Q1. With evidence from the text, explain why the text is entitled “The Outsiders”. The text is entitled “The Outsiders” is show there in the social system of a teenager’s world, for example, Ponyboy’s, there is a huge difference between groups. One example is the Socials and the Greasers. The Socs, an abbreviation for the Socials, are favoured by society because they are rich and educated as said in the book. It says, “…. But it’s the abbreviation for the Socials, the jet set, the West-side rich kids. , “assets to society” and “I really couldn’t see what Socs would have to sweat about- good grades, good cars, good girls, madras and Mustangs and Corvairs”. Meanwhile, the Greasers are looked down upon by society because they are not so well-to-do and most of them drop out of school at an early age. Greasers also commit various crimes such as “we steal things and drive souped-up cars and hold up gas stations and have a gang fight once in a while. ” and belong to gangs. Not only do the teenagers despise Greasers and look up to the Socs, even the adults regard Greasers with contempt while they turn a blind eye to the Socs committing crimes.
As such, the text is entitled “The Outsiders” to show that the Greasers, who are ostracized by society are left out by the world. Hence the name given is “The Outsiders”.
Q2. We see Ponyboy maturing in the course of the novel. In what way has he matured? At the end of the story, Ponyboy has matured into a more serious boy who doesn’t daydream as often. He also became more understanding and had a goal, which was to let all the people around the world become aware of the plight of others who were like Greasers, unlike at the beginning. In the story, Ponyboy learns to accept the death of his close friend, Johnny.
He says, “I knew Johnny was dead. I had known it all the time, even while I was sick and pretending he wasn’t. ” and “But it still hurt anyway. You know a guy a long time, and I mean really know him, you don’t get used to the idea that he’s dead overnight. Johnny was something more than a buddy to all of us. Additionally, with the help of his brother, Sodapop, Ponyboy learns that his eldest brother, Darry, really loves him unlike what he thinks. He discovered that “I saw that I had expected Darry to do all the understanding without even trying to understand him.
And he had given up a lot for Soda and me. ” and “In that second what Soda and Dally and Two-Bit had been trying to tell me came through. Darry did care about me, maybe as much as he cared about Soda, and because he cared he was trying too hard to make something of me. ” Lastly, his goal was “There should be some help, someone should tell them before it was too late. Someone should tell their side of the story, and maybe people would understand them and wouldn’t be so quick to judge a boy by the amount of hair oil he wore. It was important to me. This shows that Ponyboy has learned to care and has become more mature psychologically.
Q3. With evidence from the text, explain how you would feel if you were Ponyboy and two of your friends, Johnny and Dally, have just died. If I was Ponyboy, I would be extremely upset and furious at Johnny and Dally’s death. I would be upset because Johnny is my closest friend and the one who understood me the most. He even listened to all of my problems quietly. Moreover, Johnny did not mean to harm anybody and the only reason he killed the Soc, Bob, was because he wanted to protect himself and me.
I would be furious too because the Greasers did not ask to be attacked by the Socs and if they had left us alone, no one would be dead. Additionally, I had known Johnny and Dally for a long time so the pain of losing two friends would be doubled. The text said, “Don’t remember how Johnny was your buddy, don’t remember that he didn’t want to die. Don’t think of Dally breaking up in the hospital, crumpling under the street light. ”, “Please, not him…not him and Johnny both…Dally didn’t die like a hero…. But Johnny was right. He died gallant. ” and “…Johnny didn’t mean to kill the Soc. . This shows that Ponyboy loved Dally and Johnny very much and felt anguish when they passed away.
Q4. The novel deals with some issues commonly faced by adolescents. What are some of these issues? Support your answer with evidence from the text. Some of the issues adolescents face are acceptance by society, violence, love and unjust. Due to the wide difference between social classes, The Greasers, who are at the bottom at the social pyramid, are rejected by society and treated with disdain by the Socs, the upper class of the social pyramid.
The text says that the Socs are “an asset to society” while the Greasers are “.. like hoods; we steal things and drive souped-up cars and hold up gas stations and have a gang fight once in a while. ” Moreover, the Socs often beat up lone Greasers and are always itching to fight with them. Trying to be tough, the Greasers sometimes get on the nerves of the Socs and it results in a fight. Thus, there is often violence. However, in the novel, there is also brotherly love and romantic love. The gang members of the gang Ponyboy is in all treasure each other and protect one another’s back.
When one of them is injured, the rest get upset and often hurt themselves while trying to avenge their friend. The text says “Then there were shouts and the pounding of feet, and the Socs jumped up and left me lying there, gasping…. Our gang had chased the Socs to their car and heaved rocks at them” and “If it hadn’t been for the gang, Johnny would never have known what love and affection are. ”. For the romantic love, one of female Socs, Cherry Valance had once fallen in love with Bob, another Soc, but later falls in love with Dallas Winston, a Greaser.
Even though she knew that they were both violent boys with bad tempers, she still fell in love with them because she saw the good attributes they had. In the novel, Cherry said, “I could fall in love with Dallas Winston. ” and “He killed Bob. Oh, maybe Bob asked for it. I know he did. But I couldn’t ever look at the person who killed him. You only knew his bad side. He could be sweet sometimes, and friendly. ” about Bob. Lastly, the adolescents in the novel face injustice. Sometimes, fate can be cruel and people can unexpectedly die.
If Johnny did not die due to his injuries, he would have been sent to a boys’ home as he had murdered Bob. However, Johnny would not have stabbed Bob fatally if Bob had not tried to provoke him. Thus, Johnny, a meek and weak guy, had to suffer because of an arrogant person’s misdemeanor.
Q5. With evidence from the text, what do you think is the novel’s message about violence? I think that the novel’s message is that violence destroys and hurts people’s lives, even if they do not wish to be in it. An example is the death of Bob Sheldon, a Soc.
To save his friend, Ponyboy, from drowning and himself from suffering at the hands of the Socs again, Johnny stabbed Bob and killed him. If the Socs had left the Greasers, Johnny and Ponyboy, alone then Bob would not have died and there would not be an increase in conflict between the two social classes. The Socs despise the Greasers for killing one of their friends while the Greasers insist that the Socs brought it upon themselves and Johnny only retaliated in self-defense. Moreover, it is emphasized throughout the novel that Johnny did not wish to injure anybody and only acted out of desperation.
Bob’s death results in a series of devastating events. Trying to redeem himself in a way, Johnny saved the children from the burning building but died consequently due to his fatal injuries. Additionally, as the person he loved was gone, Dally intentionally provoked the police, causing them to open fire. This resulted in Dally’s death. The deaths of their gang members leave the rest of the gang shocked and crushed with sorrow. Therefore, the message of the novel is to warn people to not resort to using violence as it can hurt and snuff out lives.
Author: Wilma Daniels