Chapter 12 is the last chapter in the book. This chapter sums everything that has previously happened up. This chapter begins with the court hearing. Everything isn't as bad as Ponyboy thought it might be and the judge only asks him questions about school and how he likes living with Darry. After the trial he is relieved to find out that he willl still live with Darr. Although even after court things still aren't right for Ponyboy. He is even more spaced out then usual and is failing English class. One day, his teacher talks to him after class and says he won't fail him if he can come up with a good semster paper topic. When Ponyboy gets home he can't think of any ideas and Darry yells at him once again for slacking. Ponyboy and Darry both ask Sodapop to be on their side and instead of saying anything he runs out of the house. When Darry and Ponyboy finds him, he is crying. He says whenever they fight it feels like they are pulling him apart also. He doesn't want to pick a side because brothers are supposed to stick togther. He makes Darry and Ponyboy promise not to fight anymore. When they get back to the house Ponyboy take out Johnny's copy of Gone With the Wind. A note falls out inside that explains Johnny's last dying wishes. He explains what he ment by telling Ponyboy to stay gold, in other words he wants him to stay young and keep his youthful spirit forever. He also mentions that he wants Ponyboy to tell Dally to nevr give up, even though it is already too late. Once Ponyboy is done reading he realizes that he wishes he could tell his story to others to give them hope. That is when he calls his English teacher and tells him his paper might be longer then 5 pages. This "paper" that he writes is actually the book THE OUTSIDERS.
I wondered for a long time how to start that theme, how to start writing about something that was important to me. And I finally began like this: When I stepped out into the bright sunlight from the darkness of the movie house, I had only two things on my mind: Paul Newman and a ride home... This quote is so important because it is the last part of the book and it sums up how the author wants us to believe it was written. It tells a lot about Ponyboy because now we know the whole time he was actually telling us this story from his perspective. It also is important because the last part of the book and the final words Ponyboy wants us to know about his story.
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In this chapter Ponyboy has to stay in his bed for a week. He is still run down from the past few weeks. One day he is looking through yearbooks when he finds a picture of Bob, the soc Johnny killed. He wonders what he was actual like and feels bad that he is dead. He wonders how much it devastated his family and friends. After feeling bad for a few moments though, he remembers the mean side to him and how he was short-tempered and drunk. All of a sudden, Randy comes into his room. He says he needs to talk about them going to court tomorrow. Ponyboy tells him going to court means a lot to him because that is when they could decide if Darry is a good guardian and if they are allowed to stay with him. Randy says that they need to tell the truth at court because his dad tells him no one can get into anymore trouble that way. He then says that he has to tell the truth about Johnny dying and killing Bob. All of a sudden, Ponyboy goes into a state of denial about Johnny killing Randy and dying, saying he killed Bob and no one ever died. Randy is confused and frightened and Darry comes in right in time and tells Randy to leave because Ponyboy is overwhelemd. Luckily Ponyboy calms down after Randy leaves.
"Johnny is not dead." My voice was shaking. "Johnny is not dead." "Hey, Randy" Darry stuck his head in the door. "I think you'd better go now." This quote shows how upset Ponyboy really was over Johny's death that he is still in denial. It also represents how serious the situation is. Darry knows how important Jhnny was to Ponyboy so he asks Randy to leave. He knows this kind of stress would not be good for Ponyboy. In this chapter after Dally run out of the hospital Ponyboy leaves the hospital also. He wanders around the streets aimlessley, deliriously, and in denial about Johnny's death. When a stranger finally finds him a brings him home he tells the gang about what happends. There is a sad silence until the phone rings sand Dally answers saying he has just robber a grocey store and he wants them to meet him in the empty lot. When they arrive the police are there also. Dally pulls ut his guns that he pretends is loaaded. At this moment Ponyboy knows exactly what he is doing. Johnny is the only thing Dally has ever loved and without him his life is pointless. He knows that Dally is trying to get the plice to shoot and kill him. Dally gets his wish. He is gunned down and dies on the spot. Sudden;y Ponyboy doesn't feel so good and from all of the days events he passes out. When he wakes up he is in his bed. He asks Sodapop what is going on, but he tells him to go back to sleep. Instantly, Ponyboy goes to bed again. When he wakes up for the second time, Darry comes in. Darry tells him he was unconscious for three days. He tells him he was also in the hospital and kept asking for him, Sodapop, and his parents. Finally, he tells him that Johnny left him the copy of his book. Suddenly, Ponyboy is remined of Dally and Johnny's death. Darry and Sodapop decide that they are all exhausted and realize that they should stay together for as long as possible because they don't know what their future holds.
