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Character Analysis Of Ponyboy Curtis In S. E. Hinton's The Outsiders

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Almost everyone deals with a loss differently and for Ponyboy Curtis it is acting and looking in a way that was not true to himself. The novel The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton shows many examples of different kinds of people, but by far the oddest of them all is Ponyboy Curtis. Ponyboy was born on the East side of Oklahoma which means he is to be a greaser. Greasers are known for their violent behavior and hair grease, but not Ponyboy. Although he does use hair grease he is not violent but instead enjoys reading and movies. Johnny, Ponyboy's best friend believing Pony can be whatever he wants to be, Ponyboy picking up his broken glass, and some socs not being able to understand how Ponyboy was classified as a greaser shows that no matter where …show more content…

The East and West both have assumptions about one another. Sherri Valance also known as Cherry is a popular soc who while at the theatre meets Ponyboy, Johnny, and Dally. Dally starts to mess with Cherry but Johnny tells him to back off. Cherry now annoyed looks back at Pony and Johnny to see if they were trying to start something too but when she sees that they are not she invites them to sit with her and her friend Marcia. As Pony and Cherry are talking to each other she asks “What's a nice, smart kid like you running around with trash like that for?” (Hinton 22-24). Cherry assumed that Pony was like any other greaser but was proven wrong. Even Cherry Valance does not understand why someone like Ponyboy is hanging around someone like Dallas …show more content…

Before Johnny died he gives his copy of “Gone With The Wind” to the nurse to give to Pony. Days later after Johnny’s death, Ponyboy decides to look through the book Johnny gave him when a slip of paper falls out, it is a note from Johnny. Johnny tells Ponyboy “And don’t be bugged about being a greaser. You still have a lot of time to make yourself be whatever you want.” (Hinton 179). Johnny a fellow greaser believes wholeheartedly that if Pony put his mind to something he can accomplish it. Johnny knew Ponyboy was questioning who he is exactly and what he wants to make of his life, but Johnny also knew that Pony will do something great. This note gives Ponyboy the confidence and strength to keep seeking out his true

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482 Words | 2 Pages

When Cherry and Ponyboy get popcorn during the movie, Ponyboy tells Cherry all the bad things that have happened to him. Cherry says to him, "All socs aren't like that. You have to believe me Ponyboy. Not all of us are like that." (pg 34).

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139 Words | 1 Pages

Ponyboy from the novel “The outsiders” is very different from the Gang the Greasers In many ways. One example that Ponyboy is not like other greasers because he thinks deeper than the other members in his gang he notices the little things in life for example, “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.” This means that when Ponyboy notices the little things he says them and has other People notice them too. Ponyboy has learned a lot throughout the story.

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164 Words | 1 Pages

A central conflict for Ponyboy in The Outsiders is his worry for his family and friends. For instance, Ponyboy really worries about Johnny and Dally when they are in the hospital. This interprets that Ponyboy can’t stand to live without them or see them badly hurt. In other words, Pony loves his family and friends and if one dies everyone will be depressed and uncomfortable. Another example is that Ponyboy also gets to know Bob and Randy, and how they were good guys to hang around with.

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1152 Words | 5 Pages

After having to get Dally away from her they began to talk and saw that they had similarities. They both enjoyed watching the sunset which they found surprising because in their eyes Greasers were cold-hearted people who cared nothing about anyone else and just wanted to fight and Socs were stuck-up rich kids who only cared about themselves and their status. However, Pony and Cherry were different in that it did not matter if one was a Soc and one was a Greaser because they had similarities and bonded over them. Cherry even said that Socs also have their problem even if they are rich, as she says “things are rough all over.”

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439 Words | 2 Pages

They were talking about their similarities and differences. Ponyboy likes to look at the sunsets and so does Cherry. Ponyboy and Cherry seemed to be getting along pretty well even though Cherry is a soc and Pony is a greaser. If they weren't so caught up on different gangs and groups they would all be friends. If they took time to actually talk to each other they wouldn't always be fighting to see who is better and who can beat up

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1438 Words | 6 Pages

Johnny was trying to tell him that he doesn't have to be a greaser he can be someone else he can do better than what his brothers could. He is not hard Because he still looked at sunset and still had hope. as well as the know when Ponyboy finds out that he does not have to leave the life that his brothers have and that he could still have her future and he can still live and have hope and you don't have to be a greaser and you don't have to live this way. He doesn't have to be Greaser all of his life they can contribute to society in a way that only he can. and finally when Johnny wrote him a Note When you're a kid everything's new, dawn.

