*Notes on the novel The Outsiders by S.E.

Hinton*

In this folder you will find all of the relevant notes that you need to revise/study the novel "The
Outsiders" by S.E Hinton.

Character List

Ponyboy Curtis
The novel’s fourteen-year-old narrator and protagonist, and the youngest of the greasers. Ponyboy’s
literary interests and academic accomplishments set him apart from the rest of his gang. Because his
parents have died in a car accident, Ponyboy lives with his brothers Darry and Sodapop. Darry
repeatedly accuses Ponyboy of lacking common sense, but Ponyboy is a reliable and observant
narrator. Throughout the novel, Ponyboy struggles with class division, violence, innocence, and
familial love. He matures over the course of the novel and realises that his lack of social status should
not prevent him from achieving his dreams

Darrel Curtis
Ponyboy’s oldest brother. Darrel, known as “Darry,” is a twenty-year-old greaser who is raising
Ponyboy and Sodapop because their parents have died in a car crash. Strong, athletic, and intelligent,
Darry has quit school. He works two jobs to hold the family together. The unofficial leader of the
greasers, he becomes an authority figure for Ponyboy. He also makes good chocolate cake, which he
and his brothers eat every day for breakfast. The other greasers call him “Superman.”

Sodapop Curtis
Ponyboy’s happy-go-lucky, handsome brother. Sodapop is the middle Curtis boy. Ponyboy envies
Sodapop’s good looks and charm. Sodapop plans to marry Sandy, a greaser girl.

Two-Bit Mathews
The joker of Ponyboy’s group. Two-Bit, whose real name is Keith, is a wisecracking greaser who
regularly shoplifts. He prizes his sleek black-handled switchblade. He instigates the hostilities
between the Socs and the greasers by flirting with Marcia, the girlfriend of a Soc.

Steve Randle
Sodapop’s best friend since grade school. Steve is a seventeen-year-old greaser who works with
Sodapop at the gas station. Steve knows everything about cars and specializes in stealing hubcaps.
He is cocky and intelligent, tall and lean. He wears his thick hair in a complicated arrangement of
swirls. He is also tough—he once held off four opponents in a fight with a broken soda bottle. He
sees Ponyboy as Sodapop’s annoying kid brother and wishes Ponyboy would not tag along so often.

Dallas Winston
The toughest hood in Ponyboy’s group of greasers. Dallas, known as “Dally,” is a hardened teen who
used to run with gangs in New York. He has an elfin face and icy blue eyes and, unlike his friends,
does not put grease in his white-blond hair. Dally’s violent tendencies make him more dangerous
than the other greasers, and he takes pride in his criminal record. Dally feels protective of Johnny
Cade.

Johnny Cade
A sixteen-year-old greaser with black hair and large, fearful eyes. Though Johnny does not succeed in
school, he approaches intellectual matters with steady concentration. The child of alcoholic, abusive
parents, he is nervous and sensitive. Since his parents do not care for him, Johnny sees the greasers
as his true family. In turn, the older boys, particularly Dally, are protective of him.

Sandy
Sodapop’s girlfriend. Sandy is pregnant with another man’s child and moves to Florida to live with
her grandmother. Like the other greaser girls, Sandy appears in the text only when the boys mention
her.

Cherry Valance
Bob’s girlfriend, she is a Soc cheerleader whom Ponyboy meets at the movies. Cherry’s real name is
Sherri, but people call her Cherry because of her red hair. Ponyboy and Cherry have a great deal in
common, and Ponyboy feels comfortable talking to her. Cherry is both offended and intrigued by her
encounter with Dally Winston at the drive-in. Cherry admires Dally’s individuality and tells Ponyboy
that she could fall in love with Dally.

Marcia
Cherry’s friend and Randy’s girlfriend. Marcia is a pretty, dark-haired Soc who befriends Two-Bit at
the drive-in. Marcia and Two-Bit share a sense of humor and a taste for nonsensical musings.

Randy Adderson
Marcia’s boyfriend and Bob’s best friend. Randy is a handsome Soc who eventually sees the futility of
fighting.

Bob Sheldon
Cherry’s boyfriend. Bob is the dark-haired Soc who beats up Johnny before the novel begins. Bob has
a set of three heavy rings, which he wears when he fights greasers. Bob’s indulgent parents have
never disciplined him.

Paul Holden
The husky blond Soc who was an American football teammate of Dally's in high school.

Tim Shepard
The leader of another band of greasers and a friend of Dally. Tim and Dally respect each other,
despite occasional conflicts. Ponyboy thinks of Tim as an alley cat, hungry and restless. Ponyboy sees
Shepard’s gang as real street hoods and criminals, and realizes that his own gang is little more than a
group of friends fighting to survive.

