DIRECTIONS: As you read The Outsiders, you will be using and discussing this Interactive Reading Journal. On
each page, you will be given various tasks. In some cases, you will be given the opportunity to pick one of two
different activities to complete. If you have a numbered item that offers a choice “a” or “b,” you must choose one
of the two tasks to accomplish.
Be sure to do your best on each item in the journal. I am looking for thoughtful and thorough responses that show
me you have read and understood the book. This journal is worth 156 points in total.
If I ask you to respond to a passage, DO NOT summarize the selection or paraphrase the passage. You are
expected to interpret the passage. Explain the message or the importance of the passage and how it relates to the
overall theme or plot of the story. You may also refer to your own life, another text, a movie, or something going
on in the world to make connections to the passage (i.e., text-to-self, text-to-text, text-to-world).
Be as descriptive and thorough as possible in your responses; I am looking for depth of thought and critical analysis
in your responses. Do not give a simple and obvious answer. Go beyond the written words, and last, but not least,
DON’T FORGET TO USE A PEN!
Biography:
S. E. (Susan Eloise) Hinton
Susan Eloise Hinton's career as an author began while she was still a student at Will Rogers High School in Tulsa. She had been writing
stories much of her life, including a couple of “pretty bad” novels before getting started on The Outsiders, inspired after a friend of hers
got beaten up on his way home from the movies. Hinton was disturbed by the divisions among her schoolmates into two groups, the
lower class –and lowercase– greasers and the upper class Socs (pronounced “soashes”). These gangs were so bitter that they even
entered the school through separate doors.
Hinton’s Outsiders is an honest, sometimes shocking, novel told from the point of view of an orphaned 14-year-old Greaser named
Ponyboy Curtis. Hinton’s publishers suggested that she use only her first initials in print so boys, who might not like to read books written
by women, would not be prejudiced against her book. S. E. Hinton states that she was fifteen when she started the book, spending one
and a half years working on it. She said that the hardest part was “knowing when to stop” writing.
The Outsiders was published during Hinton's freshman year at the University of Tulsa, where she earned a B.S. degree in 1970. As
soon as it was published, it became an immediate sensation. Today, with more than eight million copies in print, the book is the second
best-selling young adult book in publishing history, and one of the most hauntingly powerful views into the thoughts and feelings of
teenagers.
Her other early books are That Was Then, This Is Now, Rumble Fish, Tex, and Taming the Star Runner. In recent years, Hinton has
focused on a younger audience, writing picture books.
Hinton was the recipient of the Oklahoma Center for the Book's Lifetime Achievement Award. Also, in a tribute to her distinguished
career, the American Library Association and School Library Journal bestowed upon her their first annual Margaret A. Edwards Award,
which honors authors whose "book or books, over a period of time, have been accepted by young people as an authentic voice that
continues to illuminate their experiences and emotions, giving insight into their lives."
1. After reading the information above from S. E. Hinton’s biography, what do you think made The Outsiders an
“immediate sensation”? Explain your answer thoroughly. (5)
Page 1
Chapters 1-2
2. In which point of view is The Outsiders written? _______________________________________________(2)
Do you think S.E. Hinton’s choice of narrators is effective? Explain why or why not. (3)
3. Read and respond to ONLY ONE of the passages (a or b) below. Circle the passage you will use. (10)
Responses, Ideas, Questions, Connections
Text/Passage
a) page 13: “Me and Darry
just…He just hollered at me.”
b) page 33: “Johnny didn't
open…gone now. It's okay.”
4. Fill in the grid below with the information you get from chapters 1 and 2. (20)
Character's Name
Physical Traits
Personality Traits
Ponyboy Curtis
Darrel Curtis
Sodapop Curtis
Johnny Cade
Dallas Winston
Two-­‐Bit Mathews
Steve Randle
Sherri Valance
Page 2
Other Info
5. Using a Venn Diagram or a Double-Bubble Map, compare and contrast the Greasers and the Socials. Remember
to use the general characteristics of each group, NOT individual group members. (10)
SOCS
GREASERS
BOTH
6. A flashback is a literary device that a writer uses to interrupt a story in order to relate an event that happened at an
earlier time. In Chapter 2, page 24, Hinton uses flashback. What past event did Hinton relate through Ponyboy’s
narration? Why did she use flashback in this case? Why was the information in the flashback important? (6)
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Chapters 3-4
1. Read and respond to ONLY ONE of the passages (a or b) below. Circle the passage you will use. (10)
Text/Passage
Responses, Ideas, Questions, Connections
a) page 39: “I have quite a
rep…I met Cherry Valance.”
b) page 56: “He was
sitting…my blood turned icy.”