Please, not him... not him and Johnny both This is the scene where Dally dies on purpose. He couldn't stand not having Johnny in his life so he died to be with him. Although Dally got what he wanted Ponyboy and the rest of the gang were heartbroken. Ponyboy didn't want to lose both of his friends in one night.This was another sad part of the book, but I feel lie Dally and Johnny dying will bring Darry. Sodapop, and Ponyboy closer. In this chapter Ponyboy and the gang minus Dally and Johnny go to the rumble. They are all excited and ready to fight, except for Ponyboy. He wonders why ever wants to fight because he finds no purpose in it. When they arrive Ponyboy compares all of the other greaser gangs to his own. He realizes they are all different even though they are all greasers. Soon, the socs shows up and Darry and one of his all soc friends are going to start the fight. Ponyboy once again wonders why people must fight, it tears apart friendships just because people are different. They are about to start the fight when Dally shows up and claims there can be no fight without him, even thiugh he only has one arm. Soon the fight starts and it is very violent. The greaser are very beat up, but the socs run first and the greasers win. Ponyboy is not feeling well at all and is almost in a daze when Dally tells him Johnny is about to die and they need to get to the hospital quickly. They tell the police Ponyboy has got into a motorcycle accident and this helps them arrive at the hospital quickly. They get their right in time for Johnny to say his last words which are "Stay gold, Ponyboy. Stay gold." Dally is in complete shock the Johnny died and runs out of the hospital.
"Stay gold, Ponyboy. Stay gold." This quote is important because it sums up Johnny's feelings for Ponyboy. He is telling him how he is fine just the way he is and he wants him to never change. This must have been very important to Johnny because these were his last words. His last words were also probably a thank you to Ponyboy to stcking with him no matter what he did or how many hardships he had to go through with him. In this chapter Two-Bit and Ponyboy arrive at the hospital. They ask the doctor to see Johnny and he says it can't hurt now. They know things are not looking good for Johnny, but when they step into the room they try to act normal. Johnny says hello, but he looks pale and sick. He asks for another copy of his book from Ponyboy. He also makes a confession. He says there were times where he thought about killing himself, but now that he is about to die, he doesn't want to. He is so young and there are many more things he wanted to do. He says he barely ever left the town besides for his time at the church. Then, the nurse comes in and says his mom is here to see him. Johnny doesn't want to see his mom and gets very angry that all this time she never cared about him and now she is probably only coming to see hi to accuse him of somthing. From all the stress and anger, Johnny passes out. The boys exit the room quickly to see Johnny's mother outside the door and she gives them an evil stare and angrily accuses them of things. They realize why Johnny hates his mother so much. They also visit Dally who is his old self and is angry he can't participate in the rumble that night. They are glad he is ok. When they leave the hospital Ponyboy almost falls alseep while Two-Bit is in a store. Two-Bit asks Ponyboy if he is ok and Ponyboy says he isn't feeling well, but he will take some medicine for the rumble that night. He doesn't what Two-Bit to tell Darry and make him worry. That night they run into Cherry. Ponyboy asks if she will visit Johnny in the hospital. She says she can't bring herself to because eve though she didn't always like Bob, Johnny did kill him. At first Ponyboy is angry and says some harsh things, but then he feels bad and asks her if the sunset where she lives is beautiful also. She says yes and forgives him for what he said.
