Chapter 9
Who won the rumble? The socs or the greasers?
The greasers
The reason Pony fainted and feels so sick is because he got a ______________ during the rumble with the socs.
concussion (a soc had kicked him in the head)
Pony said that Darry called him "little buddy" when he was sick but that was the first time Darry had ever used that nickname for him before. Who did Darry usually call "little buddy"?
Sodapop
Pony was failing in English class. His teacher said he could write his own "theme" about real experiences. What did Pony choose to write about?
Everything that happened to him in this book!
Is this a simile or a metaphor?
Marie was as hungry as a hippo!
Simile
Which character shows up last minute at the rumble against the socs?
Dally! He was at the hospital but threatened the nurse so he was released and headed to the lot to participate in the rumble.
Pony, knowing Dally's true self, believes that Dally died "gallant." However, Pony realizes no one else will see Dally's death that way. What does Pony say the rest of the world will see Dally as?
A hoodlum, a juvenile delinquent who died "violent and young and desperate"
What does Randy, the soc, tell Ponyboy he is going to say in court?
A) That Johnny acted in self-defense and Pony had nothing to do with Bob's death
B) That Johnny had started the fight and that Pony had killed Bob with a dagger
C) That Pony wasn't there at the park on the night of Bob's death
A) That Johnny acted in self-defense and Pony had nothing to do with Bob's death
In Johnny's note, he says "I've been thinking about it ,and that poem, that guy that wrote it, he meant you're gold when you're a kid, like green. When you're a kid everything's new, dawn. It's jut when you get used to everything it's day. Like the way you dig _____, Pony. That's gold. Keep that way, it's a good way to be."
a) movies, b) sunsets, c) sunrises
b) sunsets
Is this a simile or metaphor?
Johnny is as fast as lightening on the soccer field.
Simile
Ponyboy says the world labels him (and all other greasers) as "lousy" just by looking at his _________.
Hair.
The long, greased hair marked him as "hood" even though he didn't steal things or mug people or get boozed up. People made assumptions about Pony simply based on his appearance.
Why was it so hard for Dally to deal with Johnny's death?
As Pony concluded, Johnny was the only person Dally had ever truly cared about
Pony is worried that, if the judge decides that Darry isn't a good guardian, what will happen?
The Curtis brothers (Darry, Soda, and Pony) will be separated and Pony would likely end up in a boy's home for orphans.
What do we learn was so special about Johnny (p.178)?
He was a really good listener and truly cared
What is the extended metaphor in "Nothing Gold Can Stay"?
An extended metaphor is a metaphor that is drawn out across a large section of a poem, or even from beginning to end! In "Nothing Gold Can Stay" the extended metaphor is the FOUR SEASONS
Even though they are both greasers, how is Tim Shepherds gang different than Ponyboy's? Say at least one reason
Tim's was organized under his leadership / Ponyboy's was just a group of buddies who stuck together
Tim's members were proud of being hood and would likely stay that way / the greasers with Ponyboy weren't true "hoods" and most of them wanted to move on to better things
Tim's gang often used weapons / Ponyboy's typically did not
How does Pony's dreaming, or lying to himself, finally work in this chapter?
He convinces himself that Johnny isn't dead
What do you think is going on with Ponyboy when he says, "Johnny didn't have anything to do with Bob's getting killed" (p.166)?
Pony, due to his grief, is in denial. Moreover, even though Johnny is dead, Pony didn't want Johnny to get the blame because Johnny has gone through so much.
What does Darry mean when he says, "you don't just stop living because you lose someone" (p.173)?
You have to move on with your life.
What season is referred to in these lines?
"Nature's first green is gold, her hardest hue to hold"
Spring
What is the reason each greaser fights? List at least TWO characters and their reasons
Two-Bit fights for _______, Steve for _______, Darry for ________, Soda for __________, Pony for ______
Two-Bit fights for conformity (fitting in)
Steve for hatred and releasing anger
Darry for pride and showing off strength
Soda for fun/entertainment
Pony for self-defense
What did Dally do after Johnny died? Why did he do that?
Dally robbed a grocery store and was chased by the police. He held up a bluff gun, knowing that the police would fire at him. In a sense, Dally had chosen death because he lost the will to live after Johnny died
Why would Pony rather have someone's hate rather than their pity?
Pony says he hoped people "weren't full of that pity-the-victims-of-enviroment junk," meaning he didn't want people to view him as poor and - out of a feeling of superiority - pity him. Instead, he would rather them hate him, because that showed they viewed him as an equal.
Why doesn't Ponyboy feel scared when the Socs approach him and he threatens them with a broken bottle (p.170-171)? How is this a dramatic change from the Ponyboy we have seen up until this point?
Ponyboy doesn't feel scared because he has already fought the socs and he knows how they act. This is a dramatic change because Ponyboy used to be scared of them and wouldn't harm people. Everything he has been through has hardened him a bit.
What does Johnny mean when he tells Ponyboy to "stay gold"?
He wants Ponyboy to stay a kid, to not get hardened by this world, to stay innocent and carefree.