Ponyboy’s Journal Assignment
PART B: JOURNAL
DIRECTIONS: You will write a five-paragraph journal entry from the perspective of
Ponyboy explaining what you have learned from the experiences that you have had
throughout the course of the story.
Use the outlines and sentence frames below to guide your response.
INTRODUCTION: You will talk about what things have happened lately, what your reaction has been
to them, and that you have learned from them in general.
For example:
Man the last few weeks have been rough! With ______, ________, and _________ all happening at
once I’ve hardly had a chance to think straight. Now that I reflect on what’s gone on though, I
actually think that I learned a lot.
It was only 4 days ago when Johnny and Dally died. Now, I’m lying on my bed after a concussion and I
can think clearly now, it’s all wrong, every single part of it.
SELF: What are some things that Ponyboy learns about himself through the experiences he has in the
book? How or why does he learn each of these lessons? Why are they important?
Refer back to your planning sheet from yesterday. Expand your ideas into complete sentences and
add more description and explanation.
I love Darry. Now that Soda confirmed I called for him while I was experiencing the concussion, I can’t
deny it. Why would I even call for him? He slapped me. If he hadn’t slapped me, I would’ve run away
and Johnny wouldn’t have killed Bob. No one would be dead and it would be a normal life. Although
when I think about it, it’s better now without the Socs behind us, threatening to kill us. But he slapped
me because he wanted me to change. He saw a lot of good things in me, things he wanted me to
show the world. He thought I was worth more than Soda, and he had to protect me more. He thought
I would be the only success in the family, since he couldn’t go to college. I don’t know, I kind of hoped
I had called for Darry. I hoped Darry wouldn’t have made it up so that I didn’t feel bad for him. But
when these hopes turned out to be true, I wish I had treated Darry with more respect. I wish I
would’ve understood why he was so bossy with me all of the time. Now I know, but it’s too late,
greasers don’t say sorry.
GROUP: What are some things that Ponyboy learns about his friends and family (The Greasers)
through the experiences he has in the book? How or why does he learn each of these lessons? Why
are they important?
Refer back to your planning sheet from yesterday. Expand your ideas into complete sentences and
add more description and explanation.
Johnny and Dallas both died. One a hero, the other one a hoodlum. But I don’t know which is because
Johnny wouldn’t have been there if he hadn’t killed Bob. Maybe Johnny didn’t only kill Bob for
protection but for self-satisfaction because before, he said he would kill the next person who jumped
on him. And Dally, he could get jailed for giving them the gun but he still did. He saved Jonny from the
fire and he always was Johnny’s hero. Now it’s confusing, the world thought that Johnny was the
hero and Dally the hoodlum but they didn’t know the inside story. If they knew it, they might’ve
changed perspective, but everyone in the world is complicated. Only us in the gang knew each other
enough to sometimes think the same. But maybe Dally was only gallant. Gallant like the Southern
gentlemen in “Gone With the Wind”. I don’t know, I might ask Soda for advice.
SOCIETY: What are some things that Ponyboy learned about the world or society as a whole? How or
why does he learn each of these lessons? Why are they important?
Refer back to your planning sheet from yesterday. Expand your ideas into complete sentences and
add more description and explanation.
There were Socs and then there was our side. My gang, Tim Shepard’s gang and the boys from
Brumly. My gang wasn’t like both of the other gangs on our side; the other gangs would fight and kill.
Our gang would only steal and if necessary kill. We wouldn’t kill just because we felt like it or because
we didn’t like certain people. The Brumly boys were prepared to break the rules in the rumble by
using something simple, like a soda cap. I learned this when all three gangs on our side gathered in
the lot. All of the others looked tough and ready to kill, but my gang looked tough and ready to fight.
I noticed that my gang only used knives; mostly for looks and that we never really wanted to hurt
anyone, not even Johnny wanted to. This is important because sometimes with one life down
(Johnny), another one also comes down (people who fight for him). Also, as long as our gang is not
completely crazy, it’s easier for me to stay gold, as Johnny told me to.
CONCLUSION: You will wrap up your ideas and make a general statement about the idea of
hardships/challenges, which lessons have been most important or difficult to learn, etc.
For example:
Phew! Writing all that down really makes me realize how messed up this last bit of time has been for
the gang and me. I really can’t believe it all happened. Though I guess sometimes have to get worse
in order to get better. You know? It’s kind of like a wake up call. All the senseless violence and hatred
has really made me realize a lot about myself and those around me. I hope the guys at least took
some meaning from all of this. That’s the only right way to respect Randy and Johnny’s memories…
Wow. Those are all the words I have for all of this. My parents died and if my mom were still alive,
she would be ashamed. No wonder why. Now, we only kill and fight all of the time. Even if the Socs
started it all, we took part in a big part of all of it. I will change this, every single part of it. Those last
words of Johnny, I needed to accomplish them