Chapter 1/2
Who is the narrator of The Outsiders?
Answer: Ponyboy Curtis
Who walks home with Ponyboy after the drive-in?
Answer: Cherry and Marcia (with Two-Bit)
Where do Ponyboy and Johnny hide after Bob's death?
Answer: An abandoned church in Windrixville
Who is Ponyboy's oldest brother?
Answer: Darry
What are the two rival groups called?
Answer: Greasers and Socs
What happens to Ponyboy when he is walking home alone in Chapter 1?
Answer: He is jumped by the Socs.
Why does Ponyboy run away from home?
Answer: Darry hits/slaps him during an argument.
What major change does Johnny make to Ponyboy's appearance?
Answer: He cuts and bleaches Ponyboy's hair.
Which Greaser is known for shoplifting and getting into serious trouble with the law?
Answer: Dally (Dallas Winston)
What does Ponyboy famously love to watch?
Answer: Sunsets
Why does Cherry throw her Coke in Dally's face?
Answer: He is harassing/flirting with her disrespectfully.
Why do the Socs attack Ponyboy and Johnny at the park?
Answer: They are angry that the Greasers were with Cherry and Marcia.
What book do Ponyboy and Johnny read while hiding?
Answer: Gone with the Wind
Which character is described as handsome, happy-go-lucky, and able to understand almost everyone?
Answer: Sodapop
Finish the line: “Things are rough all over.” Who says it?
Answer: Cherry Valance
What does Ponyboy's description of Darry in Chapter 1 reveal about their relationship?
Answer: Ponyboy believes Darry is too strict and doesn't understand or love him, showing tension between them.
How does Bob die?
Answer: Johnny stabs him while trying to save Ponyboy from being drowned.
Why do Ponyboy and Johnny run into the burning church?
Answer: To rescue the children trapped inside.
Who gives Ponyboy and Johnny money, a gun, and directions to a hiding place?
Answer: Dally
What do Ponyboy and Cherry discover they surprisingly have in common?
Answer: They both like watching sunsets.
Why does Johnny carry a switchblade?
Answer: He was badly beaten by the Socs before and is afraid of being attacked again.
What does Johnny's decision to kill Bob reveal about how he has changed since being attacked by the Socs?
Answer: His fear and trauma cause him to react desperately to protect Ponyboy.
Why is the church rescue an important turning point in how Ponyboy and Johnny are viewed?
Answer: Instead of being seen only as juvenile delinquents/Greaser troublemakers, their actions show that they are brave and selfless.
Which character acts as a spy for the Greasers after Bob's death, and why?
Answer: Cherry; she wants to help stop the fighting and believes Bob's death has gone too far.
Throughout Chapters 1–6, Ponyboy begins to realize that Greasers and Socs may not be as different as he once thought. What two events or conversations help him realize this?
Cherry telling Ponyboy that “things are rough all over,” Ponyboy and Cherry realizing they both watch sunsets, or Ponyboy recognizing that Socs have problems despite their wealth.