people.  He for sure cares for the other members of the Greaser gang, but he also shows a large concern for people that he doesn't even know.  Ponyboy knows that the church fire likely started because of his actions, and instead of running away to hide, Ponyboy rushes back into the church to save children he doesn't even know.  The act also shows a lot of bravery. 

"I'll get them, don't worry!" I started at a dead run for the church, and the man caught my arm. "I'll get them. You kids stay out!"

Ponyboy is also an empathetic character.  He is able to relate to a wide variety of emotions from a lot of different people.  The best example that I can think of regarding this personality trait is Pony's interactions with Cherry.  Pony is a Greaser and she is a Soc. Ponyboy really shouldn't give her the time of day let alone spend entire evenings conversing with her.  Yet, he does.  In addition to that, he is able to listen to what Cherry has to say and not toss it aside and play it off useless drivel from a Soc.  He understands that her problems are every bit as real and painful as his problems.  

"Things are rough all over."

"I believe you," I said. "We'd better get back out there with the popcorn or TwoBit'll think I ran off with his money."

And then later in the story, Pony's empathy even extends to Randy.  

"Thanks, grease," he said, trying to grin. Then he stopped. "I didn't mean that. I meant, thanks, kid."

"My name's Ponyboy," I said. "Nice talkin' to you, Randy."

I walked over to Two-Bit, and Randy honked for his friends to come and get into the car.

"What'd he want?" Two-Bit asked. "What'd Mr. Super-Soc have to say?"

"He ain't a Soc," I said, "he's just a guy. He just wanted to talk."

Ponyboy Curtis is intelligent, moody, and confused at times. Because he finds that writing is a good outlet for him, he tells his story. He explains that he is different:

And nobody in our gang digs movies and books the way I do. For a while there, I thought I was the only person in the world that did. So I loned it.

Ponyboy reads much more that the others with whom he associates. He is also a good student, whereas his brother Soda has dropped out of school. But, Pony explains that he is confused about his two older brothers:  Soda, who makes every effort to understand him although he does not care about other things such as school, and his oldest brother, who yells at him all the time. Pony thinks that Darry does not love him because he yells so at him, but after he and Johnny are burned from rescuing children from the old church where they have hidden when it catches fire, Pony realizes how much his brother really loves him. He becomes aware, too, of how he has been confused about Darry's feelings toward him,

Darry didn't like me... he had driven me away that night... he had hit me... Darry hollered at me all the time... he didn't give a hang about me.... Suddenly I realized, horrified, that Darry was crying. He didn't make a sound, but tears were running down his cheeks.

In the end, Ponyboy and Soda and Darry unite in their brotherhood.

Ponyboy is probably the least Greaseresque character in Susan Hinton's novel The Outsiders. He is the most literate and academically conscious character in the novel, a good student, an avid reader and an aspiring writer. He is probably the most passive of the Greasers, preferring to talk about life and dreams instead of fighting and showing off. Where most of his friends love a good rumble, Ponyboy prefers to fight only in self-defense. He also proves to be a young man of great courage, as he displays when he rushes into the burning church to save the young children trapped inside.

In S. E. Hinton's classic novel The Outsiders, Ponyboy Curtis is the protagonist, who is depicted as a sympathetic, conflicted adolescent. One of Ponyboy's prominent character traits is his sensitive nature. Pony is nothing like a typical Greaser because he is open-minded and sympathizes with others. Pony demonstrates his sensitive personality by accepting Cherry as a friend, sympathizing with Randy Adderson, and caring for Johnny Cade. Ponyboy is also intelligent and excels in the classroom. He is even in advanced courses and enrolled in the same classes as privileged Socs. In addition to being sensitive and intelligent, Ponyboy is also courageous. He enters a burning building to save children without batting an eye and participates in the big rumble despite feeling weak and sick.

Ponyboy Curtis is also an extremely loyal friend and supports his buddies through difficult times. Ponyboy runs away with Johnny after Bob Sheldon's murder and refuses to abandon him. Pony also fights alongside his friends and visits Johnny in the hospital several times. He considers the members of the Greaser gang his family and selflessly risks his freedom and well-being to support them in any endeavor. Pony is also a conflicted adolescent, who resents the fact that he is misunderstood by society and considered an outsider. Although Pony enjoys his friends, he is somewhat ashamed to be a Greaser and wants a better life.

