Changes In Ponyboy's 'Coming Of Age In The Outsiders'

In the novel, Ponyboy couldn’t even walk a short distance home without getting jumped by the Socials. This idea is heartbreaking to realize that a child can’t safely walk around his or hers neighborhood without being harmed in some areas. The novel shows a numerous amount of young adults being killed or harmed due to gang violence. For example, Johnny Cade killed Bob Sheldon in self-defense, which was devastating to his family, friends, and girlfriend. The author also represents a positive side to violence at the end of the novel. The rumble between the two groups without weapons, helped end the aggression and hatred between them. This uncovered the common interest that they shared and allowed them to relate to each other on an emotional and physical level.

Ponyboy is in this state because he is devastated that his two friends, Johnny and Dally died. Johnny was a young nice kid who was the guinea pig of the group and Dally is this real tough boy that has been through a lot of hard times including prison. In the book, Ponyboy says “I had it. I stopped him. He was looking at me strangely. I had the knife. I killed Bob” (Hinton 165) and as the readers know, Ponyboy didn’t kill Bob. This shows that Ponyboy is really confused and is trying to think that Johnny isn’t dead. Then in the movie it didn’t show Ponyboy in this terrible mental state at all. Since the book mentioned Ponyboy in this state, the readers got to see that Ponyboy really cared about Johnny. Then with the movie the audience didn’t get to see how much Ponyboy cared about Johnny, so that could change their perspective on Ponyboy. Therefore this was a good thing that the book mentioned because it showed that Johnny was really important to Ponyboy and Ponyboy didn’t want to think that Johnny was

Later, Johnny conveys his guilt to Ponyboy when he says: “‘There sure is a lot of blood in people.’”(Hinton 74), nearly quoting Shakespeare in Macbeth. In a later conversation with Johnny, Ponyboy gets thinking about this new world he has been thrust into. In the text he says: “I liked my books and clouds and sunsets. Dally was so real he scared me.”(Hinton 76) This shows how Ponyboy likes when the hero can beat the villain and get a pretty sunset at the end. But now Ponyboy has to deal with the real-world effects of violence, and he doesn’t like it. This marks one of Ponyboy’s first major changes of his mindset on violence.

The novel The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton is an obvious example of the struggles of coping with life and maturity. The novel is mainly about two small groups (the socials and the greasers) and the physical and emotional battles between them. The book follows Ponyboy and his small gang which consists of 7 boys; Sodapop and Darrel, Ponyboy's brothers, Johnny, Ponyboy's best friend, Dallas, the worst member of the gang (worst in the sense that he breaks law for fun and gets into the most trouble), Keith/ Two-Bit, the joker of the group, and Steve, Sodapops longtime best friend. Certain members of this gang are showing obvious signs that maturing is difficult, such as Ponyboy acting tough around people but in his thoughts and small indications we can see he is not the same Pony. Another obvious sign is that the entire Curtis family (Ponyboy, Sodapop, Darrel) seems to act older and more mature than really are. The most prominent form of Pony specifically is that he is completely different at the beginning then he is at the end of the book.

Ponyboy is caring because he is thoughtful. Towards the end of the story Ponyboy went to see Johnny while he was in the hospital. I think that Pony taking his time to visit Johnny while the brawl was about to happen showed Pony’s thoughtfulness. It is clear to see that Ponyboy cares about other people more than himself. He went to go visit Johnny in the hospital taking up his own time, Pony is being thoughtful. Maybe Johnny wanted someone to come visit because he felt lonely. Next, Pony showed his thoughtfulness when he risked his life to save the kids in the fire. On page 91 paragraph 8 Ponyboy said,”“I’ll get them don’t worry”I started for a dead charge for the church.” I think that this shows the reader that Ponyboy wants to put other people before himself and save the kids from the fire. Ponyboy is cleary thoughtful because he was willing to die to save other people's lives and he is willing to lose his own life. Ponyboy is caring because he was willing to spend his time doing stuff for other people and he is

In the outsiders, the first chapter introduces the main character, Ponyboy and gives a short history about him and his family. He designates the difference between the relationships between the members in his gang, and the relationship between both of his brothers. His parents were killed in a car accident, so that’s why he was just left alone to live with his older 2 brothers.

