Synopsis of The Outsiders

     In Tulsa, Oklahoma, in the early 1960s the fourteen-year-old Ponyboy and his fellow greasers are bullied by the rival gang, known as socs (socials). This exciting story includes a murder, a fire, and several rumbles between the gangs.  The author was only sixteen when she wrote this book, but it has become a popular classic, which continues to prompt readers to think about whether or not people of different classes are more alike than they are different.

The Outsiders
by S.E. Hinton

Please answer all questions in blue or black ink.

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1. Who are the socs?

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2. Who are the greasers?

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3. How is Ponyboy’s relationship with Darry different from his relationship with his other brother
Sodapop? Explain.

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4. Why is the gang important to Johnny?

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5. Who are the fuzz?

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6. Who are Cherry and Marcia?

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7. What does Ponyboy mean when he says,”Johnny and I understood each other without saying
anything”? Have you ever had a relationship with someone whom you understood, or who
understood you, without having to say anything? Explain.

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8. When and how did Pony’s parents die?

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9. What happens when Pony comes home after his curfew?

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10. What major event happens in chapter four?

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11. Do you think Dally is a hero based on what he does in chapter five? Why/Why not?

12. Why are the socs and the greasers going to fight?

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13. Who’s the spy for the greasers?

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14. What “other side” of Dallas do we see in chapter six?

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15. What happens to Johnny? How does it happen?

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16. What is a juvenile delinquent? Find a definition in a dictionary or on the internet, or create
your own based on your own knowledge.

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17. What was Bob’s real problem, according to Randy?

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18. How do we know that Sandy didn’t love Soda as much as he loved her?

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19. What happens to Dally?

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20. What does Ponyboy end up doing for his English assignment?

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21. What do you think is the theme of this novel?

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22 Did you enjoy the book? Why/Why not? Would you read another by this author?

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