In The Outsiders, how and why does Ponyboy's view of the Socs change?

Pony comes to understand that the Socs are just people too, and everyone has problems.

At the beginning of the book, Pony is afraid of the Socs.  He paints them all with one brush, believing that all Socs are a danger to him.  This is based on his experience being jumped by a group of Socs when he was walking alone.  Pony has feared for his safety from that day on.

We get jumped by the Socs. I'm not sure how you spell it, 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. (Ch. 1) 

In Pony’s neighborhood, if you are a greaser, that means you will be targeted by Socs.  The Socs get all the breaks.  They are wealthy and have their future laid out for them, and most of their illegal actions are dismissed by the public as rich kids blowing off steam. 

Pony thinks that the Socs have it all.  When he meets a Soc girl named Cherry and has a conversation with her, he learns that things are more complicated. 

"I'll bet you think the Socs have it made.  The rich kids, the West-side Socs. I'll tell you something, Ponyboy, and it may come as a surprise. We have troubles you've never even heard of. You want to know something? …Things are rough all over." (Ch. 2) 

Cherry makes Pony start to change his opinion of Socs.  He realizes that they are people too.  Before the big rumble where the greasers are supposed to avenge Johnny’s death, and the Socs are avenging Bob’s, Pony has a conversation with a Soc named Randy.  Randy is impressed that Johnny and Pony rescued the children from the fire, and tells Pony that he is tired of the fighting. 

When Two-bit asks Pony what he and the Soc talked about, Pony’s response demonstrates his new understanding of Socs. 

"He ain't a Soc," I said, "he's just a guy. He just wanted to talk." (Ch. 7) 

Pony understands the world differently than just greaser-Soc.  The Socs are people too, with real problems.  The greasers and the Socs will never be the same, but they do not have to fight over nothing either.  Pony decides to take Johnny’s advice and stay gold, or try to get his life on track and not get dragged into the gang life.

In The Outsiders, how and why does Ponyboy's view of the Socs change?

Even though Ponyboy's attitude begins to change when he is on the run with Johnny in The Outsiders, he does not experience a final, definitive change until the very end of the novel when he learns something very important about himself. Let's explore this in more detail.

After Ponyboy returns home and Johnny dies, Ponyboy seems to go back to his old ways for a while. He is filled with guilt about what happened to Johnny and Dally, and he has a tough time coping. The judge acquits Ponyboy of any involvement in Bob's death, but this actually seems to make Ponyboy feel worse.

Ponyboy goes back to struggling in school, arguing with Darry, and getting into conflicts with the Socs. It seems that perhaps he really has not learned much from his experiences, but really, Ponyboy is trying to hide his feelings.

Finally, though, Ponyboy and his brothers come to an understanding, and later that night, Ponyboy picks up Gone with the Wind, which he had been reading when he was on the run with Johnny. A note falls out of the book. It is Johnny's final message to Ponyboy, and it changes Ponyboy's whole perspective. Johnny tells Ponyboy to “stay gold,” and he explains that when kids are interested and involved in life, they are “gold.” Ponyboy is like that yet, and he must not lose it. Johnny also explains that saving the kids from the fire was worth the cost, and he reminds Ponyboy that there is good in the world.

Ponyboy realizes then what he needs to do to write his English theme and pass his class. He begins writing his own story and the story of his friends, and in doing so, he finds himself.

What are Ponyboy's strengths in S. E. Hinton's The Outsiders?

In S. E. Hinton's The Outsiders, Ponyboy is most definitely characterized as being different from the rest of the Greasers.

First, he is a very caring person, which is demonstrated in his desires to see an end put to the fighting between Socs and Greasers. Though he sees that a social gap between the two groups is inevitable, because of his brief acquaintance with Cherry, he also sees that the "two worlds [they] lived in weren't so different. [They] saw the same sunset." In Chapter 7, further evidence of his caring persona is seen in the fact that he risked his life rushing into the burning church to rescue children who had been playing inside.

The rest of the Greasers also recognize Ponyboy as being a much more sensitive, civilized person than other Greasers. Due to his sensitivity, they try to discourage him from getting involved in the violence. His sensitive and civilized nature are reflected in his interests in poetry, sunsets, earning good grades, and in the fact that, after threatening enemies with a broken bottle, he stoops down to pick up the broken glass because he "didn't want anyone to get a flat tire" (Ch. 12).

What quotes depict Ponyboy's strengths and weaknesses in The Outsiders?