"He's been asking for them. It can't hurt now." This quote describes how Johnny is dying. It finally sinks in to Ponyboy that this is real life and Johnny actually might not make it. This is a sad moment, but a touching one in the story. This moment shows how much Ponyboy actually cares about Johnny and how upset he would be if he actually died. In this chapter reporters swarm Ponyboy and ask him all sorts of questions about how he saved the children in the church. This goes on for a few hours until Darry tells the reporters it is time to leave because Ponyboy is tired. When they arrive home Ponyboy is out like a light. He is also the first to wake up in the morning and starts to make breakfast. Soon after Two-Bit and Steve arrive and tease Ponyboy about his article in the newspaper. It states how he saved the boy and how he should be able to stay with Darry and not live in a boys home is the last sentence. Ponyboy realizes that now that the public knows his parents died people could come and take him and Sodapop at anytime. When Darry wakes up again Ponyboy tells him he had a bad dream that he couldn't remember what happened in. He always used to have those dreams right after his parents died. Darry is concerned, but Ponyboy decided to change the topic. Throughout the moring though, the main thing Ponyboy thinks about is Johnny. He and Two-Bit decide to go and visit him. As they are walking Randy pulls up in his blue mustang and asks to talk to Ponyboy. He is suspicious at first, but what Randy has to say shocks him. He says he regrets what he did that night and that he isnt going to the big rumble that night because it wasn't worth it. He explains why Bob did what he did because they were best friends. He says he was always trying to rebel because no one ever said no to him. He also tells Ponyboy he was brave in the church and he would never have done what he did. Ponyboy said that he probably would have at the moment. Randy thanks him and apoligies again. Ponyboy now feels like regardless of if they are a greaaser or soc, they are all people and things aren't just rough for greasers.
"Socs are just guys after all. Things are rough all over, but it was better that way. That way you could tell the other guy was human too." This is what Ponyboy thinks after his talk with Randy. He realizes that everyone is dealing with difficult times right now. Everyone has problems even if it don't look like they do from the outside. He realizes having struggles no matter how small they are is a part of being a human. When Johnny and Ponyboy find out that Cherry is a spy fo the greasers they are shocked. They wonder why she would do that after what happened to her boyfriend.They are driving back to the Church when they discover something horrible, it is on fire. The boys quickly hop out of the car and run to see what happened. Ponyboy and Johnny already know that it was probably one of their cigarettes that lit it on fire. They look around at the group of people outsider the church when they hear a women say kids are missing and she thinks they are in the Church. Ponyboy and Johnny know what they have to do, go inside and help. After all, the fire was their fault. As soon as they step inside the church they hear the children. In no time them have found them. Ponyboy wonders why he is not afraid at all, even though he knows he could die at any second. He looks and Johnny and realizes that he is not afraid either. Ponyboy is able to rescue the kids out the windows, but the roof is about to collapse. Johnny pushes Ponyboy out right in time, but he is not able to save himself. Ponyboy hears a muffled scream from inside the Church, then he is hit by Dally and balcks out. When he wakes up he is an ambulence. He asks about how his friends Darry and Johnny are. The person in the ambulence says Dally just has burns on his arm, but Johnny is in critical condition with a broken back. All of them are now heroes, regardless of what they did before. When Ponyboy gets to the hospital he finds out that Darry and Sodapop are there. Sodapop runs to him and gives him a hug. He looks up to see Darry crying and asking for forgiveness. He finds out Darry was just afraid of losing him like his parents. He was only trying to protect him when he hit him and yelled at him all the time.
"That was his silent fear then--- of losing another person he loved. " This quote is important because it explains why Darry was always so hard on Ponyboy. He didn't want anything to ever happen to him. He used tough love to make sure Ponyboy was ok. Ponyboy finally realized that Darry loved him after he just explained why he was always yelling at him. In chapters 4 and 5 many things happen. Ponyboy and Johnny are walking through the park when the blue mustang pulls up again. 5 socs get out, including Bob and Randy. Bob grabs Ponyboy and asks him if he wants a bath. Before Ponyboy can answer he shoves his face in the fountain. Ponyboy starts drowning and everything turns black. When he wakes up Johnny is sitting next to him and Johnny tells him he killed Bob. Ponyboy starts freaking out saying that police would put him in the electric chair if they ever found out he did this. He asks Jonny why he would kill Bob and he says it was because they were killing him first. Johnny and Ponyboy then decide they are going to be caught if they don't do something. They decide to go to Dally for help. When they arrive at the party where Dally is and tell him what happened he gives them a gun and tells them to go jay mountain. There is a church there where they can hide...
