Character Analysis Of Ponyboy Curtis In 'The Outsiders'

In The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, Ponyboy Curtis is trying to find who he truly is. His personality varies throughout the novel, depending on his current situation. His mindset changes due to certain events throughout the book. Pony, an imaginative thinker, changes from being mindful towards others to having an indifferent attitude as a result of particular dismal circumstances. Having imaginative thoughts can allow anyone to travel to new places. Towards the beginning of the novel, Ponyboy can relate to this statement. He enjoys going to the movies; they allow him an escape that he cannot find anywhere else. Movies also help Pony pretend that he is a character in a film, and to enable his mind to soar. “I had a long walk home and no company,
He thinks about others before himself, which is a quality that everyone should take on. Even when he could have negative consequences as a result of his considerate actions, he does not stutter. Pony runs into a burning church in order to save a group of children stuck inside. He knows how dangerous it is, but he is not afraid. “I should be scared, I thought with an odd detached feeling, but I’m not. The cinders and embers began falling on us, stinging and smarting like ants...pieces of the roof were crashing down too close for comfort,” (92-93). Pony could have easily backed out of running in the church, and could have fled the scene. Instead, he thought of the welfare of the children. A less heroic, but still thoughtful, moment of Pony’s is when he picks up shards of broken glass from the road. He wants to be sure that nobody bursts a tire. “I looked up at him. ‘Picking up the glass.’ He stared at me for a second, then grinned. ‘You little sonofagun,’ he said in a relieved voice. I didn’t know what he was talking about, so I just went on picking up the glass from the bottle end and put it in a trash can. I didn’t want anyone to get a flat tire,” (172). Ponyboy thinks about how frustrating it would be to have a tire pop due to another person’s carelessness, so he picks up the glass himself. He could have injured himself on the glass pieces, however he does not consider the consequences. Pony starts to show a
He has been through so much lately that nothing can phase him anymore. Both the deaths of Johnny and Dally are negatively affecting his nature and how he acts. Pony is even willing to hurt another human being, which is a quality that he never shown before. When he is confronted by a group of Socials, he is not afraid to wield a broken bottle as a weapon. “I busted the end off my bottle and held on to the neck and tossed away my cigarette...they looked kind of surprised, and one of them backed up. ‘I mean it.’ I hopped off the car,” (171). A fight is not unusual to Pony anymore, and he stops caring about violence. He is deliberately riling up the Socials, and is looking for a fight with them. He also stops caring about being confronted while being alone, without a reliable source of protection. “...A car drove up and three Socs got out. I just sat there and looked at them and took another swallow of the Pepsi. I wasn’t scared. It was the oddest feeling in the world. I didn’t feel anything-scared, mad, or anything,” (170-171). Ponyboy does not run or shout for help, as he previously would have done. He takes the situation very differently than he would have in the beginning of the novel. His change in character is remarkable. As a result, Ponyboy is an intriguing character to see his mindset develop and