Strengths:

"You know," Johnny said slowly, "I never noticed colors and clouds and stuff until you kept reminding me about them. It seems like they were never there before." He thought for a minute.

Pony keeps his friends grounded in things that matter. Johnny has a tough home life and no one loves him outside the group, yet Pony keeps reminding him of a better world. Johnny appreciates the efforts of his closest friend to remind him of the beauty in nature especially.

I really couldn't see what Socs would have to sweat about—good grades, good cars, good girls, madras and Mustangs and
Corvairs—Man, I thought, if I had worries like that I'd consider myself lucky.

I know better now.

Ponyboy also proves that he can reason with an open mind. He learns that "things are rough all over" and that Socs have their own sets of problems, too. He learns not to judge people so quickly based on their social group, which some members of his gang never learn.

"You're not going to drop out. Listen, with your brains and grades you could get a scholarship, and we could put you through college."

Darry and others realize that Pony has been gifted with intelligence. Pony demonstrates this throughout the novel but doesn't see it in himself until the very end and only through the encouragement of his oldest brother and English teacher.

Weaknesses:

Darry thought I was just another mouth to feed and somebody to holler at. Darry love me? I thought of those hard, pale eyes. Soda was wrong for once, I thought. Darry doesn't love anyone or anything, except maybe Soda. I didn't hardly think of him as being human. I don't care, I lied to myself, I don't care about him either.

Pony judges his oldest brother harshly for most of the book. He fails to realize the enormous responsibility Darry carries in providing for him and in trying to keep the three brothers together. Darry is smart and could have gone to college, but now he has been thrust into parenthood because their parents have died, and he is figuring out how to best take care of Pony. It's a difficult and thankless job, and Pony doesn't allow him any grace in his mistakes.

"You know what a greaser is?" Bob asked. "White trash with long hair."

I felt the blood draining from my face. I've been cussed out and sworn at, but nothing ever hit me like that did. Johnnycake made a kind of gasp and his eyes were smoldering.

"You know what a Soc is?" I said, my voice shaking with rage. "White trash with Mustangs and madras." And then, because I couldn't think of anything bad enough to call them, I spit at them.

Pony's pride doesn't allow him to handle conflict with Socs well. He has to know that insulting Bob and his friends is going to cause even more trouble, especially considering what they'd done to Johnny. Pony's insults intensify the situation and set in motion all the events that will lead to Johnny's death.

Like any well-developed character, Ponyboy has his flaws. Still, he evolves through the tragedy he faces in the novel to show a new maturity by the plot's end.

Why is Ponyboy considered smart in The Outsiders?

Ponyboy is smart because he reads a lot and takes school seriously.

Unlike some greasers, Ponyboy values school.  His older brother Darry also places an emphasis on school.  When their parents died, Darry was left to care for Soda and Pony.  Soda was also smart, but school was not his things.  Teachers did not understand him.  Pony, on the other hand, did well in school.

We know that Pony studies and gets good grades, from this comment that Darry makes.

You must think at school, with all those good grades you bring home, and you've always got your nose in a book, but do you ever use your head for common sense? (Ch. 1)

Pony also says that Darry is not happy with B’s and only wants him to bring home A’s, probably because he knows he is capable of it.  Pony is in honors classes because he is smart, and many of the students there are of a higher social class.  This causes some raised eyebrows sometimes and there are definitely some instances where he doesn’t fit in.  A good example of this is the incident he shared of when he accidentally tried to dissect a frog with a switchblade in biology, forgetting that only hoods carry knives in school.

I'm supposed to be smart; I make good grades and have a high IQ and everything, but I don't use my head. (Ch. 1)

This separates him from the other greasers.  They make allowances for him, and they know that he will go places.  He will leave the neighborhood, and have chances they won’t.  He was smart to begin with, but he had a sensitivity and a desire to read that made him successful in school.  This led him to the “A classes” or honors classes, continually giving him the chance to get smarter and smarter.  These were chances that were denied to most of the other greasers, and given mostly only to Socs.

What are Ponyboy's weaknesses in The Outsiders?

One of Pony's flaws stems from his youth; because of his lack of life experience, he is unable to see the difficult position his brother Darry is in. The night that Darry hits him, he and Pony are at odds because Pony has come in much later than expected. Darry explains,

I reckon it never occurred to you that your brothers might be worrying their heads off and afraid to call the police because something like that could get you two thrown in a boys' home so quick it'd make your head spin. (Chapter 3)

Darry is more concerned than most brothers because he is also acting as a parent, a role he is unequipped to tackle but one he must do well in order to keep all the brothers together. Throughout the plot, Pony judges Darry harshly and can't see how hard Darry is working to maintain custody of him.

