What are Cherry Valance's physical characteristics in The Outsiders?
As others have replied, Cherry Valance is a beautiful red-haired cheerleader. Ponyboy is absolutely taken with her. She is with a friend, Marcia, when Ponyboy and Johnny first meet her, and Ponyboy notes that although Marcia too is "cute," Cherry is the real stunner. She can be regarded as the main female character in the novel.
Ponyboy does seem to be genuinely attracted to Cherry, although he doesn't really say so directly. But it isn't just her physical characteristics that attract him. He also likes her for being considerate and sensitive. She is a Soc girl but she shows no condescension whatsoever towards Greasers like Ponyboy. In fact she strikes up an immediate rapport with both Ponyboy and Johnny. All three are similarly thoughtful and sensitive - unlike practically everyone else in the novel, except maybe Soda, to some degree.
Cherry forms an important link between the Socs and Greasers....
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She helps Ponyboy to realize that underneath all the external differences, Socs and Greasers are really the same: they're all human.
In The Outsiders, what are three personality traits of Cherry Valance?
Cherry Valance, the redheaded Soc cheerleader in The Outsiders, is a knockout--"a real looker." She has gotten her nickname (her real name is Sherri) because of the color of her hair, and she is appreciative of Pony's and Johnny's intervention when she is accosted by Dallas Winston. Cherry is friendly and outgoing, and she doesn't seem to mind that the two boys are greasers. But she doesn't appreciate Dally's rude behavior and shows her own bravery when she tosses the Coke in Dally's face. Although Cherry immediately likes Pony and Johnny because they "are too sweet to scare anyone," it becomes obvious that she likes boys who are dangerous. She is the girlfriend of Bob Sheldon, the Soc with the rings who had badly beaten Johnny and who will later try to drown Pony. Cherry also admits that she is attracted to Dally:
"I could fall in love with Dallas Winston," she said. "I hope I never see him again, or I will."
She shares a bond with Pony through their love of reading and sunsets, and she proves to be a loyal friend to him when she serves as a "spy" for the greasers, reporting to Dally that the Socs will honor their agreement not to use weapons in the upcoming rumble. She later testifies in Pony's behalf at the court hearing. Although she comes from a rich family and drives a Corvette Sting Ray, she explains to Pony that she has problems, too.
"Things are rough all over."
Which song fits Cherry Valance's personality in The Outsiders and why?
A song that fits Cherry Valance and her personality is Amy Winehouse's "Love is a Losing Game." The lyrics of this song lament the hardship of loving someone, and after losing Bob, Cherry Valance would certainly appreciate the difficulties suggested by a song about loss in love. Winehouse sings that "memories mar my mind," another challenge Cherry Valance experiences as she, her friends, and Bob's family grieve their loss and wonder what Bob might have been like had he been allowed to grow up into adulthood. Winehouse sings her sad song to "a gambling man," which is a phrase that suits Bob, who gambled with his life every time he engaged with the Greasers in a hostile way. "Love is a fate resigned" is another profound thought that Cherry might be able to relate to, as her depth and thoughtfulness about life are reflected in her conversations with Ponyboy. Though Cherry is a strong character and she has an independent spirit, the loss of Bob to a violent death at the hands of another young person likely impacted her personality in an intense way, one that could easily lead her to ruminate on philosophical themes like fate and free will.
A great song for Cherry Valance, the Soc girl who enjoys watching sunsets is "The Leader of the Pack" by the Shangri-Las. Recorded in 1964, "The Leader of the Pack" fits perfectly with Cherry's good girl image and her predilection for bad boys.
Cherry tells Ponyboy "I could fall in love with Dallas Winston...I hope I never see him again or I will" (46). Like the girl in the "Leader of the Pack" song, Cherry appreciates the bad-boy image that Dally projects. The song fits perfectly with the rift between the Socs and the Greasers, just like Cherry's clean-cut cheerleader persona matches the parents' warning against the Leader of the Pack in the song:
My folks were always putting him down
(down, down)
The said that he came from
The wrong side of town ('The Leader of the Pack")
Cherry's parents would definitely have a thing or two to say about her being with any of the Greasers. Even Two-Bit, not the brightest of the bunch, recognizes that Cherry and Marcia's reputations could suffer from being seen in the company of Greasers.
References
What is Cherry Valance's role in The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton?
Cherry Valance is a Soc who talks to Pony at the movies.
Cherry becomes friendly with Pony when they meet at the movies. Pony does not interact with many Soc girls, but Cherry is different. She complains about Dally because he is crude to her and her friends, but she thinks Johnny is nice and Soda is handsome. She also likes to talk to Pony. She believes he is deeper and more sensitive than the other greasers.
Cherry explains to Pony that things are tough for Socs, too. She makes him look at things from a Soc perspective. Not all Socs want to start fights or look down on greasers. Cherry may not want to hang out with Pony at school, but she is a nice person.
It seemed funny to me that the sunset she saw from her patio and the one I saw from the back steps was the same one. Maybe the two different worlds we lived in weren't so different. We saw the same sunset (Chapter 3).
Cherry is level-headed. When her boyfriend Bob shows up drunk at the movies, she refuses to go with him. He comes back, and she knows if he sees her with the greasers a fight could start. Cherry and her friend Marcia agree to get in the car.
A fight does start, and Johnny kills Bob. Cherry is upset, but she understands. She tells the police Bob was drunk and it was not their fault. Even though she loved Bob, she testifies for Johnny. Dally calls Cherry a spy because she tries to warn the greasers ahead of the rumble.
She said she felt that the whole mess was her fault, which it is, and that she'd keep up with what was comin' off with the Socs in the rumble and would testify that the Socs were drunk and looking for a fight and that you fought back in self-defense (Chapter 6).
Cherry is still a Soc. She doesn’t hang out with Johnny at school. She knows that they can’t be friends. Nonetheless, she is a good person. She treats the greasers with respect. She doesn’t hold Bob’s death against them. She also testifies for them and tries to protect them. She is a genuine and good person.