The Outsiders — Chapter 1

About This Passage

S.E. Hinton slips this definition of 'rumble' into the middle of a paragraph, as if teaching the reader the rules of a world the narrator takes for granted. Notice the passive construction — 'when it's called' — which hides who does the calling. In this neighborhood, violence does not erupt; it is scheduled. The passage quietly tells us that the brutality we are about to witness in the novel is treated as ordinary business by the people who live it.

Narration Prompt

Summarize Chapter 1 of The Outsiders in your own words. Trace the arc from Ponyboy's solitary walk home from the Paul Newman movie, through the Socs' ambush and the gang's rescue, to the late-night conversation with Sodapop in which Ponyboy admits he is lying to himself about Darry.

Discussion Questions

1. S.E. Hinton opens with the sentence, 'When I stepped out into the bright sunlight from the darkness of the movie house, I had only two things on my mind: Paul Newman and a ride home.' How does this opening establish Ponyboy's voice, his isolation, and the stakes of the chapter all at once? What would be lost if Hinton had opened with the Socs attack instead?
2. Ponyboy describes Darry as having 'eyes that are like two pieces of pale blue-green ice' and 'determined' — but also says Darry 'would be real handsome if his eyes weren't so cold.' What interpretive tension does this double description create, and how does the chapter resolve — or refuse to resolve — whether Darry's coldness is a flaw or a response to circumstance?

+ 3 more questions in the complete study guide