Darry isn't the only one who falls under Pony's scrutiny and comes up short. Though Pony is a detailed narrator, introducing readers to the world of Socs vs Greasers, he also finds fault with pretty much everyone in his own group. Although he understands why the Greasers act the way they do, he still doesn't have much tolerance for Steve or Dally. He is even critical of the girls that the Greases go for:

They were the only kind of girls that would look at us, I thought. Tough, loud girls who wore too much eye makeup and giggled and swore too much. (Chapter 1)

Pony judges his brother, the Socs, his teacher, the girls Greasers date, and members of his friend group. He has pretty tough criticism for nearly everyone.

He nearly fails to see his ticket to a better life: education. Pony is smart, and Darry reminds him of this numerous times, but Pony is so caught up in Greaser survival that he doesn't focus on school. When his English teacher tries to help him at the end of the year, Pony's first response is that he just "can't help it." Everyone around him sees his potential, but Pony almost lets his abilities flounder and produce nothing.

An unforgettable teenage narrator with much to say about the world he's been thrown into, Pony seems to redeem many of his flaws by the novel's end.

What are Ponyboy's weaknesses in The Outsiders?

One of Ponyboy's biggest weakness is his inability to empathize with those who don't have the same level of intelligence and articulation as he does. While the title The Outsiders certainly refers to the gang of the greasers as a whole, it also refers to Ponyboy's sense of isolation in regard to where he fits in among these outsiders. Where the rest of his gang is tough and rowdy, Ponyboy is shy, sensitive, and poetic.

This leads to many good qualities but also a failure to connect with people who don't see the world his way. Over the course of the novel he is incredibly hard on Darry, whom he judges for being harsh and uncaring. Because of Darry's external nature, Ponyboy completely disregards every obvious sacrifice that Darry has made for the sake of his younger brothers.

What are Ponyboy's weaknesses in The Outsiders?

Ponyboy is sometimes impractical and does not use his head. For example, at the beginning of the book, he is jumped by the Socs because he is walking home alone from a movie. Afterward, he realizes that he should have called one of his brothers to pick him up. He thinks:

What are Ponyboy's vices in The Outsiders?

In The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton, Ponyboy is the fourteen-year-old narrator. He is a member of a gang called the Greasers and he shares many of the vices that the other Greasers have. Ponyboy smokes, swears, catcalls, and is probably addicted to caffeine.

Ponyboy’s parents died in a car accident, and he lives with his two older brothers. While the court allows them to remain together this way, it is on the condition that they all stay out of trouble. Thus, Ponyboy generally watches his actions, as do both of his brothers. However, without parents supervising him, there are many vices that he picks up from his friends. Moreover, most of the other boys in his gang do not have parental supervision either. The group comes from a relatively low income neighborhood and their parents spend most of their time working and struggling to make ends meet.

In the scene where Ponyboy talks to Jerry, Jerry is surprised to see Ponyboy smoking, and he tells Ponyboy that he shouldn’t smoke. Ponyboy is confused because he does not see a sign nearby indicting that smoking is not permitted. Jerry explains his reasoning:

"Why, uh," Jerry stammered, "uh, you're too young."

"I am?" I had never thought about it. Everyone in our neighborhood, even the girls, smoked. Except for Darry, who was too proud of his athletic health to risk a cigarette, we had all started smoking at an early age.

Ponyboy needs to smoke at this point because he is probably addicted to the nicotine in the cigarettes. For instance, after the boys are involved in a violent incident, Ponyboy says that smoking calms them down:

Everyone sat down to have a smoke and relax. A smoke always lessens the tension. I had quit trembling and my color was back. The cigarette was calming me down.

This also becomes clear when he and Johnny are forced to hide out in the church. Ponyboy is tense and he is bored with the inactivity. He explains,

I was smoking a lot more there than I usually did—I guess because it was something to do— although Johnny warned me that I would get sick smoking so much. We were careful with our cigarettes—if that old church ever caught fire there'd be no stopping it.

Ponyboy, like his friends, also swears. He points this out in the book as if it is an everyday part of their lives. In other words, they really do not think twice about swearing when they are together. However, they recognize that it is impolite and therefore refrain from swearing in front of girls. Ponyboy explains,

Dally was decent to her and watched his swearing. We all did around nice girls who were the cousinly type. I don't know how to explain it—we try to be nice to the girls we see once in a while, like cousins or the girls in class; but we still watch a nice girl go by on a street corner and say all kinds of lousy stuff about her. Don't ask me why. I don't know why.

