Part 3: Reading
Journal (Connect & Question)
Response 1:
Guiding Questions
1. The story was
set in 1960s in America, and I knew it from reading Chapter 1 in which the
author introduced the setting at the beginning.
2. There are three
main characters in this novel, and the whole story was told in Ponyboy’s point
of view. Ponyboy was fourteen-year-old, and he had two older brothers, the
oldest brother called Darrel, and the second oldest brother called Sodapop. Unfortunately,
the three boys’ parents died in a car accident, so Darrel undertook the parents’
responsibilities, which caused Darrel lacked the sense of being humorous. Ponyboy
really loved Sodapop, because Sodapop never shouted at Ponyboy, and he was
willing to spent time with Ponyboy. Talking of Ponyboy, he had a light-brown,
almost red hair and greenish-gray eyes. In addition, Ponyboy liked reading
books and watching movies. In my opinion,
all of the three boys are disciplined children, because they help each other to
make a living without parents, they treated people friendly, and they were judgmental.
3. Bob was a
secondary character in “The Outsiders”. As far as I know, where Ponyboy lived
was a dangerous area, and it was divided into East side and West side. Rich
people lived in West side, and they were called “Socials”. Well, in the East
side, people like Ponyboy who didn’t have high social status lived there, and
they were called “Greasers”. Bob was the leader of one young “Socs” gang who
was hard drinking, cruel, and he always bullied Greasers. The reason why Bob
was essential for this story is that his existence creates the main conflict in
this story since Ponyboy and Sodapop had to escape to a far church to live, and
experienced the following suffering. Thus, Bob was the direct cause of the story.
4. I would like to
talk about the relationship between Ponyboy and his second oldest brother,
Sodapop. Ponyboy narrated he loved Sodapop more than his parents. Without any
doubts, Sodapop was a responsible brother who found out and solved the worries for
Ponyboy. Ponyboy loved him, because he was willing to listen to, to share, and
to comfort. The reason why I think their relationship is important since family
affection is one of the main themes for the story. During the story, they
escaped to a far church together, and they confronted lots of troubles
together. However, they never gave up, because their special relationship, and
they cherished each other so much.
5. Bob was
accidentally killed in a vacant lot is the direct cause for the following plots
because Greasers and Socials didn’t like each other, and Bob, as the leader of
Socials, his death represented the relationship between Greasers and Socials
would become worse and worse. Moreover, of course, since Socials always bullied
Greasers, they would revenge Greasers.
6. The culture involved
in this story is level of differentiation, which represents that social status
determines everything. For instance, rich people lived in West side, and poor
people lived in East side, which shows that people were materialistic at that
time. “The Great Gatsby” shows the same culture that people who have lots of
money seem like having everything.
7. In this novel, I
feel love is so great. Love is one of
the most common affection in the world. Love concludes friendship; romance,
family ties, and love even exist between strangers who help each other by the
motivation of being touched or compassion. The reason why Sodapop and Ponyboy
were able to be alive in a far church is that many people helped them by giving
money, bringing food, and even fighting for them.
8. I would like to
talk the event that Sodapop protected Ponyboy when Bob was bullying Ponyboy. In
real life, one of the most ordinary consensuses is older brothers are always
able to help the younger timely.
9. I would talk
about “the Great Gatsby”, because these two novels have some similarities since
both authors focused on describing the luxury cars and clothes that some rich
people have. In my opinion, lots of rich people involved in these two novels
thought that owning money equaled owning everything, so they had the power to
bully or laugh at others ceaselessly.
10. 1) Do you
think Bob’s parents will revenge to the oldest brother, Darrel?
2) Do you think the police worked
effectively and efficiently at that time?
3) Why Greasers persist in maintaining their
long hair even though others always laughed at them?
4) Do you think “Socials” have real
friendship compared with the friendship between “Greasers”?
5) How do you think Ponyboy’s future after
he found out Sodapop’s death?
6) In the end of the story, Ponyboy found a
slip of paper that Sodapop left in the book, “Gone with the wind”, so what do
you think was written on the paper?
7) The book, “Gone with the wind” was
mentioned of many times in this story, why?
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