The Outsiders
To be nobody but yourself in a world that's doing
its best to make you somebody else, is to fight the
hardest battle you are ever going to fight.
--ee cummings
Setting








Oklahoma
1960’s
West Side vs. East Side of Town
the drive-in theatre
the lot
the church at Windrixville
the Curtis house
the hospital
Characters
PONYBOY CURTIS
 JOHNNY CADE
 DALLAS “DALLY” WINSTON

Ponyboy Curtis







narrator
good student
fourteen years old
likes watching sunsets and reading (Gone
with the Wind, Great Expectations, “Nothing
Gold Can Stay”)
Greaser
sensitive
Darry says Pony lacks common sense-doesn’t always “use his head”
Johnny Cade







the “pet” of the gang
sixteen years old
physically small
lives in an abusive household
has been jumped by the Socs before and
now carries a blade with him
Dally is his hero
stabs and kills Bob
Dally Winston





tough
lived in New York City
has been in jail
helps Pony and Johnny hide out after the
murder of Bob
robs liquor store at the end and “commits
suicide” at the hands of the police
Minor Characters
Sodapop Curtis
 Darrel “Darry” Curtis
 Sherry “Cherry” Valance
 Bob
 Randy

Sodapop
older brother
 works at gas station
 handsome
 carefree

Darrel “Darry” Curtis
oldest brother
 athletic
 guardian of Ponyboy when their
parents die in a car crash
 makes chocolate cake for breakfast
 stern
 could have gone to college but had
to take care of the kids when his
parents died

Cherry Valance







Bob’s girlfriend
cheerleader
has red hair
says she could fall in love with Dally
acts as a spy for the Greasers
says she will probably not talk to Pony if
she sees him at school--he says he
understands
likes to look at sunsets too
Bob Sheldon
a Soc
 Cherry’s boyfriend
 has beaten up Johnny Cade before
the novel starts
 wears rings on his fingers; this is
how Johnny knows Bob is the Soc
who beat him up
 is stabbed by Johnny

Randy
Bob’s best friend
 After Bob’s death, he has a change
of heart about fighting
 visits Pony and tries to make peace
with him

Themes
(Be able to explain and support these)
FAMILY
 FRIENDSHIP
 SOCIAL DIFFERENCES
 VIOLENCE/GANG
RIVALRY/SENSELESSNESS OF
VIOLENCE
 BEING AN “OUTSIDER” / TRYING TO
FIT IN

Conflicts




Man vs. Man (Ponyboy vs. Darry;
Greasers vs. Socs; Johnny vs. Bob)
Man vs. Society (Socs vs. Greasers)
Man vs. Himself (Dally vs. himself;
Ponyboy vs. himself)
Man vs. Nature (the boys vs. the fire)
Ponyboy’s Literary World

Great Expecations:
Pony compares
himself to Pip from
this novel; Pip, like
Ponyboy, is an
orphan trying to
find his way in the
world.

Gone with the Wind
is the book the boys
read while at the
church. Johnny
compares Dally to a
Southern gentleman
which is how Johnny
views Dally, as a
hero. At the end, the
note from Johnny to
Pony telling him to
“stay gold” falls out
of this book.
Ponyboy’s Literary World

“Nothing
Gold Can
Stay” is the poem
that Pony and
Johnny talk about at
the church. The
poem means that
nothing good can last
forever. Just as the
golden times in the
poem come to an
end, so too must
their time at the

To Johnny, it means
to appreciate the
things one finds
amazing when one is
young. He wants
Pony (and, sadly,
Dally) to look for
sunsets and the good
things in life.
The Ending of the Novel
What makes it unique?
 What does it show us about the way
Ponyboy has dealt with all the
events that have happened to him?

Slang Within the Novel









cancer stick=cigarette
JD=juvenile delinquent
booze=alcohol or beer
heater=hand gun
fuzz=police
jumped=to be attacked
rumble=gang fight
hoods=thugs (not Greasers)
lift=to steal
Allusions
(Be able to define allusion)
Paul Newman
 Dairy Queen
 Corvette/Corvair
 Hank Williams
 madras plaid
 drive-in theatre
 Gone with the Wind
 “Nothing Gold Can Stay”