The last sentences also indicate that Ponyboy probably catcalls girls on the street. When he is with his friends and they are hanging out and see a pretty girl go by, they talk about her using “lousy” terms. They might also call out to her, as well.

Finally, Ponyboy is addicted to caffeine and drinks lots of Pepsi. When he and Johnny are in the church and he cannot get a Pepsi, he clearly begins to exhibit signs of withdrawal and is very uncomfortable. He acknowledges his addiction, saying, “I'm what you might call a Pepsi addict. I drink them like a fiend, and going for five days without one was about to kill me.”

What makes Ponyboy a good character in The Outsiders?

Ponyboy is a good person because he is kind to others and willing to look at things from their point of view.  He helps rescue the kids in the fire.  He also supports his friends when they fight in the rumble.

When Pony meets two Soc girls, Cherry and Marcia, he does not judge them.  He stands up for Dally, who is hassling them, but he also recognizes why the girls have a problem with him.  More importantly, he is able to see things from Cherry’s point of view and realize that the Socs do not have perfect lives.

"I'll tell you something, Ponyboy, and it may come as a surprise. We have troubles you've never even heard of. You want to know something?"

She looked me straight in the eye. "Things are rough all over."

"I believe you," I said. (Ch. 2, p. 47)

Pony’s reaction to Cherry shows that he is a good person because he actually stops to think about what the Socs’ lives might be like.  He finds it interesting that Cherry sees the same sunset as he does.  It makes him understand that the two groups have things in common.

Another good deed Pony does is help the kids at the fire.  He and Johnny go hide out in a church after Johnny kills Bob in the fight in the park.  Pony acknowledges that Johnny is smarter and deeper than he thought.  He shares a poem with him, and they read Gone with the Wind.  Pony and Johnny both try to save the children who get caught in the fire, along with Dally.

The woman went white. "I told them not to play in the church... I told them..."

She looked like she was going to start screaming, so Jerry shook her.

"I'll get them, don't worry!" I started at a dead run for the church… (Ch. 6, p. 95) 

Pony thinks that he and Johnny started the fire.  He feels terrible, and he is desperate to get the missing kids out.  He doesn’t think anything of himself.  Pony’s injuries are not as serious as Johnny’s, and he is very worried about his friend. 

When the greasers have a rumble with the Socs about Johnny and Bob, it is very important to Pony that he be there.  He is injured, and yet he still wants to fight.  He doesn’t like fighting, but he just wants to be there to support his friends.  Before the rumble he talks with Bob's friend Randy, who says he isn’t going.  Pony is sympathetic to him, telling him he would help him if he could.  Pony would rather avoid a rumble too.

I was thinking about the rumble. I had a sick feeling in my stomach and it wasn't from being ill. It was the same kind of helplessness I'd felt that night Darry yelled at me for going to sleep in the lot. I had the same deathly fear that something was going to happen that none of us could stop. (Ch. 8, p. 131)

Pony participates, excited when the greasers win.  He is just happy that no one was seriously hurt and he was able to help somewhat.  All that Pony wants is to support his friends.

In The Outsiders, what might Ponyboy mean when he describes Dally as "smart"?

I think the description of Dally that we are given in the first chapter is worthy of some serious attention as it presents us with a very complete description of the individual. Let us examine the part you are referring to:

He had quite a reputation. They have a file on him down at the police station. He had been arrested, he got drunk, he rode in rodeos, lied, cheated, stole, rolled drunks, jumped small kids--he did everything. I didn't like him, but he was smart and you had to respect him.

Thus we can see that the adjective "smart" that Ponyboy applies to Dally is probably not linked to intelligence in the traditional sense of the word. Rather, it seems that Ponyboy is using "smart" in the sense of "street-wise." Dally with all of his "experience" of the world and the law is clearly someone who knows about how to manage situations such as the one facing Johnny and Ponyboy. It is interesting that it is Dally who is able to help them out with what to do and where to go and gives them advice. He is obviously no stranger to such events.

Why is The Outsiders character of Ponyboy good or bad?

