The Outsiders: Chapter Summaries

Ponyboy Curtis, the narrator of The Outsiders, walks out of a movie theatre in Tulsa, and heads home.

He enjoys watching movies alone, but now wishes he had some company because Greaserslike him aren't safe from members of a rival gang, the Socs.

Greasers, Ponyboy says, are from the East Side and are poorer than the West Side Socs. Greaserswear their hair long, dress in jeans and leather jackets, and some steal, rob, and fight in public.

Ponyboy, however, avoids such behaviour because his strict older brother Darry would kill him (or his middle brother Sodapop) if they got into trouble.

Ponyboy notices a red Corvair following him. He suspects it's a group of Socs, and thinks of his friend Johnny, who was recently badly beaten by the Socs. The car pulls up next to Ponyboy. Five Socs get out. They taunt Ponyboy, threaten to cut off his hair with a switchblade, and pin him down.

He fears for his life and attempts in vain to fight back while screaming for help. His brothers and other Greasers hear his cries and come to his aid. The Socs flee.

Once it's clear the danger has passed, Darry scolds Ponyboy for walking alone without a weapon. Ponyboy bristles at Darry's words. Sodapop defends Ponyboy.

Dally invites everyone to the double feature at the drive-in the next night. Ponyboy and Johnny agree to go. Dally reveals that he has broken up with his girlfriend, and Ponyboy wonders what non-Greaser girls are like.

Back at home, Ponyboy works on his homework and thinks about the sacrifices Darry has made: passing up a college scholarship and working construction to support the Curtis family after their parents died.

As they fall asleep, Sodapop tells Ponyboy that Darry's harsh words result from his big responsibilities and his desire to protect Ponyboy. Sodapop also confesses his love for his sweetheart Sandy and reveals his plans to marry her when she finishes school.

The park is deserted. As Johnny and Ponyboy walk and talk, the blue Mustang suddenly appears. Bob, his friend Randy, and three other Socs jump out of the car. All of them are drunk. Johnny, terrified, pulls out his switchblade and Ponyboy wishes he had the broken bottle. Bob insults Greasers by calling them white trash with long hair. Ponyboy, furious, responds that Socs are white trash with mustangs and madras (plaid) shirts, and spits at the Socs.

The Socs attack. One forces Ponyboy's head underwater in a nearby fountain. Ponyboy blacks out. When he comes to, the Socs are gone and he's on the pavement next to Johnny and Bob's dead body. Johnny says, "I killed him." Johnny's switchblade is covered in blood.

Ponyboy panics, but Johnny is calm. He decides that they should go to Dally for help. They find Dally at a party at the house of Dally's rodeo partner, Buck Merril. When he learns what's happened, Dally gives them warm clothes, fifty dollars, a loaded gun, and directions to a hide-out in an abandoned church in the small rural town of Windrixville. He asks Ponyboy if Darry and Sodapop know what happened. Ponyboy tells him not to say anything to Darry

Hidden in a boxcar on a train they've hopped to Windrixville, Johnny looks at Dally's gun and wonders why Dally gave it to him, saying he could never use it. For his part, Ponyboy, wearing the warm "hoodlum's jacket" that Dally gave him, can't believe that the two of them are fleeing a murder. He thinks about Johnny's kind quiet demeanour and marvels at the enormity of their current situation.

At the Windrixville station, Ponyboy realizes how his and Johnny's appearance make them look like hoods. He misses home, and thinks about how his dream of moving to the country has come true but not in the way he planned it. As soon they find the abandoned church, they immediately drop off to sleep.

Ponyboy, Darry, and Sodapop wait in the hospital waiting room for news about Johnny and Dally. Reporters and police question and take photos of Ponyboy and his brothers.

Eventually, a doctor emerges. He says that Dally will be okay in a few days, but that Johnny's back has been broken, and that if he survives, he will be crippled for life.

Ponyboy tries not to cry when he hears this news. He reflects that Greasers are not supposed to cry, and that some of them have even forgotten how.

The morning paper contains an article with the headline "Juvenile Delinquents Turn Heroes."

The article credits the boys with saving the children's lives.

The article finishes by saying that the Curtis boys should be allowed to stay together.

But this final bit of news panics Ponyboy, who hadn't realized that there was a chance that he and Sodapop might be separated from Darry.

With Sodapop and Darry now in the kitchen too, Ponyboy shares the news that on the previous night he had one of his recurring nightmares, which he can only vaguely remember in the morning.

