Flashcards for The Outsiders

Bob Sheldon

Bob Sheldon is a rich Soc (Socialite) who acts as the main antagonist in the early part of The Outsiders.

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Cherry Valance

Cherry Valance, whose real name is Sherri, is a Soc girl whose brief but important interactions with the Greasers challenge the novel's strict class divisions.

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Dallas (Dally) Winston

Dallas "Dally" Winston is the toughest of the Greasers—a seventeen-year-old with a criminal history that starts at age ten and a reputation built on the streets of New York before he ended up in Tulsa.

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Darrel (Darry) Curtis

Darrel "Darry" Curtis is the oldest of the three Curtis brothers in S. E. Hinton's The Outsiders, effectively taking on the role of head of the household after their parents died in a car accident.

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Jerry Wood

Jerry Wood is a minor yet memorable supporting character in S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders, playing a crucial role at a key moment in the story.

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Johnny Cade

Johnny Cade is a sixteen-year-old greaser whose quiet, wounded presence serves as the moral center of The Outsiders.

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Marcia

Marcia is a minor yet symbolically significant character in S. E. Hinton's The Outsiders.

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Ponyboy Curtis

Ponyboy Curtis is the fourteen-year-old narrator and main character of The Outsiders, a greaser from the East Side of Tulsa whose sensitivity and intelligence set him apart from the rest.

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Randy Adderson

Randy Adderson is a Soc—one of the affluent West Side teenagers—who acts as an important moral counterpoint in S. E. Hinton's The Outsiders.

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Sodapop Curtis

Sodapop Curtis is the middle brother in the Curtis family and serves as one of the emotional anchors in S. E. Hinton's The Outsiders.

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Steve Randle

Steve Randle is a seventeen-year-old greaser and a key member of the East Side gang in S. E. Hinton's The Outsiders.

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Tim Shepard

Tim Shepard is the tough, calculating leader of the Shepard gang, a rival Greaser group whose territory overlaps with the Curtis gang's East Side turf in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

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Two-Bit Matthews

Two-Bit Matthews is the oldest member of the Greasers' core group and acts as the gang's resident comedian and source of morale throughout S. E. Hinton's The Outsiders.

character

“Nothing gold can stay.”

This line is spoken by Ponyboy Curtis near the end of Chapter 5 of S. E. Hinton's The Outsiders (1967).

Ponyboy Curtis · Chapter 5

“Stay gold, Ponyboy. Stay gold.”

These are the last words of Johnny Cade, spoken to his close friend Ponyboy Curtis near the end of S. E. Hinton's The Outsiders (1967).

Johnny Cade · Chapter 9

“We're all we've got left. We ought to be able to stick together against everything. If we don't have each other, we don't have anything.”

In S. E. Hinton's The Outsiders, this line is delivered by Darry Curtis, the oldest of the three Curtis brothers, directed at his younger siblings Sodapop and Ponyboy during a heated family argument.

Darry Curtis · Chapter 12

“I lie to myself all the time. But I never believe me.”

This line is spoken by Ponyboy Curtis, the fourteen-year-old narrator and main character of S. E. Hinton's The Outsiders (1967).

Ponyboy Curtis · Chapter 1

“Greasers will still be greasers and Socs will still be Socs.”

This line is spoken by Cherry Valance, a Soc girl, to Ponyboy Curtis, the greaser narrator, during one of their honest conversations early in the story.

Cherry Valance · Chapter 3

“You still have a lot of time to make yourself be what you want. There's still lots of good in the world.”

This quote is found in S. E. Hinton's The Outsiders (1967) and is written by Johnny Cade in a letter to Ponyboy Curtis, which Ponyboy reads in the novel's final chapter.

Johnny Cade (via farewell letter) · Chapter 12 (final chapter)

“I had taken the long way around, but I was finally home. To stay.”

These closing words belong to Ponyboy Curtis, the fourteen-year-old narrator of S. E. Hinton's The Outsiders (1967).

Ponyboy Curtis (narrator) · Chapter 12 (final chapter)

“Things are rough all over.”

In S. E. Hinton's The Outsiders, Cherry Valance, a Soc girl, says this line to Ponyboy Curtis during one of their honest talks.

Cherry Valance · Chapter 2

“We're Greasers, but we're not hoods or juvenile delinquents.”

This line is spoken by Ponyboy Curtis, a fourteen-year-old narrator in S. E. Hinton's The Outsiders (1967), as he thinks about the identity and reputation of his social group.

Ponyboy Curtis · Chapter 1

Gold (Robert Frost's Poem)

In S. E. Hinton's The Outsiders, gold, inspired by Robert Frost's poem "Nothing Gold Can Stay," represents innocence, beauty, and the fleeting nature of youth.

Gone with the Wind

In S. E. Hinton's The Outsiders, the novel Gone with the Wind represents the beauty, innocence, and nobility that lie beyond the harsh class divide between Greasers and Socs.

Greaser Hair

In S. E. Hinton's The Outsiders, the greasers' long, heavily oiled hair symbolizes their class identity and sense of belonging.

Sunsets

In S. E. Hinton's The Outsiders, sunsets represent the shared humanity and beauty that cross the harsh divide between the Greasers and the Socs.

Switchblade

In S. E. Hinton's The Outsiders, the switchblade reflects the dangerous and unpredictable nature of gang life that shapes the Greasers' reality.

Narrative Poem

The novel is presented as Ponyboy Curtis's written account of his experiences, a choice Hinton introduces right at the start: "When I stepped out into the bright sunlight from the darkness of the movie house, I had only two things on my mind."

Motif

The novel frequently uses the imagery of sunsets and sunrises to connect themes of beauty, class, and mortality.

Allusion

Hinton weaves Robert Frost's poem 'Nothing Gold Can Stay' so intricately into the novel's argument that it becomes a structural allusion rather than just an embellishment.

Symbolism

Hair holds significant symbolic meaning throughout the novel.

Juxtaposition

Hinton organizes the novel by consistently contrasting the Greasers and the Socs, but the most striking differences emerge within individual scenes rather than between the two groups.

Simile

Ponyboy's voice stands out with vivid, often unexpected similes that highlight his natural talent for writing, even within the fictional world.

Irony

The novel's greatest irony lies in its structure: the Greasers, often seen as hoods and delinquents, display loyalty, empathy, and self-sacrifice—qualities noticeably absent in the respectable Socs.

Imagery

Hinton's imagery vividly engages the senses and highlights class differences.

Metaphor

The novel's central metaphor is introduced through a reference to Frost and is further developed throughout the story: staying gold symbolizes keeping the ability to feel wonder and empathy despite the harsh realities of poverty and violence.

Epanalepsis

The novel’s most famous structural feature is its epanalepsis: the last line closely mirrors the opening line.

Dramatic Monologue

Although the novel is prose fiction rather than verse, it functions as an extended dramatic monologue: Ponyboy Curtis speaks directly to an implied audience (his English teacher, and through that, the reader) while gradually revealing more about his mental state than he realizes.

Pathetic Fallacy

Weather and environment consistently reflect emotional states throughout the novel.