The Outsiders Chapter 5

Questions and Answers

1. THE OUTSIDERS Chapter 5 Questions & Answers December 2018 Miss Riddell

2. Vocabulary

3. (page 71) trademark (noun) a distinctive mark or feature particularly characteristic of or identified with a person, thing or group

4. (page 75) plantation (noun) a large estate in a semitropical area on which cotton, tobacco, sugar cane or the like is grown

5. (page 76) gallant (adjective) brave, spirited, noble-minded, or chivalrous

6. (page 83) heater (noun) Slang - a pistol, revolver, or other firearm

7. 1. Pony's first feeling when he wakes up in the church is... b) confusion

8. 2. When Ponyboy awakens, he notices that Johnny’s jean jacket “had somehow got thrown across me.” What does this show us about Johnny? He’s a good guy. It’s almost like he’s serving the role of an older brother/caretaker for Ponyboy . Interestingly , the label of “murderer” just doesn’t fit this kid. It’s another example of labels providing an incomplete – and inaccurate – picture of someone.

9. 3. Gone with the Wind (the book Johnny and Pony are reading) takes place during...   c) The Civil War

10. 4. The fact that Johnny is getting more out of the book than Pony, even though Pony is the "smart" one is an example of: c) irony

11. 5. What example does Johnny give to show why he thinks Dally is gallant ? c) The way he acted when the police busted him

12. 6 . How did Soda figure out that Dally knew where the boys ran to?   c) The sweatshirt Pony left behind at Buck’s

13. 7. Why did the police haul Dally into the station after the events in the park? d) He gets brought in anytime something happens in that part of town

14. 8. What did Johnny admire about Dallas?   He was good at swearing. He kept his mouth shut. He took the rap for Two-Bit.

15. 9. Of all the boys, Ponyboy likes Dally the least. Why? What does this realization show us about Ponyboy ?   He says that Dally is “too real,” while the other boys all have heroic qualities like the characters in the novels he reads. Dally, however, doesn’t have those traits; he is rough and raw and violent. This scares Ponyboy . This realization shows us that Ponyboy likes to imagine himself living in an idealized world. Dally, however, lives in the real world that Ponyboy wishes he didn’t have to confront.

16. 10. Ponyboy doesn’t want to cut and bleach his hair with peroxide, but Johnny knows they need to alter their appearances. According to Ponyboy , how does a military or prison haircut serve as a method to break young men from their social class? For Greasers, long hair is part of their identity. By requiring a haircut, officials are taking away a young man’s identity and sense of self. This can be a good thing for the military that needs group identity to function well, but this can be a tool of humiliation in the criminal justice system.

17. 11. Is the length of boys’ hair today important to any adults you know? If yes, then who and why?

18. 12. a) Johnny compares the Curtis brothers to their deceased parents. Which boy looks/acts like which parent?     Sodapop looks like their mom, but acts like their dad. Darry looks like their dad, but acts like their mom . Ponyboy doesn’t look or act like either of the parents.

19. b) Which one of your parents are you most like? What similarities (physical or behavioral) do you share?  

20. 13. Who is the unexpected spy for the Greasers? Why would this person be willing to serve in this role?   Cherry Valance, the red-haired Soc girl from the drive-in, has been giving information about the Socs to the Greasers . Although the chapter doesn’t say why, we can conclude that she has several motivations. First, she knew Bob, her boyfriend, was sometimes a menace, a drunk, and ran with a thuggish group of Socs . She feels responsible for the whole mess because she was the reason Bob and the Socs came back looking for the boys that night. She also knows that Johnny and Ponyboy are sweet-natured and wouldn’t go looking for trouble. Looking at the evidence objectively, she must realize what really happened that night. Also, she has an odd attraction to Dally and wants to help him.