The Outsiders Chapter 5

When Ponyboy wakes up, he finds a note from Johnny, saying he has gone to get supplies. When he returns, he has brought food, a copy of Gone with the Wind (he knew Ponyboy wanted to read it) and hair bleach. Ponyboy is horrified: he loves his hair! But Johnny insists that they have to disguise themselves. With his hair lightened, Ponyboy is miserable. He thinks he looks like a wimp. The boys are suddenly very homesick and scared. After crying for a while, though, they realize they are becoming confident. Johnny says, "We're all cried out now. We're getting' used to the idea. We're gonna be okay now." Chapter 5, pg. 75 For the next few days, they read Gone with the Wind and talk. Ponyboy is surprised at how smart Johnny is: he has never done well in school, and people have usually thought of him as dumb. Still, Johnny understands the ideas in the book about Southern gentlemen very well. He thinks Dally is like one of those men: he would never sacrifice a friend to save himself, for example. Ponyboy thinks, "That was the first time I realized the extent of Johnny's hero-worship for Dallas Winston." Chapter 5, pg. 76 Ponyboy doesn't like Dally, because Dally is just too real for him: he doesn't joke or tell stories, he just lives his hard life as a tough man.

Topic Tracking: Misunderstanding 3

One morning, the boys watch the sun rise. When Johnny comments on how beautiful it is, and how he wishes it would stay that way all day, Ponyboy recites a poem he read once. The poem describes how the most beautiful aspects of nature are the shortest lived: "nothing gold can stay." Johnny is awed that the poem reflects just what he was thinking about. The boys talk about how they could not talk about poetry with any of their other friends.

Topic Tracking: Loneliness 4

On the fifth day, Dally arrives. He tells them it's safe for them to come out of the church, because Dally has told the police they've run away to Texas. He informs the boys that there is an all-out war going on between the Socs and greasers. Dally himself has even started carrying a gun--though it isn't loaded. Also, Cherry Valance has offered herself as a spy for the greasers. She feels like the whole problem is her fault.