CharacterAnalysisEssay

Ponyboy's actions, words, thoughts, conflicts, and what is said about him have defined him as the main character in __the Outsiders__ by S.E. Hinton. As we read, we come to see that Ponyboy is senseless, cautious, and very jealous. We also see that he loves his two brothers very much. At the end, Pony realizes that they need to get along because they are all he has. The main themes are family and the relationships between all the Greasers. Ponyboy Curtis teaches me lessons on loving my family, using my head, and trying to help my family by staying out of trouble. First of all, Ponyboy is senseless. This means that he doesn't use his head or common sense. Through his actions, words, conflicts, and what is said about him, we see that Ponyboy does not think before doing something. For example, Pony walks home alone from the movie theatre and gets jumped. That is really dangerous knowing that the Socs will most likely see you and beat you up. This shows him being senseless or unsensible. Steve says, "What were you doin', walkin' by your lonesome" (Hinton, 13)? Through walking home alone from the movie theatre, we see that Ponyboy doesn't use his head very much. Secondly, Ponyboy is cautious. This means that he does everything he can to not get in trouble. For example, Pony tries to stay out of any kind of trouble because Darry will get very mad at him. Pony says, "Darry would kill me if I got in trouble with the police" (Hinton, 3). Ponyboy doesn't do bad things like all the other Greasers, such as stealing and randomly fighting. In other words, he usually makes the right decisions for the sake of not getting yelled at by Darry, his oldest brother. This shows that he really loves Darry. Last of all, Ponyboy Curtis is very jealous. This means that he wants the relationship that Soda and Darry have with each other. He is envious of Darry always yelling at him and not Sodapop. For example, Ponyboy gets mad because Darry only yells at him for his wrongdoings and not Soda's. Pony says, "He never hollered at Sodapop- not even when he dropped out of school or got tickets for speeding. He just hollered at me" (Hinton, 13). This causes Pony to feel unloved by Darry, and he wishes Darry was as nice to him as he was to Soda. In conclusion, Ponyboy Curtis is a good person. He is not like all the other Greasers because he doesn't pick his fights. His main character traits are being senseless, cautious, and jealous. He is senseless because he doesn't make the best decisions on things. He is cautious because he tries to stay out of trouble unlike all the other Greasers. Last of all, Ponyboy Curtis is very jealous because he longs for the good relationship that Soda has with Darry. Being cautious and jealous show that Ponyboy loves his two brothers, Soda and Darry, very much.
 * The Adventures of Ponyboy Curtis**