Hinton’s use of characterization in the novel shows how Ponyboy and his gang have had to grow up too soon. It shows how they wish to stay young and gold instead of having to be cold hearted adults. For instance, Hinton states, “Johnny never walked by himself after that. And Johnny…now carried in his back pocket a six inch switchblade. He’d use it, too, if he ever got jumped again (Hinton 340.)” Before Johnny got jumped he was innocent and was “the pet of the gang.” After being shown the true dangers of society, however, he was forced to become mature and tough. “That was [Darry’s] silent fear then-of losing another person he loved. I remembered how close he and Dad had been, and I wondered how I could ever have

In the book, The Outsiders by S.E Hinton, the biggest influences in shaping Ponyboy’s identity are creativity, how he’s different from the rest of the gang, and his hair. The first example of how creativity and his difference with the rest of the gang is, when Ponyboy walks home alone home from the movie in the first chapter because he “likes to watch movies undisturbed so I can get into them and live them with actors. … I’m different that way” (Hinton 2). Ponyboy wanted to go to the movie alone so he can “get into them and live with actors.” This shows creativity because being able to get into books and dream is being creative. He wants to live and be with the actors and watching movies and reading books which is a good way to be able to get into another

The Outsiders is a novel by S. E. Hinton that takes place in the 1960s. The narrator of The Outsiders, Ponyboy Curtis is a teenage boy living in Oklahoma. He and his two older brothers are part of a tightly knit group of boys. There's Sodapop Curtis, Steve Randall, Johnny Cade, “Two-Bit” Matthews, Darrel Curtis, and Dallas Winston. At the start of the story Ponyboy is not particularly fond of Dally Winston. He is tough, gets in fights, and and his wild personality gets him into trouble. After Dally and Ponyboy experienced murder, fights, and deadly fires, his judgment shifts. Ponyboy's opinion of Dally changed and they became close.

In the novel, The Outsiders, by S.E. Hinton, Ponyboy made a choice that ultimately affected his life. Ponyboy had decided to go to the movies all alone one day. He feels more comfortable when he watches movies alone as the narrator states, “When I see a movie with someone it’s kind of uncomfortable, like having someone read your book over your shoulder” (Hinton 2).

Pony claimed that,”...(he) couldn’t take (Darry) hollering at (him) and hitting (him) too... sometimes (they) get along okay, then all of a sudden (Darry) blows up on (Ponyboy)... (Darry) didn’t use to be like that…(they) used to get along okay... before Mom and Dad died” revealing that Ponyboy feels sad by reason of Darry yelling and attacking him. (Hinton 51) this exposes the real reason of why Ponyboy reacted the way he did, being that their mother and father's passing affected them poorly.

He lives with his 20 year-old brother Darry who has legal custody of him, and Sodapop, his brother who is 16. Ponyboy lacks common sense. This can be seen in chapter 3, on page 50 and 51 after Darry hits him. The book says ‘“Johnny?”’ I called and started when he rolled over and jumped up almost under my feet. “ Come on, Johnny, we’re running away.”’ Darry didn’t mean to hit him, but Ponyboy wasn't thinking and ran away. Shortly after this, Ponyboy and Johnny get attacked by Socs and one tries to drown Ponyboy in a fountain. Johnny accidentally kills one of the Socs, after which all the Socs run away. Ponyboy and Johnny get help from Darry and go to an abandoned church and stay there for some time. Because they were so scared, they ran away instead of fully looking at the problem to come up with a better plan. Johnny is in a similar situation because he runs away as

In the beginning of The Outsiders, Pony felt confused and despised around his brother. According to Ponyboy, he states, “I never could please him. He would have hollered at me for carrying a blade if I had carried one. If I brought home B’s, he wanted A’s. If I was playing football, I should be studying, and if I was reading, I should be out playing football” (13). Pony feels that no matter what, he’d never amuse Darry. He also felt despised. A little later in the novel, it claims, “My face got hot as I but my lip. Darry…what was Darry like?…I burst out bitterly: …‘He likes Soda–everybody likes Soda–but he can't stand me. I bet he wishes he could stick me in a home somewhere, and he’d do it, too, if Soda’d let him’ ” (42). Pony’s negative opinion resembles a feeling of being unloved. In the story, he complains his brother just couldn’t stand him. Soon, events happen that turn around Pony’s opinion and attitude.

Ponyboy was taught many things he never knew about his brothers. Some example of this is how Ponyboy truly learned that Darry loves him. Pony learned this from Darry crying after he saw Ponyboy because Darry never cried not even when there folks died. Another example is Soda, Soda taught Ponyboy that he was always stuck in the middle of him and Darry fighting, and that it needed to stop. Pony didn't just

Darry expects a lot from his younger brother and does not hesitate to tell him when he is disappointed. Even if Ponyboy resents his brother for the way he treats him, it does not prevent him from acknowledging the sacrifices he had to make in order to take care of his brothers. Darry had to find a job and gave up on his education. “Darry didn’t deserve to work like an old man when he was only twenty. He had been a popular guy in school; he was captain of the football team and he had been voted Boy of the Year.