Hi. Today is offically my final role on my book. My role for today is message minder. As message minder I pick two themes from the book and find examples of the theme.
Theme#1: Family/Friendship
- The Greasers stick together like family although they are just friends.
- The gang is lucky to have each other to depend on when times are really tough.
- The members of the gang support each other’s ideas even though they are crazy at the time.
Examples from the book:
- Chapter 2 page 23. A great example of how the Greasers stick up for their friends and treat each other like family is when Cherry, a Soc girl, refers to Ponyboy’s friend, Dally, as “trash”. Ponyboy and sticks up for his friend by saying that they are buddies. Ponyboy and the other Greasers stick up for each other when someone talks bad against their friend because they are tough Greasers. This theme of family and friendship is very important in the book and is shown throughout the story.
- Chapter 8. Johnny is in the hospital because he got severely hurt when part of the burning church fell on him when Ponyboy and Johnny were saving the kids from the burning church. Ponyboy and Two-bit Mathews go to the hospital to visit their friends Dally and Johnny hoping that they will get better soon. I think this is one of the better examples of how the Greasers stick together when times are tough. Another good example of how they depend on each when times are tough is after both Johnny and Dally are dead the Greasers help each other feel better about the loss of their two good friends.
- Chapter 4 pages 60-61. In chapter four Dally helps Ponyboy and Johnny runaway to an old abandon church. The decision Dally makes in letting Ponyboy and Johnny runaway is tough but he trusts their decision. To help Ponyboy and Johnny he gives them fifty dollars, a gun, and Ponyboy a sweat-shirt. He tells them to hop on a train to Windrixville and climb Jay Mountain. He also promises Johnny and Ponyboy that he wouldn’t tell anyone where their headed just in case the police wants to take Johnny to court for killing Bob.
Themes #2: Violence/gangs
- The Greaser s is a tough gang and they live in a sketchy area in NY.
- The members get into rumbles with the other gang known as the Socs.
- Some of the Greasers have a bad reputation and tend to get into trouble a lot with the law.
Examples from the book:
- Chapter 1. In the first chapter of the book Ponyboy explains that he lives in East Side New York and that the Socs live in West Side. He continues to explain how that the Greasers are tough, poorer than the Socs, wild, have long hair with lots of grease, and they carry around switch blades for protection. Throughout the book Ponyboy mentions how life is hard for the Greasers because most people think they are all like his friend Dally, “trash”. The Greasers like their tough reputation but Ponyboy wishes that people would see that they are a lot better than the Socs.
- Chapter 9. All the Greasers are getting prepared for a big rumble with the Socs so that they look their toughest for the fight. Johnny is in the hospital while the rumble is going on but Ponyboy promises him that they’ll win the fight. This rumble between the Greasers and the Socs was planned to settle things between the two different gangs once and for all. In the end the Greasers win the rumble and Ponyboy races to the hospital to tell Johnny of their victory. Also in chapter four Bob, Randy, and six other Socs decide to pick a fight with Johnny and Ponyboy for hanging out with their girlfriends. Out of the several rumbles mentioned in the book this one is the worst because Johnny killed Bob since he was drowning Ponyboy.
- Chapter 2 page 22. Dally is one of the Greasers who has been in and out of jail quite a bit. Dally likes to use his reputation with the law to scare off Socs and other people who try to start a rumble with him. In chapter two Dally is at the drive-in trying to scare a couple of Soc girls named Cherry and Marcia with the fact the he is a tough Greaser with a record with the law. He isn’t the only one though who has a record with the law, Two-Bit Mathews is known for shop lifting and for his prized black-handled switchblade.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Book Review
Ponyboy Curtis is a fourteen year old greaser who lives on East side New York. With no parents, Ponyboy lives with his two older brothers Soda and Darry. Money is tight for the Curtis family so Darry is forced to work two jobs and Soda works at a gas station. Money isn’t the only problem for Ponyboy, a gang known as the Soc’s enjoys getting in rumbles with Greasers like Ponyboy and his brothers. One day someone takes things too far. As things start to turn for the worse for Ponyboy and his friend Johnny they are forced to make a difficult decision that changes their life for the good and for the bad.
Ponyboy Curtis is the smartest Curtis brother and wants to prove that he is as tough as the other greasers in his gang. Sodapop is close to both of his brothers and is a fun “go-lucky” kind of greaser, very unlike his brother Darry. Since the automobile crash his parents died in Darry has been very uptight because he is forced to play the role of both mom and dad. Johnny is known as the Greaser's pet because he is friends with everyone in the gang. Johnny is also very quiet and is nice to almost everyone he meets. The characters are realistic because they act like teens in the 1950’s that are tough and get into fights like teens in real life. The characters in the book could be described as tough young hooligans because they get into rumbles with the Soc’s. I like the characters in the book because they have a good personality and you can relate them to real people. The characters importance in the story is to help Ponyboy and the other Greasers to become good people and not become people like the Soc’s.
