The lack of control that Ponyboy feels in his everyday life leads to his denial and depression that surfaces in these final two chapters. At the time of the hearing, Ponyboy thinks that he killed the Soc, not Johnny. But the text assures readers that Ponyboy eventually recovers his memory of the true events of the killing: ". . . the doctor was there and he had a long talk with the judge before the hearing. I didn't know what he had do with it then, but I do now." However, even after he recovers from his denial about the events and knows that Johnny killed Bob, Ponyboy remains emotionally shut down and depressed.
Ponyboy loses interest in life. The events that lead up to this breakdown are overpowering; the death of both Johnny and Dally in one day was too much. Plus, the earlier deaths of his parents and the instability of his daily life contributed to what he subconsciously perceives as his best route to his survival: shutting down emotionally, merely walking through life without actively participating in it. Unfortunately, he perceives distancing himself from others as the best way to handle this whole affair.
The author hints about how the other gang members are dealing with the violent events. For example, Two-Bit gripes about losing his prize switchblade, only because that loss is easier to take than the loss of another friend. However, at this point, Ponyboy is not able to see beyond himself. The Ponyboy the readers see at the gas station picking up the broken glass is not a hopeless gang member. Even in his emotional shutdown, Pony subconsciously knows that the right thing to do is to pick up the broken pieces of glass, just as his subconscious knows that he will eventually have to pick up the broken pieces of his life and continue on.