Of course, Ponyboy Curtis has his bad habits as well. First among them is that he admittedly smokes too much. His cigarette habit does not mesh with his athletic pursuits at school--he has run track previously--and he gets winded quickly during his recovery after the fire. Darry warns him, half jokingly, that if "You smoke more than a pack today and I'll skin you." He is constantly reminded about his lack of common sense. Like many of the other greasers, he carries a chip on his shoulder about his social, economic and family status. Although he doesn't like to fight as much as many of the other greasers, he willingly participates in the rumble.

Why is The Outsiders character of Ponyboy good or bad?

Like everybody, Pony has his good sides and his bad sides.  Since he is the protagonist, I think he ends up being more good than he is bad.

Perhaps the clearest way in which Pony is a good guy is in the fact that he tries to see other people's points of view.  You can see this most clearly in his dealing with the Socs.  When he meets Cherry, for example, or when he meets Randy, you can see him really caring about them and wanting to understand what their lives are like.  If he were bad, I do not think he would have bothered.

How does Ponyboy's identity evolve in The Outsiders?

In S. E. Hinton's novel The Outsiders, Ponyboy develops into a mature, intuitive teenager who is able to recognize that other adolescents experience different types of issues and realize that his social group does not strictly define him. Towards the beginning of the story, Pony identifies himself as a greaser and is proud to have a reputation as a tough, reckless juvenile. Initially, Pony views himself and the members of the greaser gang as completely different from the Socs and believes their rivals live an easy, carefree life.

Eventually, Pony is introduced to Cherry Valance, who significantly expands his perspective by elaborating on the different types of problems the Socs experience. Following Pony's interaction with Cherry, he begins to sympathize with other adolescents and recognize the similarities they share. Pony begins to understand that there is much more to people than their appearance or social group suggests.

As the story progresses, Pony is forced to alter his appearance by cutting and bleaching his hair. Pony's physical transformation reflects his internal transformation as he begins to question his identity as a greaser. As Pony analyzes the situation before the big rumble, he thinks about Darry and understands that he and his brother are different from the other greasers. Pony is ashamed that the only thing he can take pride in his tough appearance and reputation. Pony even says,

What kind of world is it where all I have to be proud of is a reputation for being a hood, and greasy hair? I don't want to be a hood, but even if I don't steal things and mug people and get boozed up, I'm marked lousy. Why should I be proud of it? Why should I even pretend to be proud of it?

Pony desires to identify himself as a typical adolescent but knows that people will judge him based on his appearance and social group. After Pony loses his two friends, he begins to see himself as part of a larger group and no longer desires to be strictly identified as a greaser. He comes to the realization that there are thousands of adolescents like himself throughout the world who face similar problems. Pony's decision to write The Outsiders illustrates his newfound identity and outlook on life. By the end of the story, Pony no longer identifies himself as only a greaser with long hair but instead views himself as a misunderstood teenager who sympathizes with other adolescents in difficult situations.

In The Outsiders, how does Ponyboy change midway through the story?

At the beginning of the story, Ponyboy is kind of selfish and self absorbed. He only thinks about himself and the things he wants. He has had a hard childhood. His parents were killed in an automobile accident, and he lives with his older brothers. His oldest brother, Darry, is concerned about the choices he is making. We can all see that Ponyboy has a big heart, but the circumstances of his life have made him hard. Ponyboy and Johnny are really close and by the middle of the story, we begin to see Ponyboy change dramatically.

Ponyboy begins to think about others. He sees that fighting is not the answer and that it is not the way to live his life. When he and Johnny save the children in the church fire, we see Ponyboy as the hero he really is. When Johnny is injured, we see that Ponyboy is truly worried for his friend. Ponyboy is moving away from being selfish and self absorbed to being a caring young man. He is concerned about his future, he begins to realize why Darry is so hard on him. He sees that his brothers really do love him and only want what's best for him. After the death of Johnny, Ponyboy realizes just how blessed he is to have the family he has. 

Ponyboy is such a young boy, but has to deal with so much loss in his life. His parents were killed, two of his friends are killed and one of the rival gang members has been killed. Ponyboy comes full circle by the middle of the story. He realizes what he has lost, but he doesn't let that rule his life. He goes on living, if not just for Johnny's sake, but for the sake of all that he has lost.

How does Ponyboy change the way he looks at things during the novel The Outsiders?

During the course of S.E. Hinton's novel The Outsiders, the protagonist and first person narrator, Ponyboy, becomes a dynamic character who changes his outlook on several things because he is able to see the world in a different way. Through his interaction with Cherry and Randy, he develops a totally different opinion of the Socs. Likewise, he comes to see his brothers, Darry and Sodapop, with an altered attitude.