When they arrive at the church they fall asleep instantly. In order to get to the church they had to travel on the train all night secretly. When Ponyboy wakes up Jonny is gone getting supplies from a local store. When he comes back he tells him they need to cut their hair. Ponyboy is hesitant at first but then decides he needs to. Once his hair is cut and dyed he looks like a completely different person. For the rest of the chapter Ponyboy and Johnny hide out in the church, watching the sunrises, smoking, and sleeping. They really get to know each other during the time in the church. One day, Ponyboy gets a note from Sodapop that Dally delivers to him. It says Darry is going crazy wondering where he is and that Sodapop misses him. Finally Dally arrives at the church to take them out. Dally tells them something surprising as they ride around. He tells them the greasers and socs are going to have a huge fight and if the greasers win the socs will never go back into their territory. He also tells them he greasers have an advantage because they have a spy. That spy is Cherry. ""I had to. They were drowning you Pony. And they had a blade... They were gonna beat me up." This quote shows the reasoning behind why Johnny stabbed Bob. It is important because what Johnny did will effect the rest of the novel. This also shows how Johnny got himself into this deep trouble. In this chapter Ponyboy, Johnny, and Two-Bit are driving Cherry and Marcia home when they are passes by a Mustag with Cherry and Marcia's boyfriends in it. They brace to be caught, but instead the car drives past them. The group continues talking and Cherry asks Ponyboy about his relationship with Darry. Ponyboy explodes with anger as he tells everyone how he doesn't think Darry loves him. After his rant he feels embarrassed about confiding his feelings to everyone. Then, out of nowhere, the blue Mustang pulls up again and Bob and Randy get out. They threaten to fight Ponyboy and his friends, but Cherry puts a stop to it. Soon, the girls are dropped off at home and Two-Bit heads off to a party. The boys decide to go to an empty lot and look at the stars because Ponyboy doesn't need to be home for a while. Unintentionally, the boys fall asleep and when they wake up it is 2:30am. Ponyboy rushes home to find Darry waiting for him angrily. When he walks through the door Darry screams at him. When Sodapop goes to defend Ponyboy Darry just screams at him also. Ponyboy is furious that Darry would ever yell at Sodapop so he yells at Darry in the face. Then, Darry does something terrible. He slaps Ponyboy in the face. Ponyboy rushes out the door with Darry trying to say sorry. He meets Johnny at the park and they decide to take a walk and cool down. Ponyboy thinks things can only get better from here. He was wrong.
"Suddenly it was deathly quiet. We had all frozen. Nobody in family had ever hit me. Nobody." This quote shows the significance of Darry hitting Ponyboy. This probably hurt Ponyboy so much mentally because it probably put the thought of Darry not loving him even more in his head. I also think that when Darry hit Ponyboy he even shocked himself. The silence symbolizes that Darry regret what he did the moment he did it. The scene also signifies how Ponyboy's family was falling apart. In this chapter Ponyboy, Johnny, and Dally go to a drive-in movie. When they arrive they find two girls sitting alone. Dally starts bothering them and they tell him to stop multiple times. Unfortunately, he will not quit it. Johnny and Ponyboy think it is unfair to the two girls, even though they are socs. Ponyboy knows he can't say anything to Dally or he will beat him up. Surpisingly, Johnny tells Dally to stop what he is doing. Shocked, Dally stalks away. It is rare for Johnny to even say anything after he got beat up. It is even more surprising that Johnny would stand up for two socs. After Dally leaves the two girls thank them and introduce themselves as Cherry and Marcia. They invite Ponyboy and Johnny to sit with them. They all start to talk and Ponyboy says that all greasers are bad and Cherry says the same about socs. After a little while Two-Bit comes to the theater and starts talking with Marcia. They are all having a nice time. Soon, Cherry and Ponyboy get up to grab a drink. Cherry asks what happened to Johnny because he is so quiet. Ponyboy tells Cherry about how he was beaten up by socs and he hasn't been the same since. After the coversation the movie is almost over and Two-Bit offers to walk the girls home. Although they say no, they decide to drive them home instead. That night Ponyboy learns that socs have problems too. He thinks their problems are stupid and wishes he could worry about the same things they worry about.
"Man, I thought, if I had worries like that I'd consider myself lucky. I know better now." This quote is great because it represents what happened in the chapter and it leaves us in suspense about what is to come. It shows Ponyboy's feelings about his life and how he thinks everything is more unfair for the greasers. He doesn't understand what the socs could have to wory about. |
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