The Outsiders Chapters 4-6 Study Guide PDF

# The Outsiders ## Chapters Four - Six ### Comprehension and Analysis **Directions:** After reading the given chapters, answer the questions on a separate sheet of paper. #### Chapter Four 1. What happens to Ponyboy at the park? 2. Ponyboy says that he and Johnny would "never let them have the...

# The Outsiders ## Chapters Four - Six ### Comprehension and Analysis **Directions:** After reading the given chapters, answer the questions on a separate sheet of paper. #### Chapter Four 1. What happens to Ponyboy at the park? 2. Ponyboy says that he and Johnny would "never let them have the satisfaction of knowing" that the Socs scared them to death. Why? What does it say about the value that Johnny and Ponyboy place on the Greasers' reputation? 3. Why does Johnny go after Bob? What is the result? 4. Why does Johnny react so violently to the Socs? 5. Johnny reacts with calmness after the incident with Bob, while Ponyboy becomes hysterical. Why do you think they react differently? 6. As Ponyboy becomes sick, why does Johnny tell Ponyboy that he won't look at him? 7. To whom do Ponyboy and Johnny go for help? What does he give them? What does he tell them to do? 8. How do the boys get to where they are going? Where do they plan to stay? 9. On the way there, Johnny says he "couldn't shoot anybody" despite just having stabbed someone. How do we explain this? What is the difference between these two acts? 10. Ponyboy wishes to go to the country in the earlier chapters of the novel, but once he gets there, he doesn't like it and says that "there are worse things than being a greaser." Why is his experience so different from his dream of visiting it? What is the main thing that is missing from the reality that was present in his fantasy? 11. Why do you think the author included the flashback to when all the guys went to church together? Do you think it was important to include that scene? Why? 12. Make a prediction about Ponyboy's "premonition." How could this be a hint of something that is being foreshadowed? #### Chapter Five 1. When Pony wakes up, why is he alone? What does Johnny bring back? 2. What different things would you buy as supplies? Remember, they did their shopping at a grocery store, so keep your answers realistic to things that you could find there. 3. What do the boys do to disguise themselves? Why is Pony so reluctant to do anything with his hair? 4. Johnny states that when people go to jail, the authorities cut their hair to "break" them. Why would he think this? What does this say about his opinion of authority? Why is hair really cut when people are sent to jail? 5. How did the boys show their feelings as emotion overcame them? Do you think their behavior was "in character" or did it deviate from the image the writer was trying to create? Explain. 6. Read the following quote, which took place after the boys cried. "...for the first time since Dally and I had sat down behind those girls at the Nightly Double, I relaxed. We could take whatever was coming now." Based on this passage, what we can infer about how Ponyboy is feeling? # The Outsiders ## Chapter Six 1. "The spy" thinks the whole mess is her fault. Dally agrees that it is. Thinking back on the story, do you believe the trouble they are all in is because of her? Explain. 2. What does Johnny announce that he and Pony are going to do? Why does he think it is best? Do you agree or disagree with their decision. Why? 3. What does Dally tell Johnny when he asks about his parents? How does Johnny react? How is his reaction different from how Dally would react? 4. After Johnny asks about his parents, Ponyboy says that he feels bad for Dally. Why would he feel bad for Dally instead of Johnny? 5. Ponyboy outlines the different functions within their group. Do you think there is a hierarchy within the group? Where does Ponyboy fit into this? Where does Dally fit? 6. What is happening at the church when they return? Describe what they do about it. 7. Why does Ponyboy feel so inclined to risk his life? 8. While in the church, Johnny appears to act completely differently from how he normally does. Why do you think he does so? 9. What is Dally's motivation for clubbing Pony across the back? 10. Discuss how Pony and Johnny's decision to help the children changes the action of the story. Cite textual evidence to support your response. 11. Where are they headed when Pony wakes up? Where are Johnny and Dally? Describe each of the boys' injuries. 12. When in the ambulance, Ponyboy disputes it when the stranger tells him that he passed out. Why is this? What does this say about how Ponyboy believes in the Greaser image? 13. How do Soda and Darry react when they see Ponyboy? 14. Cite evidence from the novel that shows Ponyboy was wrong all along about the way Darry feels about him. How does Pony come to this realization?