"The Outsiders" Characters Trivia Quiz

Answer:

In S.E. Hinton's book, "The Outsiders" the Greasers were described as poor, working class teenagers who lived on the other side of town. They had long, greased back hair, and wore blue jeans with leather or denim jackets. While many times they were judged by others as being hoods and juvenile delinquents, they were fiercely loyal to each other, forming a tight knit group of family. Hinton has said that "The Outsiders", which she wrote when just sixteen years old, was inspired by the social situation in her own high school. Her story was first published in 1967.

Ponyboy was the narrator of the story, which readers later found out happened to him in "real life". He was fourteen years old and the youngest of the Greasers. Although he looked like the other members of the group, he was interested in subjects that made him different from the others - like literature and sunsets. A decent student at school, Ponyboy unfortunately became involved in a situation which threatened to change his life forever.

Darry was Ponyboy's older brother. He was twenty years old, and forced to become the family provider after their parents were killed in a car accident. A talented athlete at school, he gave up his hopes of a football scholarship to work two jobs to keep his family together. Even though he was the leader of the Greasers, Darry obviously wanted more for Ponyboy. Unfortunately, his concern for his younger brother seemed more like harsh criticism.

Sodapop was Ponyboy and Darry's middle brother. At sixteen he quit school and gave up his life ambitions to work in a gas station. Throughout the story, Sodapop was portrayed as being handsome enough to be a movie star and always happy. He was also the one who perhaps contributed the most to keeping the family together, after reminding the two other brothers that they were all they had left.

Dally took pride in his reputation as a hoodlum; at seventeen years old, he came to Oklahoma after running around with gangs in New York. The other Greasers correctly deduced that he was the toughest of them all, and many of them had to admit that they were just a bit afraid of him. Like the others, however, Dally was fiercely loyal to the group and could be relied upon to do whatever was necessary to help someone in trouble.

Dally's favorite member of the group was Johnny, a sixteen year old Greaser whose parents abused and neglected him. It was thought that Dally saw Johnny as a younger, more innocent version of himself - someone who needed to be protected. Johnny desperately needed a family, and the Greasers provided him with a sense of belonging. He ended up being the catalyst of the events in Ponyboy's story, as well as a hero in the end.

Steve, Sodapop's best friend, was seventeen years old and a frequent guest at the his home. The two friends worked together at the gas station, where it was said that Steve knew everything there was to know about cars. Ponyboy looked up to Steve because at one time he had held off four opponents in a rumble by just using a broken soda bottle.

Two-Bit was the second oldest of the Greaser gang at eighteen and a half years old. Still a junior in high school, he was known for his jokes and need to always state his opinion. He only went to school for fun. Two-Bit also enjoyed stealing and flashing his stolen switchblade around. He was the member of the group who was most likely to make wise observations; for example, he was the one who recognized that Darry's strict rules for Ponyboy really exemplified his love for his brother.

Tim came into the story toward its end. He was a friend of Dally's, an eighteen year old leader of another group of Greasers. His gang fought in the final rumble in the story against the wealthy kids, and their help was critical because Ponyboy's group was outnumbered. Ponyboy really believed that Tim's gang was comprised of thugs and criminals, as opposed to his own gang that was more like a family. Apparently no two groups of Greasers were alike.

Jerry was a teacher who had been supervising his students at a picnic when tragedy struck. There was a ruined church near the picnic site that caught on fire. Jerry could not fit through the window to rescue the children inside, but Johnny, and Ponyboy did not hesitate, in spite of the danger to themselves, to go in and save them. Dally did not hesitate to go into the fiery building to save his friends. All three were taken to the hospital by ambulance, and Jerry rode with Ponyboy, staying with him until his family arrived. Jerry was open-minded; he did not judge any of the boys as being Greasers or hoodlums, as did many others in the story, but told Johnny they were heroes.

Another teacher, Mr. Syme, gave Ponyboy, normally a good student, a chance of redemption at school. With all that happened in the story, Ponyboy's school work had suffered and he had been absent a number of days. Mr. Syme said that he would give Ponyboy a passing grade if he could write a decent story about something that was important to him. The story that Ponyboy wrote ended up being the novel that had just been finished by the reader.

Scout, Atticus, Boo, Tom, and Jem are important characters from another coming-of-age story, "To Kill a Mockingbird", which was written in 1960 by Harper Lee.