Name: ______________________________
Date: ___________________ Block: ______
_____
The Outsiders: Chapters 9-12
Study Guide
Read chapters 9-12 and complete this study guide for _____________________.
Your title:
Study Questions – Answer in full detail; complete sentences are not necessary.
1. Explain what Ponyboy means (on the bottom of page 132) when he asks, “What
kind of a world it is where all that I have to be proud of is a reputation for being a
hood and long hair?”
Main Setting:
2. Tell why some of the greasers fight?
Chapter 9
3. If Pony doesn’t like to fight, why is it important to him that Darry allows him to
participate in the rumble?
4. Why is it significant that Paul Holden (Soc) steps forward to accept Darry’s
challenge?
5. Which group wins the rumble? Will anything change? Why?
6. What were Johnny’s last words to Ponyboy? What does he mean by them?
Chapter 10
1. Why was Johnny’s death so difficult for Dallas to handle?
Your title:
2. In your opinion, did Dallas commit suicide?
Main Setting:
3. In your opinion, is Dallas a hero? Why?
Continued 
Chapter 11
1. What does Ponyboy mean (bottom of page 162) when he says, “I’d rather have
anyone’s hate than their pity”?
Your title:
2. Why does Randy come to visit Pony?
Main Setting:
3. What do you think is going on in Ponyboy’s head when he claims to have killed
Bob (166)?
4. Throughout the novel, Ponyboy mentions that he lies to himself all of the time.
What are some examples of the lies Ponyboy tells himself in this chapter and
throughout the novel?
Chapter 12
1. At the chapter’s beginning, what kind of mental and physical state is Ponyboy in?
Your title:
Main Setting:
2. Why doesn’t Ponyboy feel scared when the Socs approach him and he threatens
them with a broken bottle(170-71)? How is this a dramatic change from the
Ponyboy we have seen up until this point?
3. After Ponyboy threatens the Socs with a busted bottle, he picks up the glass. How
do his actions reveal the conflict going on in his mind?
4. What does Darry mean he says, ”You don’t just stop living because you lose
someone”(173)?
5. How do Darry and Ponyboy play “tug of war” with Soda?
6. Why is the first sentence of the novel the same as the last?
7. Why the title of the book? Who are the outsiders?
Theme: