The Outsiders Chapter 7 Summary & Analysis
The Outsiders: Chapter 7Summary & Analysis
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Chapter 8
Themesand ColorsKey
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme inThe Outsiders, which you can use to track the
themes throughout the work.
Divided Communities
Empathy
Preserving Childhood Innocence
Self-Sacrifice and Honor
Individual Identity
Summary
Analysis
Ponyboy,Darry, andSodapopwait in the hospital waiting room for news aboutJohnnyandDally.
Reporters and police question and take photos of Ponyboy and his brothers. Sodapop charms the
reporters with his good looks and sense of humor. Eventually, a doctor emerges. He says that Dally
will be okay in a few days, but that Johnny's back has been broken, and thatifhe survives he will be
crippled for life. Ponyboy tries not to cry when he hears this news. He reflects that greasers are not
supposed to cry, and that some of them have even forgotten how.
The bleak prognosis underscores Johnny's vulnerability, in contrast to Dally's ruggedness. Ponyboy's
struggle to hold back tears shows how greaser life can harden a boy, making him less sensitive to
physical and emotional pain. Ponyboy seems aware of the expectation that he not break down, yet he
cannot ignore his grief. His sensitivity is one of the traits that sets him apart from the other gang
members.
ActiveThemes
The next morning,Ponyboywakes up before his brothers and starts making breakfast. As he
does,Two-BitandSteve Randledrop by. They show him the morning paper, which contains an article
with the headline "Juvenile Delinquents Turn Heroes." Two-Bit objects to the verb "turn," asserting
that Ponyboy and Johnny were heroes all along. The article credits the boys with saving the children's
lives. The report also quotesCherryandRandyregarding the killing of Bob—both of them insist
thatJohnnyacted only in self-defense. The article finishes by saying that the Curtis boys should be
allowed to stay together. But this final bit of news panics Ponyboy, who hadn't realized that there was
a chance that he and Sodapop might be separated from Darry.
The news article highlights the larger community's failure to see the potential for heroism and
honorable behavior among greasers. The community expects greasers to become criminals and
delinquents. Since they have few other choices, many of these boys become exactly that. To some
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extent, Johnny and Ponyboy's courageous actions overturn these expectations, yet even so the
community may still decide that Darry is an unfit guardian and split up the Curtis family.
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Quotes
WithSodapopandDarrynow in the kitchen too,Ponyboyshares the news that on the previous night
he had one of his recurring nightmares, which he can only vaguely remember in the morning. Darry
becomes very concerned. Ponyboy explains that the dreams began when the boys' parents died, though
they had lately seemed to taper off.
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The conversation turns toSodapop'sgirlfriendSandy, who suddenly moved to Florida to live with her
grandmother. Soda is clearly upset, so Darry distracts him by saying that they need to get to work.
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