Book Report - the Outsiders

Book Report On The Outsiders

Ponyboy Curtis - Ponyboy is a fourteen-year-old member of a gang called the Greasers. His parents died in a car accident, so he lives alone with his two older brothers, Darry and Soda. He is a good student and athlete, but most people at school consider him a vagrant like his Greaser friends. Sodapop Curtis - Soda is Pony's handsome, charming older brother. He dropped out of school to work at a gas station, and does not share his brothers' interest in studying and sports. Darrel Curtis - The oldest of the Curtis boys, Darry is also the acknowledged leader of the Greasers. Johnny Cade - Johnny is Pony's closest friend and the gang's pet. They are especially protective of him since he is smaller than the rest, his father beats him, and he is afraid to walk the streets alone after being attacked by a group of Socs. Cherry Valance - Cherry is from the richer part of town and associates mainly with the Socs, but she befriends Pony and the other Greasers and gives them information about the Socs. Bob Gardner - Bob is Cherry's boyfriend. Johnny murders Bob to stop him from killing Pony. Dallas Winston - A member of the Greasers, Dally has spent time in prison. He helps Johnny and Pony by telling them to go to Jay Mountain to hide out and by giving them money. Two-Bit Mathews - The Greasers' oldest member. He acts like a mentor or mascot to the Greasers. Steve Randle - Soda's best friend and another member of the Greasers.

The Outsiders is a coming-of-age story about a group of boys engaged in a dangerous feud with the wealthier residents of their town. The narrator, Ponyboy Curtis, is a teenager who lives alone with his two brothers. He is interested in academics and sports, but does not receive the same respect and treatment granted to the wealthier kids, who belong to a different gang called the Socs. Pony has long hair, which he greases; he knows that people consider him a juvenile delinquent based on his appearance. Pony is not content with his situation; he worries that his brother does not want to take care of him and constantly fears attacks by the Socs. Things get much worse, however, when he and his friend Johnny go to a park late at night. The Socs attack them there and dunk Pony's head in a fountain, long enough to make him unconscious and almost drown him. When he wakes up, he realizes that one of the Socs is dead, and that Johnny killed him. The two boys run away with the help of their friend Dally, who tells them to go to an abandoned church on Jay Mountain. They hide out for a week, and then Dally comes to find them. Johnny wants to go back to turn himself in, but as they head back to the church they see that it has caught fire. A group of schoolchildren is there on a field trip, and a few of the children remain locked inside the burning church. Pony and Johnny break the window and rescue the children as the fire spreads. Pony is able to climb back out, but Johnny is hit with a piece of falling timber and burned severely. The boys are written up as heroes in the newspaper, even though they are still wanted for murder. Johnny is badly injured and will never walk again, if he lives. Meanwhile the Greasers are scheduled to fight the Socs. The