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Literary Devices
Memorable Passages
What's the Effect?
Character Identification
More Literary Devices
100
When Dally's jacket protects Ponyboy from the fire, it comes to represent something greater than just a jacket. This is an example of ________________.
symbolism
100
Who says this quote, what is happening before and after the quote, and why is it important? "We have troubles you've never heard of. Things are rough all over."
Cherry says this quote to Ponyboy. They are at the movies, and Ponyboy has just told Cherry about the night that Johnny was attacked by Socs. Cherry responds by challenging Ponyboy to consider that the Greasers aren't the only ones who have it tough. Ponyboy learns throughout the course of the novel, that Socs have problems too. Money doesn't solve all problems, and Socs actually suffer from not hearing the word "no." This quote supports the theme that humans are actually more alike than they are different.
100
When Johnny tells Ponyboy to "stay gold," this reinforces the ________________ of the book because he is telling Ponyboy to stay innocent.
theme
100
Narrator of the novel
Ponyboy
100
The headline in the newspaper that read, "Juvenile Delinquents Turned Heroes" is an example of _____________________.
Irony. One would not expect that "bad" kids would be referred to as heroes.
200
From which point of view is The Outsiders told?
1st Person Point of View
200
Who said the following quote, what was happening before and after the quote, and why is it important? "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 a new dawn."
Johnny writes this to Ponyboy. Ponyboy and Darry had just upset Soda by fighting again and resolved to stop fighting. Ponyboy opens up Johnny's copy of Gone with the Wind and a letter falls out. Johnny is tells Ponyboy that he knows he is going to die, but that it was worth it to save the kids from the burning church--that childhood innocence should be protected. Johnny tells Ponyboy that he appreciates his childhood innocence--the way he digs sunsets--and asks him to stay a kid.
200
When Ponyboy says, "I almost jumped out of my skin," this is an effective use of idiom. What do we learn about the relationship between the Greasers and the Socs through the use of this idiom?
Two-Bit has played a prank on Ponyboy by pretending to be a Soc. The use of the idiom reveals that this prank scared Ponyboy. We realize that the Greasers live in a constant fear of being jumped by a Soc.
200
Eldest of the Curtis brothers, father figure to Ponyboy. Ponyboy observes that he could have been a Soc--he was too smart to be a Greaser.
Darry
200
"Cancer stick," "heater," "dig," and "fuzz" are all examples of ___________________.
Dialect. These are terms used by a particular group of people in a particular region.
300
When Ponyboy makes the observation that, "Nobody was ever going to beat him like that again. Not over his dead body," this is an example of __________________.
Foreshadowing. Indeed, the next time that Johnny feels threatened, he murders Bob.
300
Who says the following quote, what is happening before and after the quote, and why is it important? "Where the heck have you been? Do you know what time it is?"
Dally says this to Ponyboy who has just come home very late. The quote reveals that Dally is a father figure to Ponyboy. The boys get into a heated argument, Dally hits him, and Ponyboy runs out of the house. This is an external conflict. After this scene, Ponyboy and Johnny are approached by the Socs and Johnny murders Bob.
300
Explain Randy's internal conflict after his best friend, Bob, is killed by Johnny.
Randy struggles with whether or not to fight in the rumble betweeen the Socs and the Greasers. He is beginning to realize that these fights are futile--no one emerges as a winner.
300
Middle Curtis brother--very handsome, dropped out of school.
Soda Pop
300
"A public disgrace to society one day and an asset to society the next" and "I was sweating something fierce, although I was cold" are both examples of _____________________.
Paradox. It is a contradiction to say that the Socs were both a public disgrace and an asset--these are two different things; yet, they did engage in both positive and negative behaviors--they just got away with the negative because they were rich. It is also a contradiction to say that Ponyboy was sweating and cold; yet, this makes sense because he was sweating because he was scared.
400
When Two-Bit discovers a beaten Johnny, the narrator observes that, "His comical grin was gone and his dancing eyes were stormy." What literary device is being used?
Personification. His eyes are given the human quality of dancing.
400
Who says the following quote, what is happening before and after the quote, and why is it important? "He kept trying to make someone say "No" and they never did. They never did. That was what he wanted."
Randy says this to Ponyboy. He has come to see him at the Tasty Freeze. Randy is Bob's best friend. He tells Ponyboy that he may not show up at the rumble between the Greasers and the Socs. He reveals to Ponybooy that Bob didn't exactly have the perfect life just because he was a soc. His mom had a nervous breakdown. His parents could never tell him "no." Randy admits that if his parents would have set limits on him, Bob would have likely turned out differently--he wouldn't have been that kid who attacked Ponyboy and wound up dead. This reinforces the theme that "things are rough all over."
400
When Cherry says to Ponyboy, "If I see you in the hall at school or someplace and don't say hi, well, it's not personal," what is the motif (building block to theme) that is being revealed?
The motif is the unfairness of social classes--it's unfair that Cherry and Ponyboy would connect on such a deep level and then not be allowed to at least say hi to one another at school.
400
A Soc girl. Pretty, red-headed cheerleader. Befriends Ponyboy and teaches him that "things are rough all over."
Cherry
400
The idea that "...things are rough all over" is a message in the book; after all, everyone has problems and Ponyboy realizes that it is best to judge people as individuals and not by their social group. This is an example of ___________________________.
Theme. Ponyboy, for example, learns to judge Cherry as an individual and realizes that they both "watch the same sunset." She is her own person, not just a Soc.
500
When Ponyboy observes that, "...memory comes rushing over you like a wave," this is an example of _____________________.
Simile. A memory and a wave are being compared.
500
Who says the following quote, what happens before and after the quote, and why is it important? "Oh, blast it, Johnny...you get hardened in jail. I don't want that to happen to you. Like it happened to me."
Dally says this to Johnny when he tells him that he is ready to turn himself in for the murder of Bob. Dally becomes visibly upset at this prospect. We learn that Dally connects his hardened, tough exterior with the fact that he has done jail time. He wants to protect Johnny from the reality of what jail can do to someone. There is a toughness to Dally that goes through to the end of the book. When Johnny dies, for example, he doesn't react with sadness. Instead, he is very angry and blames Johnny's death on doing the right thing--on saving those children in the fire. Dally has learned to mask sadness with anger.
500
What is an external conflict between Ponyboy and Darry? What is the outcome of this conflict?
An example of external conflict between the two brothers is the night that Darry hits Ponyboy. Ponyboy cannot see that Darry's actions are motivated by fear--he loves Ponyboy, and he is terrified that something could have happened to him. Ponyboy runs out of the house. Ultimately, he and Johnny are confronted by the Socs.
500
The most hardened of the Greasers. Has served jail time. Helps out Ponyboy and Johnny after they murder Bob.
Dally
500
When Ponyboy recalls Jack London's books about wolves as Darry and Paul are squaring off to rumble, this is an example of ____________________.
Allusion. He is making a reference to a well-known author.