What are some similes in chapters 1 and 2 of The Outsiders?

In The Outsiders S. E. Hinton's protagonist, Ponyboy, is the narrator. He loves to read, and so figurative language comes easily to him. In many of his descriptions, Ponyboy employs similes--comparisons between two people or things that are explicitly unlike using the words like or as--in order to create images in his readers' minds. 

In the exposition of the narrative of The Outsiders, Ponyboy introduces himself and tells the reader about his brothers and their social situation. He explains that a rival group called the "Socs" are the ones with whom they have quarrels. 

CHAPTER 1

--When he mentions the Socs, Ponyboy clarifies this group: 

I'm not sure how you spell it [Socs], but it's the abbreviation for the Socials, the jet set, the West-side rich kids. It's like the term "greaser," which is used to class all us boys on the East Side.

--Ponyboy describes Dallas Winston as being as wild as a member of the harder and tougher inner city gangs: "He was as wild as the boys in the downtown outfits." 

--In describing his brother Darry, Ponyboy observes, "He has dark-brown hair that kicks out in front and a slight cowlick in the back--just like Dad's--"

--Ponyboy describes his brother Sodapop's good looks and compares them to that of a god when he declares, "...he looked like some Greek god come to earth."

--When Soda examines Ponyboy's head after he is attacked by the Socs, he remarks to his brother, "You're bleedin' like a stuck pig."

--After being attacked, Ponyboy describes himself: "I was shaking like a leaf." 

CHAPTER 2

-- "Dallas Winston...looked as hard as nails and twice as tough." 

-- "A snarling, distrustful, bickering pack like the Socs in their social clubs...." The gang of Socs are compared to a pack of animals.

--When Ponyboy is watching a movie, he looks over his shoulder and sees Two-Bit "grinning like a Chessy cat."

--"His eyes were shut and he was as white as a ghost."

--Later, Ponyboy looks over his shoulder and discovers Two-Bit: "Glory, Two-Bit, scare us to death!" Ponyboy explains that Two-Bit is accomplished at voice imitations and, in this case, he "sounded for all the world like a snarling Soc."

What are examples of imagery in chapter 1 of The Outsiders?

Author S. E. Hinton uses imagery throughout the first chapter of The Outsiders in her vivid descriptions of the main characters. The Socs are brought to life through Ponyboy's narration of their dress--"blue madras" shirts--and the smell of "English Leather shaving lotion and stale tobacco." Darry's eyes are compared to "pale blue-green ice." Soda's good looks are "movie-star kind of handsome," and Pony details the color of his eyes and hair to the sun and "wheat-gold." Two-Bit Mathews is carefully drawn from his "stocky" build to the rust color of his sideburns; and Dallas Winston comes to life through his "elfish face," "sharp animal teeth," lynx-like ears, and a detailed account of his blonde hair.

What's an example of a literary device in The Outsiders, Chapter 10?

Chapter 10 is significant because the boys are responding to Johnny’s death.  Pony finds it hard to accept that Johnny is really gone, trapped in the denial stage while the death is still fresh.

When Pony gets home, he tells the others that Johnny has died.  They are all recovering from their rumble with the Socs, and they barely can accept the news.  Pony also tells his friends about what happened to Dally.

"Dallas is gone," I said. "He ran out like the devil was after him. He's gonna blow up. He couldn't take it." (Ch. 10) 

The phrase “like the devil” means that he went very fast.  This particular figure of speech is a simile because it uses the word “like” to make an indirect comparison.  It means that he was going as fast as if the devil were chasing him.  The figurative language here serves to acknowledge Dally’s immense grief at the loss of his friend. 

The similes continue. 

I backed up, just like a frightened animal, shaking my head. "I'm okay." I felt sick.  I felt as if any minute I was going to fall flat on my face, but I shook my head. "I don't want to sit down." (Ch. 10) 

This simile means that Pony is wary of the other boys.  Pony is in rough shape because he is suffering from his own grief and he is also injured from the rumble.  He has been reduced to a primal state. 

Pony is confused that Johnny told him to “stay gold” before he died.  He asks the others what this meant.  This is a metaphor and an allusion to the Robert Frost poem (“Nothing Gold Can Stay”) that Pony shared with Johnny earlier.  Johnny wants Pony to remain innocent and lead a quiet life instead of the gang life.

What are examples of various literary devices in The Outsiders?

Metaphors can be found throughout the text. If you are struggling to find one, I recommend looking for a simile—a specific type of metaphor that makes a comparison using the words "like" or "as." For example, at one point Soda tells Pony that he's "bleedin' like a stuck pig."

Alliteration with the "s" sound can be found in the first few pages when the Socs show up and surround Ponyboy.

They walked around slowly, silently, smiling.

Characterization can be found in the early parts of the book as well, because this is where Ponyboy is telling readers about the other Greasers. It's mainly direct characterization at this point, and Ponyboy's description of Johnny is a good example.

He was the youngest, next to me, smaller than the rest, with a slight build. He had big black eyes in a dark tanned face; his hair was jet-black and heavily greased and combed to the side, but it was so long that it fell in shaggy bangs across his forehead.

Irony can be found in the mid-book sequence that sees Ponyboy and Johnny hiding out in the church. Hiding out in the church is suggested by Dally, the roughest and most rebellious Greaser—he's not typically church kind of guy. The situation is also ironic because a church generally represents goodness and holiness, but the boys are on the run from authorities and trying to not get caught and accused of murder.

Ponyboy will at one point explain to readers that he has been to church before, but it wasn't a great experience. The other Greasers started goofing off, and Steve dropped a hymnal book that went "bang" upon hitting the floor. That's an example of onomatopoeia.

