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2) Ponyboy and Johnny meet Cherry and Marcia
Later that same day Pony, Johnny and Dallas sneak into the drive-in movie theater. There they meet two girls, Cherry and Marcia, who are clearly part of the Socs. Ponyboy and Cherry bond over their similar way of thinking, and he forms a connection with a very unlikely person. They end up sitting together during the movie, and the boys offer to walk them home. -
3) Meeting the Socs
On the way home group of Socs drive up behind them. We learn that Cherry's boyfriend, Bob, is the "leader" of the gang and also the person who brutally beat up Johnny a few months prior. The boys almost get into a fight but Cherry disrupts it after agreeing to drive home with Bob. -
1) Ponyboy is jumped
Ponyboy (protagonist) is on his way home from the movie theater when a gang of Socs (socials, the greasers rivals) drive up beside him and threaten him with a knife. He tries to fight them but ends up being saved by his friends who chase the Socs away. Pony tries to act tough but can't hide how scared he is -
4) Fight with Darry
After meeting almost getting in a fight with the Socs while walking the girls home, Ponyboy and Johnny decide to spend a little time in the park. They both end up falling asleep and Ponyboy has to run home. He gets home a little after 2 in the morning, and his oldest brother Darry is not happy. They get in a fight and Darry ends up hitting Ponyboy. -
7) Escaping
Dallas gives the two boys some money for food and a loaded gun, and tells them to take the train to the outside of town. There they are to find an old church on top of a mountain and hide until he comes to find them. They need to leave immediately before the police find the body and start searching. -
5) Ponyboy runs away
After being hit by Darry Ponyboy runs out of the house and back to the park, where he finds Johnny. Ponyboy starts talking about how mean and angry Darry has become after the death of their parents, while Johnny tries to explain that it is only because Darry cares very much for him. After a while in the park Bob and his friends come into the park, many of them intoxicated. The greasers start taunting the Socs and they get in a fight. Ponyboy has a near death experience, almost drowning. -
6) The murder
Johnny is knocked out for a few seconds by one of the Socs, and when he wakes up he sees Ponyboy being held underwater in the fountain. He manages to pull his knife out of his shoe, and stabs Bob, who is drowning Ponyboy. Bob ends up bleeding to death while the other Socs run away. Panicked and scared of what to do next they end up going to Dallas for help. -
8) The church
The boys find the church and end up staying there for more than just a few days, They bought a weeks supply of food and Johnny also got Ponyboy a copy of "Gone With The Wind" which Ponyboy reads from out loud every night. -
9) Disguise
One of the things the greasers are most proud of is their long hair, they spend a long time growing it out and getting the perfect look. But to be less noticeable they cut their hair and Ponyboy uses bleach to make his hair blonde. -
10) Letter from Sodapop
after about a week at the church Dallas comes to tell the boys about what is going on with the investigation. he tells them that when the cops interrogated him he had told them that they were heading to Texas. He had not told the other boys in the group where they were hiding, not even Ponyboy's brothers, Sodapop and Darry. But Soda did not believe that Dallas was telling the truth so he asked him to bring a letter he had written fro Ponyboy. In the letter he asks Pony to turn himself in. -
12) Heroes
They see two adults outside of the church who say that there are children trapped inside the burning building. Without hesitation Ponyboy runs inside to rescue the children, and Johnny follows him inside. Ponyboy throws the children out of the window of the church and manages to get himself out. A big piece of wood from the church falls on Johnny and ends ups breaking his back. Dallas comes to help and pulls an unconscious Johnny out of the church. -
13) Going to the hospital
The adults on the scene thank the boys for their help and have already called an ambulance for them. Ponyboy and Dallas get away with no serious injuries, but Johnny is badly burned and will most likely never walk again. At the hospital Darry and Sodapop come to pick up Ponyboy, and after meeting his siblings and talking with them Ponyboy finally realises how much Darry cares for him. Darry promises to stop being so strict and harsh to Ponyboy. -
11) The fire
Ponyboy convinces Dallas and Johnny to let him turn himself in, after reading Sodapop's letter where he explained that Cherry would testify in court that Bob and his friends were intoxicated and started the fight. They go to the nearest gas station to get something to eat, and as they drive up to the church to get their things before turing themselves in they see the church engulfed in flames. -
14) The rumble
Two-Bit, a greaser, tells Ponyboy about the rising tension between the Socs and the greasers after the murder of Bob. The rivalry is to be settled in what they call the rumble. Which will take place that same night. During the day Ponyboy is approached by a soc named Randy, Bob's best friend. He expresses remorse for being involved in the gang war and says he will not participate in the rumble. That evening Dallas escapes from the hospital and makes it just in time for the rumble. -
15) Death of Johnny
After winning the rumble, Ponyboy and Dallas run back to the hospital to visit Johnny. Moments later Johnny passes away, causing Dally to manically run out of the hospital after feeling responsible for his death. -
16) Losing Dallas
After Dally disappears out of the hospital Ponyboy returns home feeling sad and confused. In the night Dally calls the house phone and says that he robbed a store and is running from the police. The boys all start searching for Dally and find him laying on the ground in the road pointing an unloaded gun at the policemen, who end up shooting and killing him. The sight makes Ponyboy faint and he spends the next few days in bed with a concussion. -
17) Court
Ponyboy still has to show up to court, and Cherry testifies as promised. She tells the judge that Bob and his friends were intoxicated and that they started the fight. Ponyboy ands up being freed from all responsibility regarding Bobs death and lets him stay with his brothers instead of being sent to a children home. -
18) The outsiders book
With his grades dropping and school being hard without Johnny around, he is lucky when his English teacher says that he will pass him if he writes a decent theme. In the copy of "Gone with the wind" there is a note from Johnny telling Ponyboy to "Stay gold", which is from a poem that Ponyboy recited for Johnny while they were watching the sunset from the church. Ponyboy decides to write about the recent events and starts the essay with the opening lines of the novel.