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October 11, 2013
1. Compare and contrast Johnny and Dally. What roles do they play in the
novel? What roles do they play In Ponyboy’s life?
2. Explain the importance of the setting in the novel. (You should choose
major events: the movie theater, the deserted park, the streets, the church,
etc.) How does the division between the East Side and the West Side represent
the conflict within the novel itself?
3. Compare and contrast the Curtis brothers: Darry, Sodapop, and Ponyboy.
How does their relationship change over the course of the novel?
4. “Sixteen years on the streets and you can learn a lot. But all the wrong
things, not the things you want to learn" (122). Discuss this quote from the novel
and how it applies to each of the boy's lives. What things did they learn? What
things might they have liked to learn? Support your ideas with what you know
about the characters through examples from the novel. (Focus on Johnny, Dally,
and Ponyboy)
5. Describe the major influences on Ponyboy and how they influence him.
6. Explain how “Nothing Gold Can Stay,” the Robert Frost poem that Ponyboy
recites to Johnny at the church, relevant to Ponyboy and Johnny’s story.
