stay. Comprehension Questions Chapter Six 1. Why doesn’t Dally want Johnny to turn himself in? 2. Dallas was first introduced as the toughest member of the Greasers gang. What ‘other side’ of Dallas is revealed in this chapter? 3. What is your own definition of a hero? Do the three boys prove themselves to be heroes, according to your own definition. Why or why not? 4. Why do you think Johnny wasn’t scared, despite the obvious danger. 5. Briefly outline what has happened in this chapter. 6. What does Ponyboy realise about Darry at the end of this chapter. Do Now Activity – Vocabulary Exercise Define the following terms: oStricken oKeeled oDisguise oDoggedly oElude oSoothing oTransplant oTestify oIndignant oTowheaded Comprehension Questions Chapter Seven 1. Johnny boy risked his life to save those children in the fire, describe his condition. How bad do you think Johnny is after the fire? 2. Why would being crippled be worse for Johnny than someone else? 3. “Maybe people are younger when they are asleep”. What do you think this comment means? 4. Why would Two-Bit think Johnny, Dally and Pony were hero’s all along; before they saved those kids. 5. What was Bob’s ‘real’ problem, according to Randy. 6. Why did Pony think it was better to see socs as “just guys”. What do you think he ,means by this? 7. What happened with Sandy? 8. Why does Randy talk with Pony? Comprehension Questions Chapter Eight 1. What is the author foreshadowing about Johnny’s condition? 2. “We needed Johnny as much he needed the gang. And for the same reason”. What do you think Ponyboy means, and what is the reason. 3. What does Ponyboy mean when he says “We could get along without anyone but Johnny?” 4. If Darry didn’t have Sodapop and Ponyboy, why would he be a Soc? 5. What does Chery mean when she says Bob “wasn’t just anyone.” Do Now Activity – Vocabulary Exercise Define the following terms: oSevere oMimicked oBleak oAghast oDelinquent oFaltered oRecurring oDiverted oExploit oRueful Comprehension Questions Chapter Nine 1. Pony asks what kind of a world it is, what comment is he making about how he judges people? 2. Why do the boys fight? Is Pony different? 3. What is the difference between Tim Sheppard's gang and Ponyboy's? Explain how Pony feels this difference give his group the upper hand? 4. What do you think Johnny's last words to Pony mean? 5. What happened with Dally in the end? Comprehension Questions Chapter Ten 1. How does Pony's dreaming, or lying to himself, finally work in this chapter? 2. Why was Johnny's dying so difficult for Dally to handle? 3. Who do you think Dally would have wanted to die? 4. How does Pony describe Dally as being a person who made a difference? Chapter Eleven 1. Explain why Pony might rather anyone's hate than their pity? 2. What do you think is going on with Ponyboy when he says, "Johnny didn't have anything to do with Bob's getting killed” 3. Why does Randy come to visit Pony, beyond the obvious? 4. What did Randy discover in his conversation with Pony? Do Now Activity – Vocabulary Exercise Define the following terms: oGrimaced oBewildered oStifle oAcquitted oStupor oTaut oDelirious oConformity oReckless oLeery Comprehension Questions Chapter Twelve 1. 1. What circumstances‟ did Ponyboy's teacher refer to? What circumstances does Ponyboy think his teacher is referring to? 2. Why doesn't Ponyboy feel scared when the Socs approach him and he threatens them with a broken bottle? How is this a dramatic change from the Ponyboy we have seen up until this point? Was there anything odd about Pony's behaviour? 3. What does Darry mean he says, "you don't just stop living because you lose someone”? 4. How do we know Sandy didn't love Soda as much as he loved her? 5. Explain how Darry and Ponyboy play tug of war with Soda. 6. What do we learn was so special about Johnny ? 7. What does Ponyboy end up doing for his English assignment? Why the title of the book? Who is the biggest Outsider of them all and why? Imaginative Responses 1. Create a WANTED poster for Johnny Cade and Ponyboy Curtis 2. Compose a thank-you note written to Johnny by the parents of one of the children he saved from the burning building. 3. Compose a poem for Johnny that Ponyboy would have written about his friend. 4. Create a news paper article about Johnny, Ponyboy and Dally saving the children for the burning building 5. Create a criminal profile written by a detective after he or she realises that Dally the thief is also Dally the hero. 6. Compose a eulogy or poem for Dally 7. Compose a eulogy for Bob 8. Compose a written report for the courts about Ponyboy and his brothers, written by the doctors who cared for Ponyboy.
