CliffsNotes on

The Outsiders

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About the Author

Personal Background
Publication History

About the Novel

Introduction
A Brief Synopsis
List of Characters
Character Map

Summaries and Commentaries

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12

Character Analyses

Ponyboy Curtis
Darry and Sodapop Curtis
Johnny Cade
Dallas (Dally) Winston
Sherri (Cherry) Valance
Bob Sheldon
Randy Adderson
Jerry Wood

Critical Essays

Themes in the Novel
The Movie versus the Book
Has Society Changed?

Study Help

Quiz
Review Questions
Practice Projects

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Who's baby is going to become the cutest kid?

Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban's
Camila Alves and Matthew McConaughey's
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Study Help

Quiz

1:  The greasers and the Socs are divided by one factor. What is it?

a. Race

b. Economics

c. Age

d. Geography
2:  One of the greasers’ most important rules is “Stick together.” Why was that rule doubly important for the Curtis brothers?

a. They had to make it on their own to avoid involving adult supervision.

b. They wanted to keep their promise to their dying mother.

c. They were being threatened by big-city mobsters.

d. They wanted to keep their petty-theft business to themselves.
3:  Ponyboy had never been hit by a member of his family until

a. Darry slaps him for being out so late.

b. Sodapop accidentally gives him a black eye during the rumble.

c. Darry slaps him for stealing cigarettes.

d. Sodapop slaps him to break his hysterical fit.
4:  Ponyboy recites a poem, Nothing Gold Can Stay, which was written by

a. Emily Dickinson

b. Robert Penn Warren

c. Robert Frost

d. Elizabeth Barrett Browning
5:  A sub-theme in this novel is the power of three. Which of the following is not represented in The Outsiders?

a. Three boys die: Bob, Johnny, Dally.

b. Three Curtis brothers struggle to stay together.

c. Three rings are on the hand of the Soc who beat Johnny.

d. Three Socs save the children from the church fire.
6:  Which single action starts a series of events that leads Ponyboy on a path of self-examination?

a. Johnny kills Bob.

b. Cherry and Ponyboy become friends.

c. Johnny dies.

d. The greasers win the rumble.
7:  How does Randy’s visit to Ponyboy at his home affect the greaser?

a. It forces Ponyboy to think about the impact his actions have on his family.

b. It shakes Ponyboy out of his depression.

c. Ponyboy is confused about why a Soc would want to be friendly to a greaser.

d. Ponyboy realizes that life is more than just Soc versus greaser and is multilayered.
8:  The novel is written in which literary style?

a. Framework

b. First-person narration

c. Personal essay

d. Drama
9:  Who said the following: “Stay gold, Ponyboy. Stay gold.”

a. Johnny

b. Dally

c. Bob

d. Darry
10:  Who said the following: “Things are rough all over.”

a. Marcia

b. Jan

c. Cherry

d. Cindy
11:  Who said the following: “Golly, you two, it’s bad enough having to listen to it, but when you start trying to get me to take sides. . . .We’re all we’ve got left.”

a. Soda

b. Pony

c. Darry

d. Johnny
12:  Who said the following: “I used to talk about killing myself . . . I don’t want to die now. It ain’t long enough.”

a. Dally

b. Darry

c. Ponyboy

d. Johnny



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