In chapter two, Ponyboy meets Cherry Valance, the girlfriend of the Soc Bob, who is later killed by Johnny. During their talk, Ponyboy discovers that Cherry has some of the same interests as he does, including reading and watching sunsets. Cherry admits that she doesn't have much time to watch sunsets but she could tell that Ponyboy liked them. After meeting Cherry, Ponyboy reflects that, "Maybe the two different worlds we lived in weren't so different" because they could see the "same sunset." Despite later negative encounters with the Socs, Ponyboy also comes to understand the Socs better after his meeting with Randy in chapter seven. 

Just as Ponyboy's hatred of the Socs grows after Johnny's misfortune, his attitude is again changed after talking to Randy before the rumble. Randy talks of his friendship with Bob and how Bob was "the best buddy a guy ever had." Ponyboy begins to relate this to his own life and comes to realize that his relationships with his friends and brothers is not much different than those of the Socs. After this discussion, he even refers to Randy as "just a guy" rather than a Soc, which is a label and a stereotype, much like the term greaser, which doesn't account for the character of the individual.

Ponyboy also comes to understand his brothers much better and their relationship is strengthened in the end. Throughout the novel, his relationship with Darry is evolving. After the incidents at the church and in the hospital, Ponyboy begins to appreciate just how much Darry cares about him. Ponyboy didn't always understand his big brother's loyalty and affection. He actually thought Darry hated him and blamed him for having to go to work rather than college. He mistook Darry's attention to Ponyboy's problems as meddling, but finally realizes that Darry was simply doing his best for both of his brothers after the death of the boys' parents. 

Late in the novel, Ponyboy finally begins to look at Sodapop as a person with real problems, rather than an idol who can do no wrong. Through much of the novel, Ponyboy portrays Sodapop as larger than life with "movie-star" looks and a carefree attitude toward life. In chapter twelve, Sodapop totally loses his cool after receiving a returned letter from his girlfriend Sandy. Ponyboy admits that he always thought Sodapop didn't have any problems. When Sodapop storms out of the house, Ponyboy and Darry go after him and discover that their constant bickering is emotionally upsetting to Sodapop. Ponyboy and Darry admit they never even considered Sodapop's feelings. The episode reveals that all three boys have changed, particularly Ponyboy, in their attitudes about each other.  

What lessons does Ponyboy learn from his traumatic experiences in The Outsiders?

One of the things that Ponyboy learns from the traumas he deals with is how much his brothers and his so-called "gang" care about him. He struggles for quite a while feeling like his oldest brother Darry doesn't really care about him. Darry is strict, yells quite often, and seems to constantly be criticizing him. Pony complains to Sodapop and to several other members of the gang that Darry doesn't care about him and he doesn't understand why they try to say that he is wrong.

Once Darry comes to see him in the hospital after the fire, however, he realizes that Darry does all those things because he cares about him so much and is worried about him. He realizes how he has actually made it harder for Darry because he misunderstood so many things.

Another thing that Pony learns is how people can change and overcome obstacles like reputation or past mistakes. Particularly after seeing Johnny go from wanted killer to hero in the span of a week, he realizes that people get to change and can make decisions that will change how others feel about them. This happens again when Pony reads Johnny's letter and starts to see that he too can be redeemed.

What drives Ponyboy's behavior in The Outsiders?

    Ponyboy is different from all the other greasers in the Susan E. Hinton teen novel, The Outsiders. He likes school--he even skipped a grade and was promoted to high school at a young age. He is an avid reader and shows talent as a writer. He loves watching movies and often goes alone since his other friends don't enjoy them much. Unlike the other greasers, he is quiet and sensitive; he rarely reveals his inner thoughts--except to Cherry Valance.

    I have quite a rep for being quiet, almost as quiet as Johnny... Nobody but Soda could get me talking. Till I met Cherry Valance.
    I don't know why I could talk to her; maybe for the same reason she could talk to me.

This connection with Cherry shows another different side to Ponyboy: He finds that at least one Soc, Randy Adderson, is not so different.

    "He ain't a Soc," I said. "He's just a guy. He just wanted to talk."
    ... Socs were just guys after all.

Much of Pony's introspective nature comes from the recent death of his parents in a car accident, and he still misses them. Ponyboy is "tuff," but he isn't as tough as the rest of his gang, and they want him to stay that way. Pony's friends and brothers all realize he is different--he is the one who has a chance to become something besides a life-long hood or greaser. According to Darry,

"...with your brains and grades, you could get a scholarship, and we could put you through college."

