The Outsiders Chapter 2

Pony goes to the movies with Dally and Johnny. First, however, they shop-lift from the drug store and watch a fight at a diner. When they get to the theatre, they sneak in, because Dally hates to obey the law. "He liked to show he didn't care whether there was a law or not." Chapter 2, pg. 20 At the theatre, Dally sits behind two girls and talks dirty loudly until one of them tells her to leave them alone. Dally walks away, and when Pony promises the girl he won't act like his friend, she smiles. Pony thinks she is beautiful, and she doesn't make fun of his name. She tells him her name is Sherri Valance, but people call her Cherry. Dally comes back with Cokes, but when he tries to put his arm around Cherry, she throws hers in his face. Suddenly Johnny tells Dally to leave Cherry alone. Ponyboy is shocked: Dally is dangerous, and no one ever tells him what to do. Johnny is everybody's pet, though, and Dally can't hit him. He just walks off angrily. The girls invite Johnny and Pony to sit with them, telling them they can tell they are much nicer than Dally. Just then Two-Bit comes up behind them, pretending to be a Soc. Even after they see who it really is, Pony can see that Johnny is shaken. He cannot get over the beating the Socs gave him that one night. Two-Bit explains that Dally will probably get beaten up by Tim Shepard's gang, because he slashed the tires of one of their cars. However, Tim Shepard and his gang are still their friends, and Pony's gang would fight on their side tomorrow if they were asked to. Cherry and her friend, Marcia, are a little scared at such a violent way of life. Cherry and Pony go to buy popcorn, and Cherry says she can tell something bad happened to Johnny, and asks what it was. Pony feels nervous because people are staring at him and Cherry, but he tells her the story. One day he was walking with Steve and Soda when they found Johnny lying on the ground, beaten so badly that Pony almost threw up when he looked at him. The other boys seemed to sense something had happened, because within minutes they were all there. Even Dally was very upset, and Pony wondered why. Johnny slowly recovered enough to tell them that a group of Socs had pulled up in a car and all beaten him at once. One boy who wore lots of rings had been especially brutal. Johnny had been beaten by his father many times, but this beating was worse, because the Socs had threatened him with everything they could think of before they beat him. Now, Johnny is so afraid that he carries a switchblade, and Pony knows Johnny would rather die or kill someone than be beaten like that again. Cherry and Pony go back to the movie, and they all watch it together. Pony enjoys watching a movie with a nice girl, who doesn't swear or try to kiss him. Looking back on that night, he realizes that he had no idea how tough the Socs' lives really were.

Topic Tracking: Innocence 2