Curly Shepard
The fifteen-year-old brother of Tim Shepard. Curly is stubborn and rough.
Greasers Vs. Socials

Greasers

Long greasy hair

From the ‘wrong side’ of town (East Side)

Violent/trouble making reputation

Low expectations to live up too (a lot of high school drop outs)

Poor/lower middle class

Streetwise

Poorly educated + low academically

Carry blades, prepared to fight

Territorial

Socials

Short, neat hair

Rich part of town (West Side)

Smart/High School educated

Snobby

High social expectation

Not streetwise

Drive their own cars

Middle class/wealthy families

Like to jump greasers if they are alone

'The Outsiders' - Themes + Quotes

In The Outsiders, author S. E. Hinton explores socioeconomic differences and impositions, honour
codes, and group dynamics through the eyes of a 14-year-old narrator.

Theme of social class (Rich vs. Poor)

The rivalry between the Greasers and the Socs, two opposing groups of teenagers, stems from their
socioeconomic differences. However, as the story progresses and the characters experience personal
growth, they realize that those differences do not automatically make them natural enemies. On the
contrary, they discover that they share many similarities. For example, Cherry Valance, a Soc girl, and
Ponyboy Curtis, the greaser narrator of the novel, bond over their love of literature, pop music, and
sunsets, which indicates that personalities can transcend societal conventions. However, they remain
pretty much in place. “Ponyboy... I mean... if I see you in the hall at school or someplace and don't
say hi, well, it's not personal or anything, but…,” Cherry tells him when they part, indicating that she
is aware of the social divides.

While the events of the novel unfold, Ponyboy begins noticing a pattern of shared experiences
between Socs and greasers. All of their lives, despite the social differences, follow a path of love, fear,
and sorrow. On that note, it’s one of the Socs, Randy, who remarks how pointless their bitter and
violent rivalry actually is. “I'm sick of it because it doesn't do any good. You can't win, you know that,
don't you?” he tells Ponyboy.

Quotes:

● "Things were rough all over." 👉 this shows us that people in all walks of life have issues of
their own.

● "No, another social outcast." 👉 image of Greasers in society as no-good hoodlums

● "Maybe the two different worlds we lived in weren't so different. We saw the same sunset.”

● "We aren't in the same class." 👉 (Although Cherry says this in reference to Ponyboy and her
not being in the same class in school, it could also be interpreted as a quote that describes
the gulf in class between Socs and Greasers)

Theme of loyalty

Loyalty is a point of pride, honour, and principle for Ponyboy Curtis, the protagonist of "The
Outsiders". He doesn't like some of the people in his gang, especially the dangerous Dallas Winston,
but he would still do anything for Dallas and would defend him from danger if possible.
Loyalty, according to Ponyboy, is the thread that holds his gang together. It cuts across their
differences. They're loyal to each other because they know each other so well. They have grown up
together, and have faced the same hard times together. Although the Curtis brothers are not
biologically related to the other members of the gang, it is clear that they consider them to be like
family and will do anything to protect them. This is clear right up the epic climax of the novel. This
loyalty is very much evident in the friendship between Johnny and Ponyboy in particular.

In the case of the Curtis boys, their loyalty is because they are brothers, and orphaned brothers at
that. The novel explores what happens when Ponyboy and his oldest brother begin to lose this
loyalty for one another, under the strain of their lives.

Quotes:

● “When you’re in a gang, you stick up for the members no matter what." 👉 togetherness of
the Greaser boys

● "Our front door is always unlocked." 👉 This shows us that the Greasers truly care for each
other and also that they would help each other no matter what the situation. Most
importantly, it gives the other Greasers a house that they can always come to and feel safe.

● "I had to. They were drowning you Pony." 👉 Johnny willing to kill in order to save Ponyboy
Theme of love

Love is shown frequently throughout the entirety of the book The Outsiders. For example, Dallas
Winston is an extremely aggressive and audacious person, but he also shows immense love towards
Johnny. This starkly contrasts the lack of love that exists in Johnny's own household. Sodapop is a
fun-loving, carefree high-school dropout, but he is understanding and shows love to both of his
brothers by seeing both sides of an argument. Darry has an extremely serious personality and loves
Ponyboy with tough love. All three show love in different ways, but they still do love. While all of the
above focus on the love that these boys have for each other, there is also a romantic element to
theme of love in the novel. Sandy, Sodapop’s girlfriend, gets pregnant and moves to Florida with her
grandmother. Sodapop writes to her, but his letters return unopened. Darry tells Ponyboy that the
baby isn’t Sodapop’s, and that Sandy “didn’t love him like he thought she did.” This conversation
triggers Ponyboy’s realization that his fun-loving brother has problems of his own, and that when
Sodapop tries to share about his life, he finds Ponyboy inattentive and “daydreaming or stuck in a
book.”

