Reading Response to The Outsiders

The characters in “The Outsiders” face conflicts and emotions throughout the book. But not as much as Ponyboy who deals with rival gangs like the Socs , his own gang, and even his inner-self. Ponyboy has a lot to focus on, but can he handle it?

Ponyboy is in a gang filled with greasers, poor,under middleclass people.  But that does not mean he doesn’t have a rival gang. The Socs are middle and upper class people who take advantage if they see a greaser walking by himself. Ponyboy may not have experience in the beginning of the book of getting gangbanged by the Socs but his friend Johnny does. Ponyboy and the rest of the gang were walking through a lot when they see bloody jacket and footsteps on the floor. They wondered what had happened until they heard a voice moaning. It was Johnny all torn up and bloody. But he Ponyboy does get attacked by the Soc while walking home from a movie. They were about to cut and hurt Ponyboy until some of the Ponyboy’s gang saw what was happening and came to help.  Ponyboy was scared to death but he was alright even though it was his first hit.

In Ponyboy’s gang, there is at least 6 people. There is Darry, Ponyboy’s older boy, and then there Steve, Johnny, Dally, Two-Bit, and Soda.  They mostly get along with each other but there are times when It doesn’t work out. For example when Johnny and Ponyboy were watching a movie with two girls that were from the Socs, Dally would try to make fun of them or get them annoyed. Johnny got sick of it and told her to stop making fun of the girls. Nobody talked to Dally that way, Dally was a mean street thug who robbed grocery stores when he got the chance. Dally was surprised at Johnny for what Johnny just said to him. Though Dally want to hurt one of his own gang, he just walked away and left to go rob a store or something.  

When Ponyboy was younger, his parents died in a car accident. There was nobody to support Ponyboy and Darry when they were younger. Ever since then, Pony and Darry picked themselves up and helped each other get back on their feet. Darry wanted Ponyboy to get an education and go back to school while he worked and took care of anything else. But that’s not the only problems he Ponyboy deals with. In school, Pony has no friends and he skipped a grade so people don’t take seriously in school because of his age and because nobody likes him.

In conclusion, “The Outsiders” is a good book that I can relate to in many ways. But one way is that “The Outsiders” is the same as Stand by me, a movie about a group of kids in a gang looking for a dead body to become heroes. The main character Gordie is sort of similar to Ponyboy. Someone I they family died in a car accident who they loved but overcame it.  The book was great and I really enjoyed it.