Discussion Questions

Chapter 1

1. Who does Ponyboy wish he looked like? Why?

2. What sets Ponyboy apart from his brothers and the others in their gang?

3. Explain how Ponyboy sees Soda and Darry.

4. What makes the two gangs different from each other?

5. Describe Ponyboy's feelings when he is jumped by the Socs.

6. What are the signs of real family love among the boys?

7. How does Ponyboy define "gangs" in the Southwest?

8. What are your impressions of Dally?

9. What do Darry's words and actions toward Pony show about his feelings?

10. How does Ponyboy describe the way "decent" girls look at greasers?

11. What kind of future had Darry been forced to give up?

12. What does Ponyboy think Darry's feelings toward him are?

Chapter 2

1. What are Ponyboy's feelings about Dally's behavior toward the girls at the movies?

2. How do the Soc girls, Cherry and Marcia, react to Ponyboy and Johnny?

3. According to Ponyboy, what is the "motto" of a gang?

4. Describe Cherry's personality.

5. What had happened to Johnny that still frightens him?

6. What does Cherry say about the differences between Socs and Greasers?

Chapter 3

1. What effect does Cherry have on Ponyboy?

2. What does Cherry do to ensure that there will not be a fight between Socs and Greasers on that particular night?

3. What does Cherry reveal as her real feeling toward Dally?

4. What exactly does Ponyboy mean when he says, "I saw Johnny's cigarette glowing in the dark and wondered vaguely what it was like inside a burning ember . . ." (Hinton 47)?

5. Why does Ponyboy dream of the country?

6. Why is Darry so upset about Ponyboy's arriving home late?

7. What makes Ponyboy decide to run away?

Chapter 4

1. Who comes after Ponyboy and Johnny in the park?

2. What do the Socs do to Ponyboy?

3. How does Johnny react?

4. Who seems more level-headed after the stabbing? How does this seem out of character for this person?

5. Who do Ponyboy and Johnny go to for help?

6. What does Dally give them?

7. Where does he send them?

8. How does Ponyboy's trip to the country differ from his dream?

Chapter 5

1. What seems to be the strangest thing Johnny brings back to the church from the store?

2. Why is hair such an issue to the greasers?

3. Explain how crying helps Ponyboy and Johnny to relax.

4. How does Ponyboy explain that Dally is not a hero to him?

5. Why does the poem Ponyboy recites make so much sense to Johnny?

6. What is some foreshadowing in this chapter?

7. What has Dally told the police about the two boys?

8. What news does Dally bring?

Chapter 6

1. Who has become the greasers' spy among the Socs?

2. Why does Johnny decide to turn himself in?

3. Why is Johnny so determined to find out if his parents are worried about him?

4. How is Dally so different from Johnny?

5. What side of Dally comes out when he deals with Johnny?

6. Why do Ponyboy and Johnny go into the burning church?

7. Describe Johnny's expression as they get the kids out of the church.

8. What happens to Johnny? To Dally?

9. What does Ponyboy finally realize about Darry's feelings toward him?

Chapter 7

1. Describe Dally's condition. Johnny's condition.

2. What are your impressions of the family life the Curtis brothers have?

3. What is the focus of the newspaper article that was written about Ponyboy and Johnny? Why is Ponyboy so bothered by the article?

4. Why is Ponyboy so scared by the dream he occasionally has that he cannot remember?

5. What does Randy reveal to Ponyboy that he cannot tell anyone else?

Chapter 8

1. In Johnny's and Ponyboy's opinions, why was 16 years not long enough?

2. Why do the boys say, "We could get along without anyone but Johnny" (Hinton 123)?

3. Evaluate Johnny's mother's accusation that Johnny's situation is the greasers' fault.

4. What does Two-Bit mean when he says, "'You know, the only thing that keeps Darry from bein' a Soc is us'" (126)?

5. What role has Cherry taken?

Chapter 9

1. Why does Darry eventually decide to let Ponyboy fight in the rumble?

2. Why does Darry want Pony and Soda to leave the rumble quickly if the police show up?

3. What weapons were to be used in this rumble?

4. How does the rumble start? How does it end?

5. Why does Dally rush Ponyboy to the hospital at the end of the rumble?

6. What is Johnny's last statement to Ponyboy?

7. How does Dally react to Johnny's death?

Chapter 10

1. What has Dally done after leaving the hospital?

2. What is Dally's end?

3. Why is Ponyboy upset over the fact that he might not have asked for Darry while he was so sick?

 Chapter 11.

1. Why does Randy come to visit Ponyboy?

 Chapter 12

1. What is the outcome of the hearing?

2. After Ponyboy returns to school, how does he react to Socs?

3. What happens to Ponyboy's school work?

4. Why can Soda not stand to hear Darry and Pony fight?

5. Explain the end of the novel.