Now he is worried that, because deep down he feels he can relate better to Soda, he might have left Darry out in his unconscious babbling. This concern for Darry's feelings is a huge change from the way Ponyboy regarded his oldest brother in the beginning of the novel. He also worries throughout the chapter that maybe he didn't ask for Darry while he was delirious, but Soda finally confirms that he did. In Chapter 10, when Ponyboy wakes up momentarily, he asks Soda if Darry is sorry he's sick. He sees his oldest brother cry for the first time in years - he didn't even cry at their parents' funeral - and realizes that 'Darry did care about me, maybe as much as he cared about Soda, and because he cared he was trying too hard to make something of me.' He understands that Darry is terrified of losing another person he loves, and wonders 'how I could ever have thought him hard and unfeeling.' He recognizes the sacrifices that Darry has made to raise his two little brothers, but still thinks Darry just doesn't care for him at all.īut in Chapter 5, when Soda and Darry come to the hospital, Ponyboy has a revelation. And now Johnny was gone.'ĭiscuss the relationship between Ponyboy and Darry, and how it changes over the course of the novel.Īt the beginning of the novel, Ponyboy resents Darry for being too strict and always bothering him for not using his head. Ponyboy realizes that 'Johnny was the only thing Dally loved. Like it happened to me.' After Johnny dies, Dally reacts with uncharacteristic emotion. As they drive back to the church in Chapter 5, he explains, 'You get hardened in jail. Dally wants to protect Johnny and keep him from turning out the way he himself has. Johnny feels hero-worship toward Dally, and thinks of him as the most gallant of all the gang. They both have violent tendencies, look for fights, and end up losing their lives because of it more important, both draw ideological lines in the sand.ĭiscuss the relationship between Johnny and Dally. Both boys are victims of the violence between the Socs and the Greasers, and die before the story is over.

Later, in Chapter 6, Dally echoes Bob's words when he explains that Cherry is acting as a spy for the Greasers, adding: 'Man, next time I want a broad I'll pick up my own kind.' Ponyboy remembers Bob saying this not even a week before.

He wants the Greasers to know their place in society, and to stay away from Soc girls. However, the two boys are linked together by the phrase, 'Next time you want a broad, pick up your own kind.' Right before the Socs attack Ponyboy and Johnny, in the fight that results in Johnny killing Bob, Bob states the reasoning for the attack. On the surface, Bob and Dally couldn't be more different.

The outsiders se