The Outsiders – Chapters 1-4
Response Questions
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Chapter One
Questions:
1. Describe each of the characters and their relationship with one another. 2. Who are the socs? Who are the greasers? 3. How do Ponyboy’s relationships with Darry and Sodapop differ? Explain. 4. Why is the ‘gang’ important to Johnny? 5. How does Ponyboy react to what Sodapop tells him about Darry? 6. Do you think Darry loves Ponyboy? Why does he treat Ponyboy the way he does? 7. What does Ponyboy mean on page 8 when he says, “I lie to myself all the time”? Do you ever lie to yourself? Why?
Chapter Two Vocabulary – Find the meaning for the following words in this chapter:
Incredulous
Vaguely
Nonchalantly
Questions:
1. Who is the “fuzz”? (p. 20)
2. Are the names Ponyboy and Sodapop nicknames? Explain.
3. Who are Cherry and Marcia?
4. Why doesn’t Ponyboy like referring to Sodapop as a dropout?
5. What is Ponyboy comparing Two-Bit to when he calls him a “chessy cat” on
age 27? What figure of speech is this besides a simile?
6. What is “a weed” slang for in 1967?
7. Why does Dally look sick now (p. 33)?
8. What literary device does the author use to describe Johnny’s mugging (pgs. 31-34)?
The Essay on Chapter Study Questions 1 & 2
1.What percentage of Texans live in urban areas (cities & suburbs)? 90% of the population now lives in crowed cities and suburbs. 2.Name the three cities in Texas that are three of the largest in US? Houston, San Antonio and Dallas 3.What are the three diverse economic businesses in Texas? 4 Oil and gas producer now work alongside high-tech companies, telecommunications giants, and other ...
Chapter Three Vocabulary – Find the meaning for the following words in this chapter:
Aloof
Impersonally
Ornery
Resignedly
Questions:
1. What does Cherry explain as the difference between the socs and the greasers? 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? 3. When and how did Pony’s parents die? 4. What happens when Pony comes home after his curfew? 5. Why does Johnny like it better when his father is hitting him? 6. At the end of the chapter, how does the author foreshadow that bad things are to come?
Chapter Four Vocabulary:
Ruefully
Hermit
Premonition
Questions:
1. What does Pony mean when he says the socs were “reeling pickled” on page 54? 2. What major event happens in this chapter? 3. How did the author foreshadow that johnny would use his knife in chapter 2? 4. What would your advice be to Johhny and Ponyboy if they’d come to you for help instead of Dally? Explain.