Ponyboy and Two-Bit go down to the Tasty Freeze to buy sodas. While there, the blue Mustang pulls into the parking lot. Randy emerges from the car and walks over. Ponyboy and Two-Bit brace for a fight, but Randy says he only wants to talk.

As Randy and Ponyboy sit in the Mustang, Randy asks Ponyboy why he helped the kids in the burning church. Ponyboy responds that his actions had nothing to do with being a Greaser and suggests that Randy or any other individual might do the same.

Randy then tells Ponyboy that he is tired of the gang violence and devastated by Bob's death and says that he won't fight in the rumble.

He tells Ponyboy about Bob's troubled family life and describes Bob as a great friend with a bad temper. The conversation ends on good terms, and Ponyboy has a new understanding of the Socs' fundamental humanity.

Ponyboy wanders the hospital and then the streets. At home, Ponyboy tells the other Greasers about Johnny's death and Dally's disappearance.

Meanwhile Darry phones to say that he's just robbed a grocery store and is on the run from the police and needs help. The boys hurry to the vacant lot to pick Dally up. Through all this, Ponyboy dizziness and weakness intensifies.

The boys reach the vacant lot just as Dally does. Simultaneously, a police car pulls up across the street. Dally pulls out a gun that his friends know he keeps unloaded and uses as a bluff in fights.

The police don't know the gun isn't loaded. They shoot Dally, killing him. Ponyboy realizes that Dally wanted to die.

Ponyboy remembers all of the good things that Dally did to protect and help his fellow greasers. Ponyboy also reflects on how anyone who isn't a greaser and doesn't know Dally personally won't ever know about all of Dally's selfless actions. Then Ponyboy passes out.

Ponyboy wakes up at home. He learns from Darry and Sodapop that he suffered a concussion during the rumble and that he was delirious in the hospital and then unconscious for three days.

Ponyboy also learns that Johnny left him his copy of “Gone with the Wind”, but the book and its Southern gentlemen remind him of Dally and he decides never to finish it.

The next night, Johnny and Ponyboy meet Dally and head to the drive-in. On the way, they make a little bit of trouble at a drugstore, where Dally shoplifts cigarettes. The boys then sneak in to one of the drive-ins that Greasers often visit.

There are some Socs at the drive-in, and the boys sit down behind two Soc girls. Dally harasses the girls. Ponyboy feels uncomfortable and won’t join in, while Johnny leaves to get a Coke. One of the girls, a redhead named Cherry Valance, calmly tells Dally to shut up. He doesn't listen.

Soon Dally walks off to the kiosk, and Cherry and Ponyboy start talking. Cherry compliments Ponyboy's name. They also talk about Sodapop, whom Cherry calls a "doll." She wonders where Sodapop has been recently. Ashamed, Ponyboy admits that Soda has dropped out of school to work at a gas station.

When Johnny returns, Cherry smiles at him. But when Dally soon returns and offers Cherry a Coke, she throws it in Dally's face and calls him a "Greaser." Dally continues to pester her until Johnny tells Dally to leave Cherry alone. Dally, shocked, storms off. Cherry expresses gratitude to Johnny, and the girls invite Johnny and Ponyboy to sit with them.

The Soc girls continue talking with Ponyboy and Johnny. Johnny eventually asks Cherry why she isn't afraid of them the way she is of Dally. She explains that they don't act, speak, or look in the mean or frightening way that Dally does. The girls then reveal that they abandoned their boyfriends because their boyfriends brought alcohol to the drive-in.

Suddenly, Two-Bit comes up behind the boys and shouts, "Okay, Greasers, you've had it." Johnny and Ponyboy jump, thinking that they're being confronted by a Soc. Johnny is particularly shaken. Two-Bit sits down and banters with Cherry and Marcia. He's looking for Dally, who's slashed the tires of a car owned by another local tough, Tim Shepard, and is about to fight him. They discuss the rules of fair fighting, which the boys say are commonly understood among Greasers but not always respected by Socs.

Ponyboy tells Cherry that the Socs attacked Johnny four months earlier: the Greasers found Johnny lying motionless in the park. The severity of his wounds shocked them all, but Dally was especially affected. Johnny revealed that a group of Socs in a blue Mustang threatened and beat him for no apparent reason. Johnny now carries a switchblade that he plans to use if he ever gets jumped again.