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947 Words | 4 Pages

Consequently with all that was going on at that moment, Johnny defended himself and Ponyboy who is one of the Greasers. Furthermore, Ponyboy responds saying, “‘You really killed him, huh, Johnny? ‘Yeah.’ His voice quivered slightly. ‘I had to.

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985 Words | 4 Pages

Similar to Johnny, Ponyboy is a hero because he is not afraid to rescue and help the people in need. Despite the fact that most of the greasers are “hard” and “tuff”, Ponyboy likes to read,talk about sunsets and poetry. Ponyboy is an innocent boy with courage that changes by maturing throughout the book. The truth was the effort, after all the suffering and changes he has gone through in his life he chose to write a book to express his anger he felt which is why he is the narrator of this story. One fearless thing he did is helping Johnny with the kids in the burning church he said “I’ll get them out don't worry”(p.91)Ponyboy said this when he saw the church on fire and realized there was children in there, he went in and risked it all to save the children.

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923 Words | 4 Pages

He could take anything. It was Johnny I was worried about.” He knows how frightened and anxious Johnny is after being jumped and how he is not as tough as the rest of the Greasers. Especially without a loving family at home, Johnny only has the gang and is not able to take as much. Throughout the whole novel, Ponyboy expresses how much he cares for others both with Johnny, and

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344 Words | 2 Pages

“The Outsiders” has many themes; however, the main theme is to be thankful for what you have, and not to take anything for granted. In the book, Ponyboy took his brothers for granted and didn’t realize how blessed he was until Johnny died. Ponyboy thought his life was awful because he was raised by his brothers instead of his parents, and because of his title. However, what Ponyboy didn’t reconcile was that Johnny,( and many other people in the world) had a much worse life than he did. The reader can see this on page 42 when it says, “‘Gee,’ Johnny said softly, ‘I thought you and Darry and Soda got along real well…’

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695 Words | 3 Pages

Over the course of the book the two friends get closer. The main thing that Johnny tells Ponyboy is to stay gold and be a good person. In the end of the book Johnny leaves a note for Ponyboy when he dies. This note helps show what Johnny brings out in Ponyboy. It says “I've been thinking about it, and that poem, that guy that wrote it, he meant you're gold when you're a kid, like green.

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667 Words | 3 Pages

He also says that he shouldn’t “…be so bugged over being a greaser. You still have a lot of time to make yourself be what you want.” Johnny is refereeing to how Ponyboy has a bright future and he can make with his life whatever he pleases. Pony finally understood what Johnny meant when he said, “stay gold, Ponyboy. Stay gold…”

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594 Words | 3 Pages

Ponyboy was genuinely upset about his hair, therefore he accepts his appearance as a greaser, as well. Ponyboy is negatively affected by the stereotype because he gets into multiple legal problems. He is forced to go to court because his friend, Johnny, killed a Soc named Bob. “Greasers can’t walk alone too much or they’ll get jumped, or someone come by and scream “Greaser!” at them, which doesn’t make you feel too hot, if you know what I mean” (2).

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686 Words | 3 Pages

Johnny shows Ponyboy that the world isn’t corrupt with mean people and that it is still full of good. Johnny stated in the note Ponyboy found in the book Gone With The Wild that it is was worth saving the kids even if it meant his life. He also stated that the poem in the book meant “He meant you’re gold when you’re a kid,like green… and don’t get bugged over being a greaser. You still have a lot of time to make yourself be what you want. There’s still lots of good in the world” (Hinton 178-9).

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907 Words | 4 Pages

In the novel, “The Outsiders” that was written by S.E Hinton, one of the characters within the book that has changed a lot was Ponyboy Curtis. Ponyboy Curtis’ change was a slow process, but a lot happened to him throughout the novel. He goes through many events at the start, middle and at the end of the novel too. At the start of the novel, Ponyboy was just an innocent and smart kid who lived with the gang known as, “The Greasers”, but by the end of the novel, Ponyboy is a different person compared to how he was in the beginning. The events that took place in the middle of the novel has some key events that make him change his personality and opinion on life, and that the reader learns that his personality and opinion changes because of the dramatic events he goes through like how Johnny Cade and Dallas Winston’s death.

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