What is Ponyboy known for in The Outsiders?

Ponyboy is not your typical greaser. He is clever and talented, and going to school and getting good grades actually mean something to him. Ponyboy brings a lot of talent and skill to physical pursuits like athletics and even fighting, but he is also a gifted writer. Sometimes, Ponyboy's dreaminess separates him from the other greasers in his community, but he sees himself as different too.

Ponyboy is also known for his lustrous hair, which also happens to be his pride and joy. Like the other greasers, he wears his hair long, longer than the other boys, he is careful to say. Ponyboy describes the color as "light brown, almost red," and he is clearly proud of his hair as an emblem of his greaser identity.

How do Ponyboy's experiences with Socs in The Outsiders affect his attitude towards them?

    The narrator and protagonist of Susan E. Hinton's teen novel, The Outsiders, Ponyboy Curtis is the youngest member of the greasers, a youthful gang who comes from the wrong side of the tracks. Sensitive and intelligent, he is almost an outsider within his own group, who continues a running feud with the upper-class Socs, "rich kids" with "Mustangs and madras."
    One night at the drive-in theatre, Ponyboy meets Cherry Valance, a Soc cheerleader, and they immediately share a liking for each other. Cherry is the first Soc that any of the greasers have ever called a friend, and Pony comes to understand that the two groups are not so different.

"We have troubles you've never even heard of. You want to know something?... Things are rough all over."

    Through Cherry, Pony meets with Randy Adderson. They do not immediately become friends, for Randy is one of the Socs who attacks Pony and Johnny Cade in the park later that night. Johnny kills Randy's best friend, Bob Sheldon, starting a chain of events that will eventually lead to the deaths of Johnny and his friend, Dallas Winston. In spite of the violence between the Socs and greasers, Randy and Pony earn each other's respect. After Pony heroically saves the kids from burning in the church, Randy pays him a visit to explain that he won't be a part of the Soc-greaser rumble.

    I took a good look at him. He was seventeen or so, but he was already old. Like Dallas was old. Cherry had said her friends were too cool to feel anything, and yet she could remember watching sunsets. Randy was supposed to be too cool to feel anything, and yet there was pain in his eyes."
    "... He ain't a Soc,"I said, "he's just a guy."
    ... Socs were just guys after all.

    Ponyboy is the only one of the greasers to recognize this fact and the only greaser to maintain any kind of friendly contact with their Soc enemy. Pony meets with Cherry again before the rumble, and later, receives a visit from Randy at the Curtis home. (Randy is probably the only Soc to ever step inside.)
    However, having two Soc friends does not mean that Pony likes them all. After he is acquitted in court, Pony is accosted by three Socs.

    Big deal. I busted the end off my bottle and held on to the neck and tossed away my cigarette. "You get back into your car or you'll get split."

Pony has learned to judge everyone individually--greaser or Soc--and he will continue to practice this new awareness during the years to come.

How does Ponyboy's perception of the Greasers, Socs, and Darry evolve throughout The Outsiders?

Ponyboy is different than the other Greasers, and the other Greasers know this. It's why Johnny tells him to "stay gold" and Two-Bit doesn't want him to "get tough."

"Ponyboy, listen, don't get tough. You're not like the rest of us and don't try to be..."

With that said, it still takes readers much of the novel to fully understand what it is that makes Ponyboy so different. When we first meet Ponyboy, he seems like a typical Greaser to us. He speaks negatively about the Socs in the same way that all of the other Greasers talk about them. He thinks that the Socs have it so much easier than the Greasers.

I really couldn't see what Socs would have to sweat about—good grades, good cars, good girls, madras and Mustangs and Corvairs—Man, I thought, if I had worries like that I'd consider myself lucky.

Ponyboy and his opinion of the Greasers starts to change in chapter 2. This is when he meets Cherry, and she is incredibly pivotal to Pony's changing opinion. Cherry is the character that makes Ponyboy believe that the Socs have problems that are equal in difficulty as compared to Greaser problems.

"Things are rough all over."

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

By the novel's end, Ponyboy is able to look at a Soc as a person and not a rival gang member, and this is why Ponyboy tells Two-Bit that Randy isn't a Soc.

"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."

As for Ponyboy's opinion of his brother, by the novel's end Ponyboy realizes that Darry loves him deeply. Ponyboy doubted it because Darry was always so hard on Pony, but Ponyboy comes to realize that is because Darry wants to protect Ponyboy and see him succeed. Darry didn't have the luxury of learning to be a parent. He was thrown into the situation, and he struggles with how to show love to Ponyboy while being a parent and brother at the same time.

