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Outsiders Study Guide

Chapters 1-5

  1. Who is telling the story of the Outsiders? Who is “I?”
  2. How does Ponyboy describe Darry and Sodapop?
  3. Who were the other members of Ponyboy’s gang?
  4. What happened to Ponyboy on the way home from the movies?
  5. Why is Darry upset with Ponyboy? What does this reveal about his character?
  6. Why do you think there is so much rivalry between the “Socs” and the “Greasers?”
  7. Why do you think Johnny spoke up to Dally?
  8. Who did Dally, Johnny, and Ponyboy meet at the Nightly Double?
  9. Pony was surprised that he was getting along with Cherry and Marcia. Why?
  10. What happened to Johnny prior to the time of this story?
  11. Who were Cherry and Marcia’s boyfriends?
  12. Why do you think Ponyboy and Cherry told each other things they never told anyone else before?
  1. How does Ponyboy feel about Darry?
  2. How does Ponyboy think Darry feels about him? Why does he feel this way?
  3. What caused Ponyboy to run away?
  4. Based on the supplies Johnny got, what can you conclude about Johnny?
  5. What happened to Johnny and Ponyboy at the park?
  6. Why do the Socs attack Ponyboy and Johnny?
  7. What happens as a result of the attack?
  8. To whom do Johnny and Ponyboy turn for help after Johnny killed Bob?
  9. Why do Johnny and Ponyboy go the Jay’s Mountain?
  10. What is Ponyboy feeling and thinking when he and Johnny reach the church on Jay Mountain?
  1. What do you think the poem by Robert Frost on page 77 means? Why do you think Ponyboy remembered this poem?
  1. What causes Ponyboy to recite the poem to Johnny? What does Johnny think of it?
  2. How could Cherry be a spy for the Greasers?

Chapters 6-12

  1. What was Johnny’s favorite part of Gone with the Wind? Of whom did it remind him?
  2. Why did Johnny decide they should turn themselves in?
  3. What news from home does Dally bring to Johnny and Ponyboy at the church?
  4. Describe Johnny’s relationship with his parents.
  5. What do Ponyboy, Johnny, and Dally do when they discover that the church is on fire?
  6. Why do Ponyboy and Johnny try to save the children?
  7. What does Ponyboy learn about Darry when his brothers arrive at the hospital?
  8. Was the headline “Juvenile Delinquents Turn Heroes” accurate or not? Explain.
  9. What is implied, but not stated, about Sodapop’s and Sandy’s situation?
  10. How does Ponyboy react when Randy confides in him at the Tasty Freeze?
  11. What is Johnny’s reaction when he realizes how badly he is hurt?
  12. When Johnny’s mother came to visit him at the hospital, what was Johnny’s reaction?
  13. What differing thoughts do Sodapop, Steve, Darry, and Ponyboy have about the rumble before it begins?
  1. Who “won” the rumble?
  2. Where did Dally take Pony after the rumble?
  3. What advice does Johnny five Ponyboy? What do you think Johnny means?
  4. Did Johnny know he was going to die? How did he feel about that?
  5. After Dallas confronts the police at the vacant lot, why does Ponyboy say, “I knew that was what Dallas wanted”?
  1. Why was Ponyboy concerned about his friends seeing his house, but not Randy seeing his house?
  1. Why does Ponyboy insist that Johnny is not dead?
  2. Why does Two-Bit tell Ponyboy, “You are not like the rest of us and don’t try to be…”?
  3. What do you think the doctor told the judge before the hearing?
  4. Was Darry right that Ponyboy was living in a vacuum and that this situation couldn’t go on? What does “living in a vacuum mean”?
  1. How does Johnny’s letter change Ponyboy’s thinking about himself, his future, and his friends?
  1. What do you think Ponyboy will write about in his theme? Why?