Ponyboy's story shocks Cherry. She assures Ponyboy that all Socs are not like the ones who jumped Johnny. Ponyboy is doubtful. Cherry persists by reasoning, for instance, that not all Greasers are not like Dally. Ponyboy concedes the point. Cherry tells Ponyboy that Socs have problems, too, and says, "Things are rough all over." Ponyboy doesn't understand what she means.

Ponyboy awakens in the abandoned church. When he becomes fully alert, he sees a note from Johnny, who's gone out for supplies.

Johnny also has bought some peroxide, and insists that they disguise themselves by cutting and dyeing their hair.

Ponyboy is reluctant to change his hairstyle, which he says makes him look "tuff" and helps identify him as a Greaser.

Later, Ponyboy and Johnny talk about killing Bob, and both of them cry out of fear and shock as they discuss the experience.

Several days pass. The boys entertain themselves by playing poker and reading aloud from ‘Gone with the Wind’.

One morning, Ponyboy and Johnny watch the sunrise. Johnny comments that Ponyboy has made him see the beauty of nature more than he ever had before, and he notes how different Ponyboy is from the other members of his family.

On the fifth day after Bob's death, Dally pays the boys a visit. Dally tells them that he was questioned by the police and lied, saying that the perpetrators had headed for Texas. He adds that the Socs are furious about Bob's death, that there's been an increase in violence between the Socs and Greasers, and that the two gangs are planning to have a "rumble" on the following night. He says that Cherry has been acting as a "spy" for the Greasers.

Cherry will testify that Johnny acted in self-defence.

Johnny announces that he thinks he and Ponyboy should turn themselves in to the police. Dally tries to convince him otherwise. Dally agrees to drive the boys back to Tulsa.

As they drive past the church where they had been hiding, they see that it's burning. A woman shouts that some of the children are missing inside the church. Ponyboy and Johnny dash into the burning building. They find the children and lift them one-by-one out a window. Ponyboy hears Johnny scream behind him, but before he can go back Dally smacks him on the back and knocks him unconscious.

Two-Bit and Ponyboy go to the hospital. First, they visit Johnny, who is very weak. Johnny asks for a copy of Gone with the Wind, and Two-Bit goes to the drugstore to get it for him.

Alone with Ponyboy, Johnny says that he's not ready to die, that he hasn't had enough time or enough opportunities yet in his life.

 A nurse comes in to say that Johnny's mother has come to visit. Johnny, who never felt any real love from his mother, refuses to see her, then passes out.

Ponyboy and Two-Bit next visit Dally. He is in good shape but is unhappy that he'll have to miss the rumble that night.

He asks about Johnny's condition, and is visibly upset when Two-Bit reluctantly tells him the truth.

Dally asks for Two-Bit's prized switchblade, and Two-Bit gives it to him without asking any questions. Dally then says that it's essential that the Greasers win the rumble, in honour of Johnny.

Ponyboy then tells Two-Bit that he has a bad feeling about the rumble. Two-Bit mocks Ponyboy for being afraid, but Ponyboy responds that he's not afraid for himself, he's afraid that another tragedy will occur.

Cherry Valance is at the vacant lot in her Corvette when Two-Bit and Ponyboy arrive. She tells them that the Socs plan to play by Greaser rules during the rumble and not use weapons. Ponyboy asks her if she'll visit Johnny in the hospital. She responds that she can't because Johnny killed Bob.

Incensed, Ponyboy accuses Cherry of being a traitor, but when she says how hard Bob's death has been on her and describes Bob's good qualities, Ponyboy asks for her forgiveness.

He asks Cherry whether she can see the sunset well from the West Side. She says she can. He says that he can still see it from the East Side, too.

Ponyboy stays in bed for a week.

Flipping through one of Sodapop's old yearbooks one day, he comes across Bob's picture. He wonders how Bob's parents are coping with his death and thinks about what Bob was like as a person. He decides, Bob was human.

Randy comes to visit Ponyboy. He says that he feels like he let down his father and tells Ponyboy that he plans to tell the truth at the hearing the next day.

Randy seems genuinely worried when Ponyboy tells him of his fear that the brothers will be split up.

When he tries to reassure Ponyboy by telling him that he didn't do anything criminal, Ponyboy insists that he, and not Johnny, was the one who killed Bob.

Randy tries to reason with him, and Ponyboy then denies that Johnny is dead.