The book the Outsiders deals with gangs, friendship, and family life. The two gangs in the book are the Soc’s and the Greaser’s. The story deals with family life because Johnny is beaten by his parents and Ponyboy is being raised by his two brothers because his parents died. Also the book deals with friendship because the Greasers stick together like family and help each other out when times are tough. This book makes me think about gangs at other schools and the issues that the Greasers face and the issues teens in gangs face.
I enjoyed the book because I could relate the issues the characters face in the book to issues people face in real life that are around my age. The book made me more aware of what happens to teens that are in gangs and how they are like family. In the couple last chapters of the book Johnny and Ponyboy were in the burning church trying to save the little children that were trapped inside. Johnny and Ponyboy worked as a team to get the kids safely out of the church through a window, but unfortunately Ponyboy was burned and Johnny was hurt really badly.
Ponyboy Curtis is the smartest Curtis brother and wants to prove that he is as tough as the other greasers in his gang. Sodapop is close to both of his brothers and is a fun “go-lucky” kind of greaser, very unlike his brother Darry. Since the automobile crash his parents died in Darry has been very uptight because he is forced to play the role of both mom and dad. Johnny is known as the Greaser's pet because he is friends with everyone in the gang. Johnny is also very quiet and is nice to almost everyone he meets. The characters are realistic because they act like teens in the 1950’s that are tough and get into fights like teens in real life. The characters in the book could be described as tough young hooligans because they get into rumbles with the Soc’s. I like the characters in the book because they have a good personality and you can relate them to real people. The characters importance in the story is to help Ponyboy and the other Greasers to become good people and not become people like the Soc’s.
The book the Outsiders deals with gangs, friendship, and family life. The two gangs in the book are the Soc’s and the Greaser’s. The story deals with family life because Johnny is beaten by his parents and Ponyboy is being raised by his two brothers because his parents died. Also the book deals with friendship because the Greasers stick together like family and help each other out when times are tough. This book makes me think about gangs at other schools and the issues that the Greasers face and the issues teens in gangs face.
I enjoyed the book because I could relate the issues the characters face in the book to issues people face in real life that are around my age. The book made me more aware of what happens to teens that are in gangs and how they are like family. In the couple last chapters of the book Johnny and Ponyboy were in the burning church trying to save the little children that were trapped inside. Johnny and Ponyboy worked as a team to get the kids safely out of the church through a window, but unfortunately Ponyboy was burned and Johnny was hurt really badly.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Literature Circle Role #4
Today in class I was assigned the role of discussion director for the entire book because I finished the book last week. The role for discussion director is the same except that I make questions about all the chapters.
Questions:
1. Why did Dally get shot by the fuzz after Johnny died?
Definition: Cops
2. Where did Ponyboy find the note Johnny wrote him before he died?
3. How did Ponyboy’s parents die?
4. What is the one item that the Curtis family always keeps in their freezer?
5. Why did Sandy leave Sodapop?
Answers:
1. Dally got shot by the fuzz after Johnny died because he robbed a grocery store. He robbed the grocery store because he was so sad that Johnny die that all he wanted to do was to steal so that it could help get rid of the pain.
2. Ponyboy found the note Johnny wrote him before he died in the book they bought when they decide to run away called Gone with the Wind.
3. Ponyboy’s parents died in an automobile crash.
4. The Curtis family always keeps chocolate cake in their freezer because they eat it during breakfast and other meals.
5. Sandy left Sodapop because she either had to marry him or move to Florida, so she moved away.
Questions:
1. Why did Dally get shot by the fuzz after Johnny died?
Definition: Cops
2. Where did Ponyboy find the note Johnny wrote him before he died?
3. How did Ponyboy’s parents die?
4. What is the one item that the Curtis family always keeps in their freezer?
5. Why did Sandy leave Sodapop?
Answers:
1. Dally got shot by the fuzz after Johnny died because he robbed a grocery store. He robbed the grocery store because he was so sad that Johnny die that all he wanted to do was to steal so that it could help get rid of the pain.
2. Ponyboy found the note Johnny wrote him before he died in the book they bought when they decide to run away called Gone with the Wind.
3. Ponyboy’s parents died in an automobile crash.
4. The Curtis family always keeps chocolate cake in their freezer because they eat it during breakfast and other meals.
5. Sandy left Sodapop because she either had to marry him or move to Florida, so she moved away.
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