This document summarizes chapters 9 and 10 of the novel "The Outsiders" and provides questions and answers about the chapters. It discusses Ponyboy questioning his identity and world, the individual reasons the boys fight, why Darry is hesitant to let Pony fight, the differences between Tim Shepard's gang and Darry's gang, Johnny's last words and their meaning, how Johnny's death affected Dally and led to his unraveling, and Ponyboy's actions while delirious showing his mended relationship with Darry.

1. THE OUTSIDERS
Chapter 9 & 10
Questions & Answers
December 2018
Miss Riddell

2. 1. On page 132, Ponyboy questions
what kind of world he is living in.
Why is this question an important
part of his development?
Ponyboy’s identity is that of a Greaser (long hair, being a
hood, having a bad reputation.)
Even if he doesn’t rob, mug people, steal things or get drunk
he is still labeled as lousy.
This makes Pony boy question where his life will take him.
Can he ever escape the label of “Greaser”? Does he want to?

3. 2. Give the boys’ individual reasons
for fighting.
Soda –
Steve –
Darry –
Two-Bit –
Pony –
For fun, he likes the adrenalin rush.
For hatred, he likes the violence.
For pride, he likes things that take strength.
For conformity, because everyone else does.
For self-defense, he doesn’t really like to fight.

4. 3. Explain why Darry is hesitant
to let Pony fight.
Ponyboy is still weak from hiding out and the fire.
He has lost weight and is looking pale.
Also, Johnny is not there to back him up.

5. 4. What’s the difference between
Tim Shepard’s gang and Darry’s
gang? Explain how this difference
might give the Curtis brothers and
their friends an advantage in life.

6. Shepard’s gang is more like one of those animal packs that
Ponyboy described earlier in the novel. Tim is the clear
leader and the rest of his gang are ruled/bullied by him.
They follow him due to fear.
For Ponyboy’s group of Greaser friends, Darry is the leader
because he’s the oldest and the smartest, but he doesn’t
rule over them. They follow him due to respect but each boy
also does his own thing and rules himself. They are more of a
band of brothers than a pack of animals.
Their union, Ponyboy figures, will better serve them because
they can all count on each other, but still be individuals and
do what each needs to do for himself.

7. 5. What’s ironic about Paul Holden
being the first Soc to step up to
Darry’s challenge?
The two young men used to be football teammates
and friends in high school.
Paul is now a junior in college and, but for a cruel
twist of fate that killed the Curtis parents, Darry
could’ve had a similarly bright future.
There’s really not much separating Paul and Darry,
so it’s ridiculous that they now hate each other for
no good reason.

8. 6. What are Johnny’s last words,
what do they mean, and what
important message do they offer?
Johnny is telling Ponyboy to be true to himself.
He should remain innocent and uncorrupted (keep liking
sunsets, reading books, drawing pictures.)
He should not become a violent or angry person.
He should stay hopeful for the future.
“Stay gold, Ponyboy. Stay gold.”

9. 7. Explain why Johnny’s death was
so hard for Dally to take. What
evidence is there in the last
chapters which show us that Dally
has started to unravel?
Johnny was the only person Dally truly loved. The death of
Johnny was the final breaking point for Dally. He started to
unravel by:
• Breaking out of the hospital
• Threatening the doctor
• Joining the rumble even though he was injured

10. 8. Explain the reasoning for Dally’s
“suicide by cop” behaviour.
Dally was destined to go out in a blaze of glory.
He couldn’t handle the only person he cared about
dying, so he arranged to kill himself.

11. First, he robbed a grocery store, which doesn’t
make any sense. It’s like he was wanting to get
caught.
Second, he brandished his unloaded gun, knowing
that the police would view it as a threat.
Third, he’s smiling as he’s gunned down.
He committed suicide without actually taking his
own life, which at this time would have been seen
as cowardly.

12. 9. Pony knows there will be no
editorials describing Dally as a hero.
However, he does remember Dally in
a positive light. Describe what good
things about Dally he will remember.
• Giving Johnny and Pony cash, a gun, and a plan
• Trying to keep Johnny out of trouble
• Giving Pony his jacket and putting out his back
when it was on fire
• Rescuing Johnny from the church

13. 10. At the beginning of chapter ten,
a helpful stranger drives Ponyboy
home. Symbolically, what’s a
message we can take away from this
exchange with the driver?
Hinton might be hoping that we see here that some people can
look beyond labels.
Ponyboy must look like a young thug, disheveled and bleeding
from the rumble. Still, the driver helps him and knows that
Ponyboy is simply “a hurt kid,” not a Greaser menace.
This short exchange is a sign of hope that people can be open to
each other and helpful when they are needed.

14. 11. How long has Ponyboy been
in-and-out of consciousness?
About three days. He fell ill late on Saturday night
and it’s Tuesday when he comes back around to
awareness of his surroundings.

15. 12. How do Ponyboy’s actions while
he was delirious show that he has
fully mended his fractured
relationship with Darry?
Ponyboy asked for Darry (along with Soda, his
parents, and Johnny) while he is feverish.
Ponyboy was fearful that he’d neglected Darry, but
Sodapop confirms that he was shouting out Darry’s
name, too.
Their relationship, the reader senses in this, is going
to be okay.

16. 13. What is the novel’s climax
and why?
The climax or the point of highest tension in which
the protagonist has the opportunity to resolve the
conflict occurs when Johnny dies.
Johnny’s death is one of the most tense moments in
the book and signals the beginning of Ponyboy’s new
perspective.