Darry comes in and suggests that Randy leave, saying in a low voice that Ponyboy is still having difficulty coping with his concussion and Johnny's death.

Cherry and Marcia realize that they don't have a ride home from the drive-in. Two-Bit talks them into accepting a ride from him. The two of them agree that in contrast to the aloof Socs, who try to hide their emotions, the Greasers tend to feel their emotions too strongly. As they talk, the two of them also discover a shared love of reading and watching sunsets. Ponyboy realizes that, despite their different classes and friends, the two of them see the same sunset.

Just then, Marcia notices a blue Mustang coming down the street, and everyone becomes nervous, especially Johnny. The car passes slowly and keeps going.

Cherry then asks Ponyboy about Darry. Ponyboy responds that Darry doesn't like him. Two-Bit and Johnny are surprised. They had thought all was well among the Curtis brothers. Ponyboy gets upset and comments on Johnny's own dysfunctional family, but he quickly apologizes after Two-Bit smacks him in the head.

The Mustang approaches again and this time stops beside the group. The boys in the car are Socs. One of them is Cherry's boyfriend, Bob, who pleads with the girls to forgive them for drinking. Johnny seems spooked, and Ponyboy realizes that Bob was the one who attacked Johnny. Insults fly between the Socs and greasers, and the tension builds: Two-Bit hands Ponyboy a broken bottle and pulls out a switchblade. A fight seems inevitable until Cherry intervenes, agreeing to leave with Bob. Before she and Marcia get in the car, though, Ponyboy tells Cherry that he would never have actually used the broken bottle. She responds that if she sees Dally again she just might fall in love with him.

After the Mustang drives off, Two-Bit leaves Johnny and Ponyboy in the vacant lot where the Greasers hang out. As they smoke and watch the stars, Ponyboy voices his anger over the Socs' advantages in life and their mistreatment of the greasers. Johnny responds that he can't take much more of the conflict and contemplates committing suicide, then takes it back and instead wishes for a place where he could be free of the constant fighting. Ponyboy imagines a place in the countryside where his family could be happy and intact again. He imagines Johnny living with them and Dally benefiting from the kind attention of Ponyboy's mother. Ponyboy drifts off to sleep. After Johnny eventually shakes Ponyboy awake, Ponyboy hurries home

When Ponyboy gets home, Darry is furious at him for losing track of time and arriving so late. Sodapop tries to intervene, but Darry silences Soda and, losing control, slaps Ponyboy. Darry is immediately remorseful and tries to apologize, but Ponyboy runs out of the house before his brother can say anything

Ponyboy returns to the Greaser lot, where he finds Johnny, tells him what happened, and adds that he has decided to run away. Johnny agrees to join him, describing the abuse and neglect he faces at home. Johnny's home life makes Ponyboy realize that his own situation isn't actually so bad, and the boys decide to take a walk to the park and back before deciding whether to run away.

Ponyboy wakes up in an ambulance with Jerry Wood, a teacher and the bystander whom Ponyboy spoke with before rushing into the burning church. Jerry tells him what happened: Dally knocked Ponyboy out while smothering a fire that had caught on Ponyboy's back. Dally then saved Johnny.

Ponyboy suffered only minor burns, and is soon discharged from the hospital. He sits in the waiting room with Jerry, worrying about Dally and Johnny, and finds himself telling Jerry the story of Bob's murder. Jerry agrees that Johnny acted in self-defence.

Soon Sodapop and Darry arrive. Ponyboy and Soda hug. Ponyboy understands that Darry's harsh treatment of him results from his love and his concern for his welfare. Ponyboy hugs Darry and apologizes to him, and has the feeling that everything will be okay once he returns home.

The Curtis brothers prepare for the rumble by putting on nice clothes and slicking their hair. Ponyboy, still feeling ill and out of it, takes five aspirin while no one's looking.

Joined by Steve and Two-Bit, the Curtis brothers head to the rumble. Ponyboy still has a bad feeling about the rumble, and as they walk he thinks about why people fight in general, and in particular why his brothers and friends want to fight in the rumble.

"Soda fought for fun, Steve for hatred, Darry for pride, and Two-Bit for conformity." Ponyboy decides that self-defence is actually the only good reason to fight.

The Greasers arrive at the vacant lot and find Tim Shepard's gang is already there, along with another group from a suburb called Brumly.