Quotes:

👉
● "Darry love me? […] Soda was wrong for once […]. Darry doesn't love anyone or anything,
except maybe Soda." this line epitomises Darry's tough love for Ponyboy (also relates to
Darry as a character).
 ● "Johnny was the only thing that Dally loved." 👉 Dally is devoted to Johnny, in whom he sees
the potential that he himself has lost. He also tells Johnny that he doesn't want him to end
up in jail because it will turn him cold and mean just like himself.

👉
● "He told me he loved her, but I guess she didn't love him like he thought she did, because it
wasn't him." (12.39) Darry informs us here that Sandy doesn't love Soda because she
became pregnant by another man. This is an unfortunate ending to what seemed to be the
only beautiful and blossoming romantic relationship in the novel.

Theme of violence

Violence drives most of the action in The Outsiders: Johnny is deeply scarred by a past beating from
the Socs, Johnny and Ponyboy want to escape due to violence, and the Greasers and Socs participate
in frequent “rumbles". Ponyboy explains that their fights are usually “born of a grudge” between two
people of different social classes, then growing into a full rumble as each side bands together. After
Bob’s death, Randy tells Ponyboy that he won’t show up at the next rumble, explaining that “it
doesn’t do any good, the fighting and the killing...it doesn’t prove a thing.” This incident is one of
many moments in the novel when the violent gang members — whether Socs or Greasers — briefly
recognize that their fighting is pointless. Violence inevitably results in someone being hurt or killed,
which then sparks a cycle of revenge that takes down more gang members. Ponyboy realizes that
“Socs [are] just guys after all,” but he doesn’t try to stop the rumble and even participates in the
fight, indicating that his loyalty to the fellow greasers outweighs his understanding that violence is
futile. Ultimately, Ponyboy still can’t quite shake his role in the cycle of violence, and he continues to
react to violence with violence.

Quotes:

👉
● "One time in a dime store, a guy told him to move over at the candy counter. Dally turned
around and belted him so hard it knocked a tooth loose" This quote shows that the
Greasers answer to their problems is to react violently. Also relates to Dallas Winston as a
character.

● "Greasers can't walk alone too much or they'll get jumped." 👉 violent and dangerous area
to live in

● 👉
"A fair fight isn't rough […]. Blades are rough". This line shows us that the Greasers
believe in fist fighting and in the need to protect themselves/each other through the use of
violence
Symbolism

A symbol is something that stands for or represents something else. When symbols appear
throughout a story, it is known as symbolism.

It is extremely important when discussing our Novel.

There are many examples of symbolism in the novel.

Sunrise and Sunset

In The Outsiders, sunrise and sunset are symbols of unity and connection. For example, when
Ponyboy connects with Cherry at the movies on the topic of sunsets, he begins to realize that all
humans are linked through the natural world.

The sunrise is associated with a much closer connection between Pony and Johnny. The high point of
this connection is when they watch the sunrise together from the top of Jay Mountain, and after
Ponyboy recites the poem "Nothing Gold Can Stay" by Robert Frost.

Johnny tells Pony, "I never noticed colors and clouds and stuff until you kept reminding me about
them. It seems like they were never there before" (5.62). Seeing the dawn at this moment is, for
Johnny, a truly new dawn, because his eyes open wide to the natural world.

Hair, leather jackets, t-shirts:

The Greasers take great pride in their hair. It is a physical symbol of their identity and what they all
stand for. It defines them as a group. When the Socs jump Ponyboy at the beginning of the novel,
they ask him if he wants a haircut and threaten to cut off his hair. By doing so, they would rob him of
his identity.

Switchblades:

Represent the lack of authority or the disregard for authority.

Cars:

Cars represent the Socs power and the greasers’ vulnerability. Because their parents can afford to
buy them their “tuff” cars, the Socs have increased mobility and protection. The greasers, who move
mostly on foot, are physically vulnerable in comparison to the Socs.

Bob's Rings:
Bob Sheldon’s rings function similarly to the Socs’ cars. Throughout literature, rings and jewelry have
been traditional symbols of wealth. The rings in this story represent the physical power that
accompanies wealth. By using his rings as combative weapons, Bob takes advantage of his economic
superiority over Ponyboy and the other greasers, using his wealth to injure his opponents