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. When he yelled "Pony, where have you been all this time?" he meant "Pony, you've scared me to death. Please be careful, because I couldn't stand it if anything happened to you."

How do Ponyboy's experiences contribute to his growth in The Outsiders?

At the outset of the story, Ponyboy has already been through a great deal. He has lost his parents and dealt with seeing his older brother sacrifice his own future in order to support his two younger brothers and make sure they didn't end up in foster care.

Over the course of the story, Ponyboy sees his best friend Johnny stab another boy to death in a somewhat typical Greaser and Soc incident. He's seen how this affects Johnny and dealt with the consequences of running away from home in order to try and avoid the legal consequences of that murder. He also deals finds himself acting heroic when he and Johnny rescue the kids from inside the burning church.

He also loses several of his closest friends including Johnny and Dally, he learns even more painfully how the world can take away the things that you hold most dear.

All of these experiences force him to mature quickly and inform him understanding of the world and his place in it. As he gets to know Cherry he starts to understand that both Greasers and Socs have hard things to handle in their lives. 

Ponyboy's paper that he writes for his English class appears to be a product of his growth and this understanding that he's gained from all these experiences.

How does Ponyboy become tougher in The Outsiders?

The Curtis' seemed to be one big happy family in S. E. Hinton's The Outsiders before the mother and father died in an automobile accident. All three of the brothers' lives changed drastically afterward. Darry had to forego a possible college football scholarship, working several jobs in order to support his younger brothers. Sodapop quit school and began working in a gas station. As for the youngest, Ponyboy may well have had the hardest time. He was constantly in conflict with Darry, who tried to keep Pony on the straight and narrow because he knew that his future could be a bright one. Without his parents, Pony began hanging out more with his greaser friends, and gang fights became a part of his life. Like his pal, Johnny, Pony was beaten by the Socs early in the story, and he always feared for his safety when he was on the streets. After Johnny and Pony were attacked in the park, the two left town to avoid arrest; their dramatic rescue of the children from the burning church helped to make them heroes. But Pony lost his best friend when Johnny died, and Pony became more cynical about life. He lost interest in school, and his friends worried that he would become hard and tough, like Dallas Winston. In the end, it became apparent that Darry's strict ways were only in Pony's best interests, and he came to understand how much Darry loved him. When his English teacher gave Pony a second chance to complete his late work, Pony decided to put his thoughts into words--in the form of The Outsiders.

How have Pony's cultural experiences affected him in The Outsiders?

By the novel's end, Ponyboy discovers that writing down his story on paper will be a therapeutic experience. Of all the greasers, Pony experiences a broader vision of life after the tragic adventures that begin on the night at the drive-in. Pony has always been a special member of his gang. The only one serious about school, Pony is the intellectual and introspective greaser--the hope for the future for the Curtis family. Darry will never attend college, and Soda is satisfied being a high school dropout, leaving Pony as the only brother with the hope of earning a degree and getting out of town. Pony's love of movies and reading sets him apart from the other boys. Like the other greasers, he hates the Socs for their money, fast cars and violent ways; but when Pony meets Cherry Valance at the drive-in and spends the night talking with her, he discovers that "All Socs aren't like that" and that "Things are rough all over." He survives a beating and near-death experience only to find that he is involved in a murder. Forced to leave town with Johnny, the two boys spend the better part of a week hiding out. It's a great experience for the boys: both frightening and enlightening. Pony's time away from home makes him realize how much he misses his brothers--it's both his and Johnny's first time away from home--yet it makes him stronger, more confident and self-reliant. After the fire, Pony is called a hero, but he knows that Johnny is the real hero. Pony enjoys the high of the rumble and the victorious celebration afterward, but he realizes that Johnny is right when the dying boy tells him that the rumble was "Useless... fighting's no good." Meeting up with Randy gives Pony a view of the Socs' world, and he sees that Randy is "just a guy." Johnny's and Dally's deaths are terrible blows to Pony, and he retreats into depression. It is only after another argument with his brothers that he comes to realize just how important he is to Soda and Darry. The note from Johnny is the impetus for Pony to tell his story in order to warn other gang members--Socs and greasers--who might be

... going down under street lights because they were mean and tough and hated the world, and it was too late to tell them there was still good in it. Someone should tell them before it's too late.  (Chapter 12)