Ponyboy Curtis
The novel’s fourteen-year-old narrator and protagonist, and the
youngest of the greasers. Ponyboy’s literary interests and academic
accomplishments set him apart from the rest of his gang. Because his
parents have died in a car accident, Ponyboy lives with his brothers
Darry and Sodapop. Darry repeatedly accuses Ponyboy of lacking common
sense, but Ponyboy is a reliable and observant narrator. Throughout the
novel, Ponyboy struggles with class division, violence, innocence, and
familial love. He matures over the course of the novel, eventually
realizing the importance of strength in the face of class bias.
Darrell Curtis
Ponyboy’s oldest brother. Darrell, known as “Darry,” is a
twenty-year-old greaser who is raising Ponyboy because their parents
have died in a car crash. Strong, athletic, and intelligent, Darry has
quit school. He works two jobs to hold the family together. The
unofficial leader of the greasers, he becomes an authority figure for
Ponyboy. He also makes good chocolate cake, which he and his brothers
eat every day for breakfast. The other greasers call him “Superman.”
Sodapop Curtis
Ponyboy’s happy-go-lucky, handsome brother. Sodapop is the middle
Curtis boy. Ponyboy envies Sodapop’s good looks and charm. Sodapop
plans to marry Sandy, a greaser girl.
Two-Bit Mathews
The joker of Ponyboy’s group. Two-Bit, whose real name is Keith, is a
wisecracking greaser who regularly shoplifts. He prizes his sleek
black-handled switchblade. He instigates the hostilities between the
Socs and the greasers by flirting with Marcia, the girlfriend of a Soc.
Steve Randle
Sodapop’s best friend since grade school. Steve is a seventeen-year-old
greaser who works with Sodapop at the gas station. Steve knows
everything about cars and specializes in stealing hubcaps. He is cocky
and intelligent, tall and lean. He wears his thick hair in a
complicated arrangement of swirls. He is also tough—he once held off
four opponents in a fight with a broken soda bottle. He sees Ponyboy as
Sodapop’s annoying kid brother and wishes Ponyboy would not tag along
so often.
Dallas Winston
The toughest hood in Ponyboy’s group of greasers. Dallas, known as
“Dally,” is a hardened teen who used to run with gangs in New York. He
has an elfin face and icy blue eyes and, unlike his friends, does not
put grease in his white-blond hair. Dally’s violent tendencies make him
more dangerous than the other greasers, and he takes pride in his
criminal record. Dally feels protective of Johnny Cade.
Johnny Cade
A sixteen-year-old greaser with black hair and large, fearful eyes.
Though Johnny does not succeed in school, he approaches intellectual
matters with steady concentration. The child of alcoholic, abusive
parents, he is nervous and sensitive. Since his parents do not care for
him, Johnny sees the greasers as his true family. In turn, the older
boys, particularly Dally, are protective of him.
Sandy
Sodapop’s girlfriend. Sandy is pregnant with another man’s child and
moves to Florida to live with her grandmother. Like the other greaser
girls, Sandy appears in the text only when the boys mention her.
Cherry Valance
Bob’s girlfriend, she is a Soc cheerleader whom Ponyboy meets at the
movies. Cherry’s real name is Sherry, but people call her Cherry
because of her red hair. Ponyboy and Cherry have a great deal in
common, and Ponyboy feels comfortable talking to her. Cherry is both
offended and intrigued by her encounter with Dally Winston at the
drive-in. Cherry admires Dally’s individuality and tells Ponyboy that
she could fall in love with Dally. In the days preceding the rumble,
Cherry becomes a spy for the greasers.
Marcia
Cherry’s friend and Randy’s girlfriend. Marcia is a pretty, dark-haired
Soc who befriends Two-Bit at the drive-in. Marcia and Two-Bit share a
sense of humor and a taste for nonsensical musings.
Randy Adderson
Marcia’s boyfriend and Bob’s best friend. Randy is a handsome Soc who
eventually sees the futility of fighting. Along with Cherry, Randy
humanizes the Socs by showing that some of them have redeeming
qualities. Randy helps Ponyboy realize that Socs are as susceptible to
pain as anyone else. Randy tries to make peace with Ponyboy after
Ponyboy saves the children from the fire, and he refuses to fight in
the Soc-greaser rumble.
Bob Sheldon
Cherry’s boyfriend. Bob is the dark-haired Soc who beats up Johnny
before the novel begins. Bob has a set of three heavy rings, which he
wears when he fights greasers. Bob’s indulgent parents have never
disciplined him.
Paul Holden
The husky blond Soc who steps forward to challenge Darry when the
rumble begins. Paul and Darry were friends and football teammates in
high school.
Jerry Wood
The teacher who accompanies Ponyboy to the hospital after Ponyboy saves
the children from the fire. Though an adult and a member of mainstream
society, Jerry judges the greasers on their merits instead of
automatically branding them juvenile delinquents.
Tim Shepard
The leader of another band of greasers and a friend of Dally. Tim and
Dally respect each other, despite occasional conflicts. Ponyboy thinks
of Tim as an alley cat, hungry and restless. Tim does not appear in the
novel until the night of the rumble, when his gang sides with
Ponyboy’s. Ponyboy sees Shepard’s gang as real street hoods and
criminals, and realizes that his own gang is little more than a group
of friends fighting to survive.
Curly Shepard
The fifteen-year-old brother of Tim Shepard. Curly is stubborn and
rough. He cannot go to the rumble because he was put in a reformatory
for six months after robbing a liquor store. Tim is proud of Curly’s
criminal record.
Mr. Syme
Ponyboy’s English teacher. Mr. Syme expresses concern over Ponyboy’s
falling grades. He offers to raise Ponyboy’s grade if he turns in a
well-written autobiographical theme. This assignment inspires Ponyboy
to write about the greasers and the Socs, and his autobiographical
theme turns into the novel The Outsiders.
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