Why Ponybpy is a Dynamic character

Ponyboy changes a lot in the story. He changes the way he thinks about things and starts using his head more. He goes from, 'the Socs are so bad, we have nothing in common, they're horrible people blah blah blah', to, 'they're regular people just like me, they aren't that bad blah blah blah'. He starts thinking Randy is just a normal guy, with normal problems, just like him. Ponyboy also changes his mind about fighting in the rumble, because someone could've gotten really hurt. And he couldn't risk it after what happened to Johnny. I really think he starts changing his mind more because he starts thinking more. In the beginning he had trouble thinking right on the spot, but now he's like BOOM I'm smart, and I can think fast.

The Importance of Family

Have you ever thought what life would be like, without parents? Without them driving you places, shopping for you, tucking you in at night, or just giving you a plain old hug? Well, I have. And it would be horrible. I’d miss them too much, just like Ponyboy, Sodapop, Darry, and many other characters in the book The Outsiders. So many people in this book have troubles with their parents, which is never good. Everybody deserves a good relationship with their parents.


Ponyboy (the main character in the book) and his brothers Darry and Sodapop only lived with each other once their parents died in a car crash. They have only had each other to look after, and no one to keep them safe like a parent would. This family has other people to look after them, like their “gang” the greasers, but it’s not the same as a family. But they don’t take good care of themselves. They always keep their front door unlocked, which is extremely dangerous in the type of neighborhood they live in. People could just walk in there and murder them. Think of how dangerous it would be if you didn’t have a parent living with you. Think of how it would be living with only your siblings, while you live in a bad neighborhood where a lot of people get beat up. Think of how sad your life would be. Life just wouldn’t be the same, and you would suffer, thinking that you could’ve stopped that car crash when your parents died, only if you were there, maybe you would’ve been the one that died instead. Your life could completely turn around. Just like this family’s did.


Next to the three brother’s sad home life, there’s Johnny’s. His dad gets drunk all the time, and beats him up. He gets abused, and can do nothing about it. There’s no one to go to, not even his mom. His mother doesn’t care if her husband beats their son, she lets it slide by. It doesn’t cause a problem for her; it keeps him out of her hair. Since he doesn’t care for his dad, or his mother, he never wants to be home. He usually sleeps at friend’s houses or in alleys to avoid getting hurt. And even when Johnny was wanted to go to jail because he killed a guy, they didn’t care that he ran away. They probably didn’t even notice he was gone. If they did notice, they wouldn’t go after him. It’s not like they’re doing this because they love him, because that would be horrible. If you love someone it doesn’t mean you go around abusing them. Now that’s plain cruel.

Many different stories have parents that aren’t always the greatest. In The Absolute Diary of a Part Time Indian, is an example. Arnold’s parents were there for him, but they weren’t whenever he was in trouble. It makes the story more interesting when they’re not really part of the story because the main character controls the conflict, and he gets more freedom, and he controls his own life. There are many other stories that have parents gone, or not in control of the story, like the Harry Potter series, the Maximum Ride serious, and many others. If the parents were in control Ponyboy would’ve never run away, and Johnny wouldn’t have gotten killed. It makes a huge difference when a parent is dead because they take care of their kid, and if they’re dead, then they can’t do that. If in The Outsiders Ponyboy’s parents were alive, a whole bunch of things wouldn’t go wrong if something was different in this story.


That’s why family is really important to a book. Not all the time, but most of the time it gives it a twist. But in real life, everyone should be able to have a good relationship with someone in their family, even if it means being best friends with a sibling, and parent, or even your dog. It’s important that that everybody has someone to look up to.

Poem Response

Authors Note:
In the book, "The Outsiders" there is a poem by Jack Frost called "Nothing Gold can Stay", and we were supposed to explain what it means to us. Give me feedback on if what I think the poem means seems right to you.

I think the poem, "Nothing Gold Can Stay" means that you don't know what you have until it's gone, which really means you can't take advantage of life. Stick with it, and try your best.Live life at it's fullest. Never give up your dreams. Just like Ponyboy and Johnny. They never gave up. Well, in some parts they did, but not in all. When the church was burning down, they both risked their lives and never gave up on saving the little kids. Their lives will never be the same, because they lived their life at it's fullest.

The cause of Bob's death

The reason why Bob died, is really because of Dally. He made Cherry and Marcia (Socs)really weirded out because he was hitting on them. Johnny stood up to Dally, and told him to back off. So, they got to sit by the girls. Before they knew it, they were friends. One day the group was walking back from the movie with the two girls, and their boyfriends(one of them was Bob)pulled up and saw Johnny and Ponyboy with them, so they got very angry. Later that night, Bob and 5 other socs and Johnny and Ponyboy were all at the park, and Bob started drowning Ponyboy, so Johnny stabbed Bob. It's like a domino affect that never stops. Dally probably would never think it was his fault, but he should go to jail instead of Johnny. It was just self defense.

Ponyboy

Ponyboy is a very kind person, doesn't like to beat people up or get involved with bad things. He never has beaten anyone up, but people have beaten him up. Ponyboy has a bad home life. His parents died, so he lives with his two older brothers, and one of them is really mean to him and always yells at him, the other one is nice though. He dresses like a greaser, because he is one, with his hair greased back, and always wearing old ripped shirts with jeans. He's a good person, but I think he will accidentally set the church on fire with his cigarettes.