The Outsiders Chapter 4

1. The words used in paragraph 1 create a mood of —

• boredom

• suspense

• terror

• humor

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2. Which of the following happens first?

• Ponyboy and Johnny leap from the train.

• Ponyboy realizes he is in the country.

• Ponyboy puts Johnny’s legs to sleep.

• Johnny wakes Ponyboy up.

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3. In paragraph 11, Ponyboy uses a figurative comparison to describe Johnny in

order to emphasize —

• Johnny’s true nature

• how Johnny appears to others

• that Ponyboy has mistreated Johnny

• that he has never understood Johnny

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4. In paragraph 17, Johnny laughs at Ponyboy because —

• Johnny has made Ponyboy blush by telling him he looks like Soda

• Ponyboy does not realize the true color of his own eyes

• Ponyboy is now taking orders from Johnny

• Ponyboy does not realize Johnny was being sarcastic in comparing him to

  Soda

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5. What is paragraph 18 mainly about?

• Ponyboy will do anything he can to avoid being sent to a reformatory.

• Although Ponyboy once thought nothing was worse than being a greaser, he

  now knows differently.

• Ponyboy and Johnny will probably never see their friends or families again.

• In just a short time, Ponyboy’s and Johnny’s lives have changed dramatically

  for the worse.

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6. In paragraph 18, the word reformatory is best understood to refer to a place a

person is sent for the purpose of—

• humiliation

• studying

• correction

• religious training

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7. The reader can tell Ponyboy cares about other people’s opinions of him

because he —

• speaks respectfully to the farmer on the tractor

• worries about being sent to a reformatory

• wishes he could find out his predicament was only a dream

• never returned to church after attending with Soda and his friends

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How is the character of Johnny developed in this passage? Support your answer

with evidence from the selection.

Answer explanation

Answers will vary. A good answer will note that Johnny’s character is

developed both by his own words and actions and by what Ponyboy, the

narrator, says about him. Johnny is seen to be unselfish and kind when he

does not waken Ponyboy even though Ponyboy has caused his legs to go to

sleep. Ponyboy says Johnny “wouldn’t hurt a living thing on purpose,” and he

compares him to “a lost puppy who had been kicked too often.” Johnny’s

playful nature is seen in his kidding Ponyboy about being handsome like his

brother Soda.

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9. How is the way outsiders would view Ponyboy different from the way the reader

views him? Explain your answer and support it with evidence from the selection.

Answer explanation

Answers will vary. A good answer will point out that, externally, Ponyboy

would seem to be a threat. He is running from the police “in a hoodlum’s

jacket, with a gun.” His hair is long and messy, and he slouches down “like a

thug.” However, the reader knows that Ponyboy is a good person, caught up

in a situation out of his control, and hoping he will wake up and find it was all

a dream. He misses his friends and family, and he enjoyed going to church

until he was embarrassed by the antics of his brother’s friends.

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