2. Use a flow map to show the sequence of events in either of the following chapters: (6)
a) chapter three
b) chapter four
3. Write a short eulogy for Bob Sheldon from the perspective of either (a) a greaser, or (b) a Soc, but not both. (5)
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Chapters 5-7
1. In Chapter 5, Ponyboy shares a poem with Johnny (Hinton 77). Read the poem below, analyze its parts, and
explain it in relation to the theme of The Outsiders. (10)
“Nothing Gold Can Stay”
by Robert Frost
Analysis, Explanation, and Connection to Theme
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 leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.
Class Notes on the poem “Nothing Gold Can Stay” by Robert Frost
“Nature’s first green” symbolizes...
“gold” symbolizes...
“early leaf” symbolizes...
“a flower” represents...
“only so an hour” means...
“leaf subsides to leaf” means...
(subsides=sinks down, settles, goes down)
“Eden sank to grief” alludes to...
(allusion=a reference in a literary work to a person, place, or thing in history or another work of literature. Allusions are often indirect or
brief references to well-known characters or events.)
“So dawn goes down to day” refers to...
“Nothing gold can stay” means...
The main theme of The Outsiders is...
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Chapters 5-7
(continued)
2. The phrase “...until memory comes rushing over you like a wave” is one of the similes in Chapter 5. Find 5
more similes or metaphors in Chapters 5-7, write them below, and explain what they mean. (10)
Simile
Meaning
1
2
3
4
5
3. On page 79, there is a good example of foreshadowing. Identify and write the sentence below that foreshadows an
upcoming event in the plot, then explain the specifics of the event that this sentence foreshadows. Don’t forget to use
quotation marks. (sentence = 2; explanation = 3)
Sentence:___________________________________________________________________________________(Hinton 79).
Explanation:__________________________________________________________________________________________
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4. On page 117, Ponyboy states, “I remembered Cherry’s voice: Things are rough all over. I knew then what she
meant.” What did Ponyboy finally understand? What did Cherry Valance mean? Explain thoroughly. (5)
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Chapters 8-10
1. Read and respond to ONLY ONE of the passages (a or b) below. Circle the passage you will use. (10)
Text/Passage
Responses, Ideas, Questions, Connections
a) pages 121-122: “You
want to know…sights you
want to see.”
b) page 141: “They
looked like…usually go by
looks.”
2. Answer one of the two questions below as thoroughly as possible. (5)
a) What caused the rumble and what effect did it have on the Socs and on the greasers?
b) What caused Dally to rob the grocery store and what effect did it have on the greasers and on him?
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3. Do you think Dally’s death is cowardly or heroic? Explain your response and make a text-to-self, text-to-text, or
text-to-world connection. (5)
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Chapters 11-12
1. Read and respond to a passage of your choosing. Be sure to include the page number as well as the beginning and
ending words in the quotation. You make pick a passage from either Chapter 11 or Chapter 12. (10)
Text/Passage
Responses, Ideas, Questions, Connections
2. Johnny told Ponyboy that Dally was gallant. Do you agree or disagree with Johnny’s description? Why or why
not? (Include the definition of the word “gallant” in your answer.) Do you feel that another character in the novel is
more worthy of that label? Justify your choice with details from the novel, using parenthetical citations as needed.(8)
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3. On page 171, Two-Bit advises, “Ponyboy, listen, don’t get tough. You’re not like the rest of us and don’t try to be...”
Why do you think he says that? How does it relate to the idea of “staying gold”? What do you think Ponyboy will
do? Use evidence and details from the novel to support your opinion. (Use parenthetical citations as needed.) (6)
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REFLECTION
REFLECTION
After you complete this entire journal, please take a moment to write what you
thought of this learning activity. Did it make you think? Did it make you
stretch your mind? Did you learn more about the characters? Did you feel
that you had a better understanding of the text afterwards? What was good
about this activity? What could be improved? Take a few minutes and write
your feedback below. (10)
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Extra Credit
DIRECTIONS: Imagine that you have been asked by the publishers to make a new back cover for The Outsiders. Use
the space below to create a new back cover. Include a captivating quotation, a short summary, and your
recommendation. Also, mention any awards the book has received. Your composition should encourage others to
read the book. You may use your computer to create the back cover, then glue your work in the space below.
Page 10