The Socs And The Bridge In S. E. Hinton's The Outsiders

Johnny and Ponyboy say they want to go for the fight and on there way back to town they turn around and see the church was burning. They quickly got out and went into the fire to help the kids and when they were taking the last kid out the roof caves in and Ponyboy blacks out. He wakes up in an ambulance and is told he only has minor burns and bruises. Dallas really isn’t hurt either but Johnny has a broken back. I’ll leave it there to not spoil the book for

After running from the police when johnny stabbed Bob a soc they find themselves in an abandoned church. When Ponyboy returns to society after being in the hospital. He finds himself meeting with Randy, Bob's best friend. Pony is suppried when Randy tells him that he's sorry for Pony and how Bob's parents never gave him limits. This changes Pony’s belief that all socs were evil because”Randy was too cool to feel anything yet there was pain in his eyes.”(116)Pony continues to hate the socs but this changes his view on the socs and reminds him they're human too.

After a while the church caught on fire and kids were trapped inside. Johnny saved them, but injured himself badly. Then, Johnny died as a hero. In this story, Johnny saved Ponyboy from drowning in a fountain by killing a Soc. Also, when the church caught on fire Johnny took the chance and saved kids who were trapped.

Then later that night, Gene and Finny are pulled from bed by a group of several other boys from Devon and are questioned about what really happened before Finny fell out of the tree. Even Leper is questioned. When Leper begins to say that Gene purposely shook the branch, Finny stands up and shouts about how he doesn’t care either way, before running away, falling down the stairs, and breaking his leg a second time. Later, Gene sneaks into the infirmary where Finny is staying but he is absolutely furious, and makes him leave. The next morning he tries to visit Finny again, and they both agree that his actions on the tree was not on purpose.

After the Watsons get back from Alabama, Byron hangs out with Kenny a lot more because he understands that Kenny feels bad about what happened. Byron also finds out that Kenny has been hiding behind the couch and understands that he is waiting there for the “Magic Powers” to heal him like it healed all of the animals that have gotten sick or injured. He also tells Kenny that if it wasn’t for him, Joetta would have gone back into the church and might have died. Byron even lets Kenny cry with his head in his lap instead of telling him to shut up and to go away. Byron closed the the bathroom door so no one else could see him cry.

Upon hearing Allie's death, who battled with leukemia at a young age, Holden is unable to cope with the reality and decides to take out his frustrations through destructive tendencies. J.D. Salinger writes, “I was only thirteen, and they were going to have me psychoanalyzed and all, because I broke all the windows in the garage. I don’t blame them. I slept in the garage the night he died, and I broke all the godam windows with my fist, just for the hell of it (Salinger 44).” He was inexperienced with handling grief and death at a young age; rather than rationalizing the situation, he decides to take out his grief and frustrations though destroying property and hurting himself in the process.

He recognizes him and take a picture of him to send to his friend, but when the flash accidently goes off, the man 's nose starts to bleed as he screams “get out” multiple times. Chris is completely shook by the event and the next morning him and Rose decide to leave. When they are getting ready, Chris finds a secret box of Rose and ALL the workers that work at her house. As he tries to leave, Rose refuses to give the keys away and they attack Chris and try to put him under hypnosis once again, this time to make him a slave forever. This transition sets us up perfectly for Act 2 by finally moving on with the story, and making us change our central question.

In the story two greasers Ponyboy and Johnny killed Bob a Socs in self defense. This incident rattles the small community and the two gangs plan to have a huge rumble, and while the two gangs are getting ready to fight Johnny and Ponyboy get out of town to avoid the cops. The two find shelter in an old abandoned church and after the heat dies down their friend Dallas picks them up, but they have to return to the abandoned church. Upon arriving at the abandoned church Ponyboy, Johnny, and Dallas notice the abandoned church is engulfed in flames while a group of students on a field trip in the church. The trio take it upon themselves to save the kids, and while Dallas and Ponyboy get out just in time Johnny goes back to get a book that the duo had while him and Ponyboy were in hiding.

I don’t blame them. I really don’t. I slept in the garage the night he died, and I broke all the goddam windows with my fist, just for the hell of it” (Salinger 38-39). Holden got to the point maybe because of anger issues and him not knowing how to cope with the death of his brother. Holden is very young when he loses his brother, which could be the reason he does not know how to deal with the situation correctly.

He was holding up a sign that said “YOU ARE GOING TO DIE”. I got so scared I ran back to the office to tell Mr Acres that there is a murder here but when I got into his office he was lying dead in his chair. I turned around very fast to close the door and lock it so I could call the police but when I picked the phone it didn’t work. I freaked out and ran out of the office and into the gym so I could lock myself in the teacher’s office in the boys locker room. When I went to go sit down on the couch he had in the room I saw the figure sitting on the couch sharpening a knife.