Chapter One: 1.Who are the Socs? Who are the Greasers? The Socs and a group of rich kids that are the enemy's of the Greasers. Also they are described as being Social and Mean/rude in the novel. The Greasers are the main group/gang in the novel with all the characters that i explain on the characters page. In the story the people in the group are all poor and live in a bad part of town. Also they cause tons of trouble.
2.How do Ponyboys relationships with Darry and Sodapop differ? Explain. Ponyboy feels like Darry is acting more like a dad then a brother. Darry in the novel is very firm and doesn't want Ponyboy to do certain things that arnt smart like hanging around the gang seeing the violence etc. Because of how protective he is Pony thinks that Darry hates him. Soda on the other hand acts more like a friend then a brother. he still is brothers to Ponyboy but Pony and soda talk like they are just good friends.
3.Why is the gang important to Johnny? Johnny gets hit by his dad in the story and just pushed all around in his home. If the gang wasn't there Johnny would most likely run away but the gang is like his family. Johnny thinks of the gang as his brothers so they are he ones keeping him there.
4.How does Ponyboy react to what Sodapop tells him about Darry? Sodapop tells Ponyboy that Darry just loves him and tells him thing to help not harm but Ponyboy doesn't believe that. Ponyboys reaction is him just saying that Darry hates him and he doesn't believe Sodapop.
5.Do you think Darry loves Ponyboy? Why doeshe treat Ponyboy the way he does? Darry does love Ponyboy he is just really, REALLY protective to him. Although Darry does all the things he does, he does it to protect Ponyboy and he is trying to make Ponyboy live a normal life not a life full of violence and bad things.
6.What does Ponyboy mean on page 8 when he says, "I lie to myself all the time"? Do you lie to yourself? Why? Ponyboy is trying to say that if you say something to yourself that isn't true then you are just lying to yourself. Sometimes yes i do lie to myself because when something bad happens i keep saying "this isn't happening" over and over in my head. I do this because it sometimes makes me feel better and re leaves stress.
Chapter 2: Vocabulary:
Incredulous: Incredulous means to be unable to believe something
Vaguely: Vaguely means to be in a way that is uncertain, indefinite, or unclear.
Nonchalantly:This means to be coolly unconcerned, indifferent, or unexcited
1.Who is the Fuzz? The Fuzz is a nickname for the Police that the greasers use in the novel.
2.Are the names Ponyboy and Sodapop nicknames? Explain. The names Ponyboy and Sodapop are not nicknames in the story they are the true names of the characters in the story. The names Ponyboy and Sodapop are not considered nicknames because back before their parents died the father was very original so they called them that.
3.Who is Cherry and Marcia? Cherry and Marcia are two members of the Socs gang. Cherry's real name is Sherri but she is called Cherry because her hair is red. Marcia is Cherry's friend and is girlfriend to Randy Adderson who is a Soc.
4.Why doesn't Ponyboy like referring to Sodapop as a dropout? Ponyboy doesn't think of Soda as being a dropout only because Pony knows that Soda is Smart and knows better. Ponyboy doesn't think that Sodapop is stupid enough to drop out of school but now that he did Ponyboy knows that he is smart and knows what he is doing.
5.What is Ponyboy comparing Two-Bit to when he calls him a "chessy cat" on page 27? When Ponyboy is comparing Two-Bit to a "Chessy cat" he is saying that he looks like the cheshire cat from Alice in Wonderland. Two-bit is grinning because he pulled a prank.
6.What is "weed" slang for in 1967? In 1967 "weed" was slang for cigarette. So if someone were to say "want a weed" (hoping your answer is no) its just like saying want a cigarette.
7.Why does Dally look sick now (pg 33)? He cares about Johnny. Johnny was the only thing Dally ever loved and seeing him in such pain really got to Dally.
Chapter 3: Vocabulary: Aloof: Aloof means not friendly or cool and distant
Impersonally: This word means to lack personality
Ornery: Ornery means to be bad tempered and combative
Resignedly: Feeling or marked by resignation; acquiescent
1. What does Cherry explain as the difference between the Socs and the Greasers?
Cherry tells Ponyboy that the greasers have a different set of values. They are more emotional than the Socs. The Socs are so cool that they feel nothing, and they don't mean half of what they say. She says the Socs have everything, so they keep looking for something else to satisfy them.
2.What does Ponyboy mean on p. 39 when he says "Johnny and I understood each other without saying anything"? Have you ever had a relationship with someone who you understood, or who understood you, without having to say anything?
Ponyboy means that Johnny and him both know each other, what they go through, the difficult things in their lives etc. Ponyboy and Johny already know everything about each other. No I have not had a relationship like this.
3. When and how did Pony's parents die?
Ponyboys parents died 8 months before the story began and died because of a car crash.
4. What happens when Pony comes home after his curfew?
When Pony gets home Darry and him start to yell at each other. This eventually leads to Darry hitting Pony. Immediately after he was hit he ran from home.
5. Why does Johnny like it better when his father is hitting him?
Johnny likes it better when his dad hits him because when hes hitting him Johnny knows that his father knows hes there. Usually if he doesn't get hit he doesn't know Johnny is there, but when he does Johnny feels like someone likes him.
6. How does the author foreshadow that bad things are going to happen?
He made it sound like everything is going good but he says "I was wrong" which means that bad things are going to happen.