22 Socs arrive to fight the 20 Greasers already there. As Ponyboy observes the Socs' preppy clothes, he reflects that their clean-cut looks mask some of the Socs' actual meanness, while the Greasers' looks mask many of the boys' kindness and sensitivity

Darry offers to take on any Soc. Just as the rumble begins, Dally runs in to join the fight. He used Two-Bit's switchblade to force his way out of the hospital.

The fight is brutal. Ponyboy suffers numerous injuries and is about to pass out when he hears a voice yelling that the Socs have fled. Despite their bruises, cuts, and broken bones, the Greasers rejoice over their win.

Dally grabs Ponyboy and insists that they rush to the hospital to tell the news to Johnny, whose condition is now critical.

As he drives, Dally says that if Ponyboy and Johnny just got tough like him, nothing could hurt them anymore. They would not have rushed into that fire, for example.

At the hospital, the boys run to Johnny's room. A doctor tells them that Johnny is dying, and Dally threatens him with TwoBit's switchblade, fearing that the doctor won't let them in. The doctor replies that he'll let them see Johnny because they're his friends, not because of the knife.

Dally excitedly tells Johnny the news about the rumble, but Johnny replies, "Useless fighting's no good." Dally then tells Johnny how proud everyone is of his actions at the fire, and Johnny's eyes glow.

Johnny musters the strength to say one last thing, to Ponyboy: "Stay gold, Ponyboy. Stay gold." He dies.

Dally, grief-stricken, runs from the hospital.

Court hearing. Due to Ponyboy's condition, the judge doesn't question him about anything other than his home life. Randy and Cherry testify that Johnny killed Bob in self-defence. The judge acquits Ponyboy and sends him home with his brothers.

Ponyboy, however, suffers after effects from his concussion that give him balance and memory problems. In addition, he finds that emotionally he doesn't care about much of anything, and it's difficult for him to get through each day.

Ponyboy's grades suffer, and he once again begins arguing with Darry, who constantly has to scold him to do his homework.

Ponyboy's English teacher offers him a deal: though his work for the semester merits a failing grade, the teacher offers Ponyboy a "C" if he can write a good final "theme" paper for the semester. The teacher lets Ponyboy choose his topic and asks that the essay be based not on research but on Ponyboy's own experiences and thoughts

At lunch that day, Ponyboy, Two-Bit, and Steve go to a neighbourhood store for candy and soda. While there, three Socs confront Pony and accuse him of killing Bob. Ponyboy, feeling nothing, neither fear nor anger, breaks the glass soda bottle he's holding and threatens the Socs with the jagged end until they back off.

Afterwards, a concerned Two-Bit cautions Ponyboy not to get tough like the rest of the gang, saying that it's not Ponyboy's true nature. Ponyboy silently responds that he needs to get tough or he'll get hurt.

That night, Ponyboy and Darry get into a shouting match over Ponyboy's unwritten essay and his recent lack of motivation. Suddenly, Sodapop runs out of the house, dropping a letter that Sandy had returned to him unopened.

Darry explains that Sandy moved to Florida because she was pregnant, but the father of her baby wasn't Sodapop. Soda had offered to marry her anyway, but she turned him down

Ponyboy and Darry catch up with Sodapop in the park. Soda tells them that their fighting is tearing him apart. He says that he can see both sides of the conflict: Darry's hard work and sacrifice, and Ponyboy's inability to deal with Darry's constant criticism.

Sodapop begs Darry and Ponyboy to stick together, and they agree to try. The three brothers then race home, but nobody wins. "I guess we all just wanted to stay together," Ponyboy observes.

Back at home, Ponyboy picks up Johnny's copy of “Gone with the Wind” while trying to write his essay. A letter from Johnny falls out of the book.

In the letter, Johnny urges Ponyboy to "stay gold," to keep watching the sunsets and appreciating the world as if it were new. The letter reminds Ponyboy to remember that he has a lot to live for and adds that saving the lives of the children in the church was worth his own life.

Finally, he tells Ponyboy to pass these ideas on to Dally, who needs to understand them. Suddenly, Ponyboy realizes his essay topic: he wants to tell the story of the Greasers so that people won't be so quick to judge, and so that all the other hoodlums in the world like Dally, won't hold onto their anger at the world and will instead see the beauty in it.

Ponyboy writes the first sentence of his essay, which is the first sentence of the novel “The Outsiders.”