The Outsiders
Chapters 2 and 3
How do the boys get into the Nightly Double? Why do they choose to do that?
They sneak over the back fence without paying. They do not pay because Dally likes to break the law whenever he can.
How do Cherry and Marcia
respond to Dally?
They snap back at him and
tell him to stop.
Explain why the girls are okay with Johnny and Ponyboy but not with Dally.
The girls think Johnny and Pony are too sweet to hurt anyone.
Why are the girls alone and without a car?
The girls came with their boyfriends, but their boyfriends were drunk and left.
Besides “stick together,” what is the greasers’ other rule?
The greasers’ other rule is “Don’t get caught.”
Describe the attack on Johnny.
Why was it so traumatic for him?
The attack was vicious and ruthless. The Socs came out of a blue Mustang and beat him up. The attack was traumatic because they beat him so savagely that he almost died.
What does Cherry tell Pony about differences between the greasers
and the Socs?
Cherry tells Ponyboy that not only money separates Socs from greasers, but that greasers have different sets of values; according to Cherry, Socs are more sophisticated and the greasers are more emotional.
Why is the reference to the sunset significant?
It shows that in spite of the fact that they are in different social groups and social classes, Cherry and Ponyboy have something in common.
What do Johnny and Pony do instead of going home after the movies?
What is the outcome?
Johnny and Ponyboy stay outside and watch the stars while smoking cigarettes, and Ponyboy ends up falling asleep. The outcome is that he gets home late and gets in trouble with Darry.
Darry tells Pony he was worried about him when he didn’t come home. If he was so worried, why didn’t he call the police?
If the police find out that Ponyboy is breaking curfew, he could get thrown in a boys’ home, thereby breaking up the family.
Why does Johnny say he likes it better when his father is hitting him?
Johnny says that he likes when his father is hitting him because at least then Johnny knows that his father knows who he is.