At the end of the book, Pony is grieving over Johnny’s death, but he is more self-assured because he has found a purpose.  Therefore, he becomes studious, forward-thinking and grown-up. 

While it may not be true that Pony has figured out his entire life by the end of the book, the book’s events have been a real coming of age experience for him.  Pony is still grieving for Johnny’s death, but at the same time he is looking forward.  Johnny told him to stay gold.  Pony slowly figures out what that means. 

Pony is coming to terms with his reputation as a hero.  When his teacher suggests that he focus on his education and gives him a chance to raise his grade by writing about something important to him, Pony writes about his recent experience with Johnny, the Socs, and the church fire. 

Soda’s candid conversation with Pony about why each greaser is where he is helps demonstrate Pony’s realization about his future. 

Ponyboy, I'm telling you the truth. I dropped out because I'm dumb. I really did try in school, but you saw my grades. Look, I'm happy working in a gas station with cars. You'd never be happy doing something like that. (Ch. 12) 

Pony is just different.  He is made for better things. He has the intelligence, the sensitivity, and the desire to make something of himself that will allow him to move beyond being a greaser.  The other greasers do not hold this against him.  They want him to move on to better things. 

Pony’s forward-thinking nature begins when he accepts Johnny’s death and why Johnny wanted him to stay gold.  He is still in pain, but he is able to move on and focus on his studies. 

Remembering--- and this time it didn't hurt--- a quiet, defeated-looking sixteen-year-old whose hair needed cutting badly and who had black eyes with a frightened expression to them. One week had taken all three of them. And I decided I could tell people, beginning with my English teacher. (Ch. 12) 

The reader realizes that the story we have told is the one Pony wrote for his teacher.  It demonstrates his commitment to making something of his life without forgetting where he came from, and the people who matter and mattered to him.  Pony is growing up.

Ponyboy Curtis is the narrator and protagonist of S.E. Hinton's classic story The Outsiders and is portrayed as an intuitive, sympathetic adolescent, who experiences trauma and matures into a wise individual with perspective. Unlike the other Greasers, Ponyboy is an intelligent teenager, who excels in the classroom and on the track. Ponyboy has an affinity for literature and reads aloud to Johnny Cade while they are hiding out in an abandoned church on Jay Mountain. Pony is also a sensitive boy, who resents the fact that he is marked lousy because he is a Greaser and desires to avoid being unfairly judged. Although Pony is initially naive, he demonstrates his open-minded, tolerant personality by befriending Cherry Valance and listening to her elaborate on her experiences as a Soc cheerleader. Pony also reveals that he is a courageous, loyal friend by hiding out with Johnny in the country, saving the children from a burning church, and participating in the rumble despite feeling extremely ill and exhausted. In addition to being sensitive, intelligent, and kind, Pony is also a resilient teenager. Pony experiences the traumatic deaths of his parents and two close friends but demonstrates his resolve by attempting to help other adolescents in similar situations by sharing his story.

Ponyboy Curtis is a fourteen year old greaser living in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He is a bright teenager who makes good grades at school and is a member of the track team. He loves to read, play football and go to the movies, which help him forget the troubles he has at home. Pony's parents were killed in a car crash, and he lives with his older brothers Darry and Sodapop. Pony is in constant conflict with Darry, who has been forced to take over as head of the household, and Pony resents the tight reins that Darry tries to maintain. Pony is sensitive and introspective, a dreamer who loves sunsets. Pony is a bit of a loner: His closest friends are mostly street toughs, such as Two-Bit Mathews and Dallas Winston; his best friend, however, is Johnny Cade, who is much like Pony and shares many of his interests. Pony has a few bad habits, like smoking cigarettes and  making rash decisions. "You don't ever think," Darry often tells him, and his big brother wonders why the most intelligent of the three brothers has no "common sense."

Question had been edited to a single question (per eNotes policy). 

Ponyboy has many strong characteristics in The Outsiders that make him a character with whom the reader can both identify and empathize.  Ponyboy is smart, preferring to read classic novels and take honors classes in high school.  He also proves himself to be a loyal friend to Johnny, defending him and eventully running with him after Bob's death.  Hinton also characterizes Ponyboy as being brave and unselfish through his actions to save the children in the burning church; he goes in after them with little thought to his own safety.  In the end, Ponyboy is also vulnerable; Johnny and Dally's death have made an indelible impression on him, and he struggles with his own feelings of guilt and depression.