The Outsiders
S.E. Hinton
Info to Know!!
Round Characters
 Definition:
A round character is a major character in a
work of fiction who encounters conflict and is changed by it.
 You know a lot about the character and the story would not
stand without him/her.
Flat Characters
 Definition: A flat
character is a minor
character within the
novel.
 If you took the
character out of the
story, it wouldn’t
change the story line
much.
 Hmmmm…who would
be considered a
“flat” character in
The Outsiders?
Conflicts
 Person vs. Society: Person struggles against
oppression, racism, poverty, etc.
 Person vs. Person: Person struggles against another
person.
 Person vs. Himself: Person has an internal struggle
within himself. Self-doubt, indecision, depression,
etc.
 Person vs. Nature: Person struggles against the
elements of nature, like weather, animals, etc.
(Not much of this conflict in The Outsiders…)
Mood and Tone
 The mood focuses
on characters being
lonely,
misunderstood and
confused.
 The tone mainly
includes frustration
and anger.
Foreshadowing
 Suggestion of
something that hasn’t
happened yet
 Ex. Johnny carried a
switchblade
everywhere he went
after he got jumped.
You KNOW something
is going to happen!
Flashback
 Looking back into the
story – hints at future
events to come…a
transition in a novel, film,
etc, to an earlier scene
or event
 Ex. Remembering when
Johnny got jumped by
the Greasers
Symbolism
 Representing things
by symbols, or of
investing things with
a symbolic meaning
or character.
 Ex. sunrise/sunset –
a connection
between the
Greasers and Socs
Irony
 Something opposite
of what you think will
happen
 EX. Ponyboy didn’t
think that Dally liked
him at all, yet he was
the one who helped
Johnny and Ponyboy
after they were
jumped.
Allusion
 A passing or casual
reference; an incidental
mention of something,
either directly or
implied – metaphorical
language.
 “Stay Gold, Ponyboy.” –
References the poem
Nothing Gold Can Stay
by Robert Frost
Q1
 Which quote below most reveals Ponyboy to be an
insightful, thoughtful character that shows a strong
sense of maturity?
 “I wanted to be out of towns and away from excitement. I
only wanted to lie on my back under a tree and read a book
or draw a picture, and not worry about being jumped or
carrying a blade…” (Hinton 48).
 “They came and got him one day and took him off. He was
a real valuable horse. Pure quarter” (Hinton 40).
 “He was too late, though; Dally walked out with two
packages of Kools under his jacket” (Hinton 19).
 “So I lay still, swearing at them between gasps. A blade
was held against my throat” (Hinton 5).
Q2
 As they are lying by the fountain, Johnny asks Pony,
“Ain’t you about to freeze to death?” (Hinton 53).
Johnny is exaggerating to make a point about the
cold weather. What type of figurative language
would this quote be labeled as?




Simile
Personification
Hyperbole
Metaphor
Q3
 “He was as white as a ghost and his eyes
were wild-looking, like the eyes of an
animal in a trap” (Hinton 54).
 The phrase in bold is which type of
figurative language?




Personification
Metaphor
Simile
Hyperbole
Q4
“ ‘Here’, Dally handed me a shirt about sixtymillion sizes too big” (Hinton 61).
The phrase in bold is which type of figurative
language?




Personification
Metaphor
Simile
Hyperbole
Q5
While staying at the church, why did the sight of
peroxide and Johnny’s knife make Ponyboy uneasy?
He was afraid Johnny might try to disinfect the
knife and spill the peroxide.
 He feared that his hair would be cut and bleached
to fool the authorities.
 He was concerned, for Johnny still hadn’t thrown
away the knife and dumped the evidence.
 Ponyboy had a flashback to the night when Johnny
held the knife after committing murder.
Q6
 Which of the following is the correct type
of figurative language for the following
quote: “The world was spinning around me,
and blobs of faces and visions of things
past were dancing in the red mist that
covered the lot” (Hinton 155).




Simile
Metaphor
Idiom
Personification
Q7
A major turning point that has dominated the
novel’s plot occurred in the hospital between
Ponyboy and another character. Who was
the character, and what type of conflict was
being resolved?




Dally—Person v. Society
Jerry—Person v. Person
Johnny—Person v. Nature
Darry—Person v. Person
Q8
The boy who told Ponyboy he was not
going to fight in the rumble is




Darry
Randy
Two-Bit
Bob
Q9
A major theme throughout the novel is
that appearances can divide people.
Describe the differences of
appearances between the Socs and the
Greasers. How do these appearances
represent the personalities of the
groups?