Plot Details Part 4
Pony's first feeling when he wakes up in the church is . . .
confusion/overwhelm
What is Johnny Cade’s most heroic act?
saving the children from the church fire (nothing to gain as he did not have a personal connection with any of them)
Many critics argue that in some ways the death of Dallas is almost more sad than the death of Johnny. What might be a reason for this thinking?
Dally finally shows a softer, caring side, and we (the reader) finally get to see him as a human being for the first time after losing the one person he truly cared about – Johnny.
What is a reason Dally gave Johnny for not turning himself in?
Dally doesn't want Johnny to end up like him.
Dallas Winston could best be described as:
tough and gallant
mean and deceitful
What advice does Johnny give to Ponyboy just before he dies?
"Stay gold."
Throughout the novel, Ponyboy comes to the realization that Darry . . .
loves him deeply and does not want to see anything bad happen to him.
Cherry tells Ponyboy that “Things are rough all over.” When does Ponyboy realize that Cherry is right?
When Randy invites Ponyboy into his car and explains why he won’t show at the rumble.
Ponyboy insists that he is the one who killed Bob, and that Johnny is still alive, which the reader knows it is not true. Of the five stages of grief (use context clues for this), which one does Ponyboy fall into at this time?
denial
How/when does Pony finally realize that Darry really does care about him?
When Darry starts crying in the hospital the moment he sees Ponyboy.
What makes Tim Shepard’s gang and the Brumly boys different from Ponyboy and his gang?
more organized and most likely would stay hoods all their lives
What poses a threat to the relationship of the Curtis brothers?
constant fighting and the possibility of being split up by the state
When do Ponyboy’s nightmares begin?
After his parents' funeral
Read the following passage from the text. Then, answer the question that follows.
“‘I read about you in the paper,’ Randy said finally.
‘How come?’
‘I don’t know. Maybe I felt like playing hero.’
‘I wouldn’t have. I would have let those kids burn to death.’
‘You might not have. You might have done the same thing.’
Randy pulled out a cigarette and pressed in the car lighter. ‘I don’t know. I don’t know anything anymore. I would never have believed a greaser could pull something like that.’
‘“Greaser” didn’t have anything to do with it. My buddy over there wouldn’t have done it. Maybe you would have done the same thing, maybe a friend of yours wouldn’t have. It’s the individual.’”
In Ponyboy’s last statement, he tells Randy that “It’s the individual.” What do you think Ponyboy means?
You can’t define a person by the group with which he is associated; everyone is different.
What is Ponyboy’s mood at the end of the novel?
hopeful