Ponyboy Curtis: A smart and fanciful fourteen year old who belongs to a gang called the “Greasers”. He wonders why life is so much more difficult for him and his friends than it is for the Socs. He loves his brother Sodapop, who is kind and loving and understanding, but he doesn 't get along with his older brother Darry, who he sees as a bully. Though he wants to be part of the gang, he doesn 't always agree with their violent ways. Pony is quiet and shy, and prefers talking to a Soc named Cherry about sunsets. He knows he is innocent and naïve--he doesn 't always know what to do or say--but he believes it is important to be tough, and to belong. Still, he doesn 't take his situation for granted: when Johnny and Dally die, he writes the story