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CONTENT:
Ponyboy, who is on the way home from the movie house, is attacted by the rival gang, the \"Socs\". The members threaten him with a knife and he is really scared to death. But suddenly his brothers, Darry and Soda, arrive and rescue him. Darry accuses Ponyboy of being so silly to walk home alone.
The next time when Ponyboy watches a movie film with his \"gang - brothers\" Jonny and Dally, he meets Marcia and Cherry, two girls, whose boyfriends belong to the \"Socs\". Ponyboy is aware of the fact that Cherry is a member of the rival gang, but he develops a trusting relationship to her, such as he only knows from his brother.
Two -Bit, also a \"Greaser\", drives Cherry and Marcia home, and all of a sudden some \"Socs\" arrive who want to start a rumble. Jonny recognizes some of the \"Socs\" who beat him up some months ago. He was really badly hurt then and he hasn\'t been able to forget that day.
When Ponyboy comes home late in the evening, Darry is about to call the police because he is worried about his little brother. Ponyboy runs away and finds Jonny; both want to run away from home at this moment. They decide to go to the park when suddenly some drunk \"Socs\" approach them and start a fight. Bob, a \"Soc\", is nearly drowning Ponyboy in a fountain and Jonny, who has been wearing a knife since some \"Socs\" jumped him a few months ago, stabs Bob to defend himself against these quarrelsome and brutal \"Socs\".
A panic is rising in Ponyboy and Jonny and that\'s why they flee to Dally.
Dally gives the two boys money and a gun and orders them to hide in a small secluded church in the country. Knowing that the police will come soon they hurry to the train station and hop on the train. Jonny and Ponyboy realize the first time what happened that night and the awareness that Jonny is a murderer is like a nightmare for them.
One week they have to live in this church until Dally will come to check if both are allright. Jonny and Ponyboy feel alone; they think about the future and home and are scared: How long do they have to hide? This time in the church, which seems to have no end, strengthens their friendship. After some days Darry arrives. He can\'t believe his eyes when he looks at Ponyboy and Jonny with short hair.
The police is searching for them at home and with short hair people would perhaps not recognize them from the paper.
They drive away to get something to eat. Jonny can\'t bear this emotional burden of being a killer, that\'s why he wants to go to the police and he tells Dally and Pony about his decision.
After a short time they come back while something frightening has happened in the meantime: the church is blazing in flames and 8 children are inside. Jonny and Ponyboy, who believe that they are responsible for the fire, crawl into it to rescue the children.
Ponyboys back is burnt a bit and some hours later when he wakes up in hospital Darry tells him that Jonny is badly hurt (his back is broken and in addition he is burnt pretty severely.)
The police is already waiting to have a conversation with Ponyboy. He and Jonny do not have to hide any longer so he tells the police the course of events. The policeman gets to know that Jonny had to defend himself and had to help Ponyboy, otherwise Bob, a \"Soc\", would have drowned Pony. Additional to that Cherry, Bob\'s girlfriend, told the police that the \"Socs\" were drunk that evening and wanted to start a fight with the \"Greasers\".
Darry and Soda, who haven\'t been able to sleep a wink all nights since Ponyboy disappeared, are giving their brother with the other members of the gang a warm welcome. But this mood is spoiled because Jonny is in critical condition.
On the one hand Ponyboy is weak because of the strains of the last days, but on the other hand he can\'t be prevented from taking part in the following fight between the \"Socs\" and the \"Greasers\".
With the support of other gangs the \"Greasers\" win this fight.
Dally is quite upset about Jonny, who will die soon, so they drive to the hospital very fast to tell Jonny that they won the fight. Immediately afterwards Jonny closes his eyes and dies.
Dally is so sad about Jonny\'s death that he wants to die as well. He lost a person he really loved. Full of anger he robbs a grocery store and when the police is chasing him he raises his gun, which is not loaded, he is bluffing. As the policemen don\'t know that they shoot him.
\"Dally Winston wants to be dead and he always gets what he wants.\"
Ponyboy gets very ill, but his brothers stay on his side and take care of him. A few days later the court\'s hearing is over but Pony can\'t draw a deep breath, because it could happen that he has to stay some time at a boys\' home. After his recovery Ponyboy has some quarrels with Darry about his bad marks at school, because he has always been a good schoolboy until now. But suddenly Soda, who has the role of a mediator between his two brothers, can\'t stand their fights any more. It\'s the first time Soda tells them about his feelings, which reminds Pony and Darry that they should stick together: They are a family!
THE MAIN CHARACTERS:
PONYBOY:
He is 14 years old and the youngest member of the gang called \"Greasers\".