Metaphor: Johnny is described as 'a little dark puppy that has been kicked too many times and is lost in a crowd of strangers', thus emphasizing his vulnerable qualities

Alliteration: Near the end of the book, when Johnny dies from his injuries incurred in saving the children from the burning church, and Dallas dies in a 'suicide-by-cop' scenario, Ponyboy reflects: 'Two of my friends had died that night, one a hero, the other a hoodlum'. The 'h' in front of 'hero' and 'hoodlum' is an example of alliteration. It links the deaths of the two characters while at the same time contrasting them: Johnny the heroic rescuer, and Dallas the violent criminal (although, as Ponyboy remembers, Dallas also had his good points)

Imagery: the recurring image of the sunset, which symbolizes the finer things of life and the sensitive, dreamy side of characters like Ponyboy, Cherry and Johnny

Foreshadowing: When reading the book Gone With the Wind Johnny remarks that the Southern gentlemen, who bravely meet theri death, remind him of Dally. Although Ponyboy can't see the resemblance then, at the end of the book Dally is said to die in a similarly 'gallant' manner like those Southern gentlemen.

Dialogue: in the following extract, we see the tenseness between the Socs and Greasers and how they deliberately try and needle each other.

Two-Bit put his elbow on Johnny's shoulder. "Who you callin' bums?"
"Listen, greasers, we got four more of us in the back seat..."
"Then pity the back seat," Two-Bit said to the sky.
"If you're looking for a fight..."

Irony: Johnny and Ponyboy are not tough and hardened like the other Greasers yet they are the ones who end up facing the rap for murder and hiding out from the police.

Characterisation: After several lines of describing Sodapop's charismatic and happy-go-lucky nature, Ponyboy sums him up by saying that 'he gets drunk on just plain living'.

IMAGERY.  The Ford Mustang is a repeated example of visual imagery in the novel. The car was a brand new model by Ford at the time the novel was being written, and its popularity as an affordable sports car was magnetic in the mid-1960s.

IRONY.  One example comes at the beginning of the rumble after Darry steps forward to "take on anyone." The Soc that accepts his challenge is Paul Holden, Darry's best friend from high school football days, and the two old friends square off to throw the first punches.

ONOMATOPOEIA.  In Chapter 3, the word "vroomed" is used to describe the sound of the Socs' Mustang speeding away.

ALLITERATION.  This literary device can be found in Robert Frost's poem, "Nothing Gold Can Stay." The line that illustrates this uses repeating "h" sounds throughout the line.

Her hardest hue to hold.

FORESHADOWING.  One example comes while the boys are hiding out at the church on Jay Mountain. Ponyboy narrates that

We were careful with our cigarettes--if that old church caught fire, there'd be no stopping it.

METAPHOR.  The Socs' madras shirts serve as a metaphor for the group, their wealth, and their dress style.

What are two literary devices in The Outsiders and how are they developed?

One of the central metaphors that evolves in The Outsiders is the color gold. It originates from the poem "Nothing Gold Can Stay" by Robert Frost, which Ponyboy recites to Johnny while they are hiding at the church. In it, the speaker says this:

Nature’s first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.

And the poem concludes,

Nothing gold can stay.

Later as Johnny dies, he tells Pony to "Stay gold." The color gold becomes a metaphor in the novel for the fleeting beauty of life. It represents a tender innocence that ends too quickly. Johnny's own life is an example of one touched by gold, and he hopes that Pony won't lose that quality and become hardened to life like most of the gang as he gets older.

Another literary device is the symbolic use of a church as the place to which Johnny and Pony escape and hide. Historically, churches have always provided a sanctuary to those fleeing persecution, and that is exactly what happens for Johnny and Pony. In the church, they are safe and even enjoy a sense of freedom that they never experience at home in the world of constant conflict with the Socs. It is in the church that the boys save a group of innocent children from fire, and Johnny ultimately sacrifices his life for this salvation. This ultimate act of sacrifice is also closely associated with religious views of a church, so Johnny's act in this particular setting further develops his characterization.

There are probably well over 100 different literary devices used in The Outsiders. Something as "normal" as dialogue is technically a literary device. Dialogue is used throughout this great story, and dialogue can be a powerful characterization tool. Hinton uses dialogue to characterize the Greasers because the dialogue makes use of dialect. Dialect refers to the language used by the people of a specific area, class, and/or any other group of people. It will often involve using and manipulating the spelling and grammar of the dialogue to distinguish that person or group from other people around them. Hinton uses dialect in the dialogue of the Greasers to show that they are a more informal and a less educated group. For example, notice the use of "ain't" in the following quote:

"Leave my kid brother alone, you hear? It ain't his fault he likes to go to the movies, and it ain't his fault the Socs like to jump us, and if he had
been carrying a blade it would have been a good excuse to cut him to ribbons."

Another great literary device that Hinton uses is flashback. A flashback is an interruption that inserts past events to provide readers with background information that more clearly explains present situations or characters. A great flashback occurs in chapter 2. Readers get told about Johnny being nearly beaten to death by the Socs, and the flashback helps explain the previous characterization of how Johnny is a lot like a scared puppy.

The use of description/detail is one device used very effectively in the novel. The detail is spare in volume, but makes a vivid impact when used. An example would be when the church was burning, and the description of the cinders blowing in the air is truly visual. The description, involving the use of slang, is also effective. Referring to groups of people , as  "soc" or "greaser" , gives the reader a lot of information on lifestyles, socio-economic status, and beliefs just by their label.

Allusion is what Ponyboy uses to relate a situation without an extensive amount of description. He will refer to specific literature to compare the situation, and this gives the reader an idea of it without two pages of dialogue or narration to describe it.