Chapter 3 Questions: The Outsiders
1. What does Cherry explain as the difference between the Socs and the Greasers?
2. What does Ponyboy mean when he says, “Johnny and I understood each other without saying anything”?
3. What happens when Pony comes home after his curfew?
4. Why does Johnny like it better when his father is hitting him?
5. At the end of the chapter, how does the author foreshadow that bad things are to come?
6. What were “fair” rules for a gang fight? What did “fair” mean and how were these rules established?
Answers:
1. Cherry says the difference b/w the Socs and Greasers is more than money. She thinks they have a different set of values. The Greasers are more emotional and the Socs are sophisticated “cool” to the point of not feeling anything.
2. The quote means that Johnny and Ponyboy are very alike in many ways. They are both extremely quiet, and they enjoy each other’s company. They don’t always have to be talking to each other, to understand each other.
3. When Ponyboy comes home after his curfew, Darry yelled at him and hits him. Ponyboy got really upset and ran away.
4. Johnny likes it better when his father is hitting him because at least he is getting attention. Johnny says that it is the only time that he knows his father notices he is there.
5. The author foreshadows that bad things are to come at the end of the chapter because Ponyboy says, “I didn’t think things could get any worse. I was wrong”. This means that something worse is going to happen soon.
6. “Fair” rules for a gang fight were no weapons; just one on one fighting. Two-bit established these rules because he thinks that no one should be outnumbered (jumped) in a fair fight.