Ponyboy\'s parents died in a car accident some months ago and now his brothers, Soda and Darry, take care of him. Ponyboy is very proud of his light - brown long hair, because it is typical of all \"Greasers\" to wear long hair. He is a clever guy who gets good marks at school until the course of events overcharges him. He is too young to be able to estimate danger, risk and what violent behaviour can cause. Most of the time Pony does not consider that his oldest brother sacrifices his own hopeful future, additionally he thinks that Darry does not love him, because he nags at him and orders him around, but his brother only means well.
In the church when he changes his appearence he wants to break out of this situation. Life has changed too fast since he was pulled out of his daily routine.
SODA (Ponyboy\'s brother):
He is about 17 years old and works at a gas station.
He is always grinning and tries to be helpful and understanding, that\'s why Ponyboy loves him more than anyone else. He knows that his brothers have many quarrels and it takes him a lot of time and patience to stop them. But he hides his feelings, which is the worst thing he does. He believes that there is no place for his problems.
DARRY (Ponyboy\'s oldest brother):
He is 20 years old. Darry is tall, broad - shouldered and muscular, hard and firm.
His eyes can be gentle and sympathetic one moment and blazing with anger the next. Sometimes his eyes are really cold.
Ponyboy believes that Darry doesn\'t like him, because he is always moaning about him.
In contrast to this believe Darry loves Ponyboy, although he is sometimes unable to show his love.
Since his parents died he has always been trying to protect Ponyboy from all dangerous situations. He is also the one who wants Ponyboy to go to collage and who wants him to work and study hard so that Ponyboy will be able to realize his dreams some day. Darry didn\'t have the chance to finish school because he has to go to work to earn a living.
Darry feels responsible for his two younger brothers and he would do everything to protect and help them, although Ponyboy is not of this opinion. Darry has to carry the responsibility for his brothers and so it is understandable for him to be strict to them, because if something happens to the boys it will be his fault and then Sodapop and Ponyboy will have to go to a boys\' home and that\'s not very pleasant.
TWO -BIT MATHEWS:
He is the oldest of the gang. Ponyboy likes him because he has a wide grin like Soda.
A characteristic feature of Two -Bit is that you are not able to shut up that guy.
DALLAS WINSTON (DALLY):
Dally spent three years on the wild side of New York and was arrested at the age of ten.
His eyes are cold with a hatred against the whole world.
He is tougher, colder, meaner than the rest of them. But deep inside he has a good core, although he was arrested, got drunk, lied, cheated, stole, and so on.
First Ponyboy didn\'t like him because he had to respect him.
Darry succeeds in doing what he wants. But there is one event he feels guilty of: The fact that Jonny is dangerously hurt because of saving the children. He, the most experienced gang brother, stayed outside the church, and now Jonny is in bad condition, so he thinks he is involved in Jonny\'s burning.
JONNY CADE:
He is the gang\'s pet and about 16 years old. He is a very good listener and Ponyboy\'s best friend.
Jonny is against violence but since he was beaten up by the \"Socs\" he has always been carrying a knife with him. And at home life isn\'t bearable: His father often beats him up and his mother ignores him.
One of the most embarrassing sentences in the book is when Jonny says that he would be happy if his father or his mother beat him, because then they would realize that he was there. He dreams about an intact family, but this only stays a dream.
When Jonny kills a member of the rival gang a nightmare starts for him because before he couldn\'t even \"hurt\" a fly.
Jonny is a quiet boy who sometimes thinks of suicide, because he cannot stand his terrible life, especially he can\'t cope with his murdering Bob. But in hospital Jonny changes his mind and he starts to fight for his life. He is aware of dying soon, it\'s too late for changes! Even when his mum wants to visit him in hospital he refuses because she has been neglecting him all his life.
RANDY (from the \"Socs\"):
Randy has no prejudices against the \"Greasers\", he says what he thinks and in my opinion it is worth mentioning that he is a honest boy. Once he starts a conversation with Ponyboy in his car, the next time he visits him after his accident at home, which is an indication that he is sick of the fights between these two gangs. If there were different circumstances I could imagine that Randy and Ponyboy would become friends someday.
CHERRY VALANCE (Bob\'s girlfriend):
She understands the \"Greasers\" and tries to help Jonny and Pony although they killed her boyfriend. Cherry is a nice girl who stands between two gangs. On the one hand she is familiar with the lifestyle of the \"Socs\" and belongs to them as well, but on the other hand she feels for the \"Greasers\" and builds up a relationship to some members.
THE GANGS:
1.) The GREASERS: boys from the \"East Side\"of the city
poorer than the \"Socs\" and middle class
The \"Greasers\" are not well organized, they are rather a small
bunch of friends who stick together.
The members are guys with greasy long hair.
The kids or youngsters spend their days outside in the streets,
sometimes they sleep outside because they are tired of hearing
their parents quarrelling and shouting.
2.) The SOCS: rich kids from the \"West Side\"of the city
contrasting and rival gang of the \"Greasers\"
almost everyone has a car and a weapon too
Some guys of the Socs pretend to be very cool because of the fact that
they have money, but in reality they are not.
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