Chapter 12 Questions
What 'circumstances' do Ponyboy's teacher refer to? What circumstances does Ponyboy think his teacher is referring to?
The circumstances that Pony's teacher, Mr. Syme is talking about is all that has happened in Pony's life in the last couple of weeks, starting with Pony being jumped by a gang of Socs, then Bob's murder, ending finally with the deaths of Dally, and his best friend, Johnny. He is in an emotional state, and hasn't been focusing in class because he is still getting over the loss of his friends. The circumstances that Pony thinks his teacher is talking about are him being in trouble a whole lot just because he is a Greaser, but eventually he realizes that Mr. Syme really understands how bad Pony has been hurt.
Why doesn't Ponyboy feel scared when the socs approach him and he threatens them with a broken bottle?How is this a dramatic change from the ponyboy we have seen up until this point?
Pony doesn't feel scared when the Socs approach him and when he threatens them with a broken bottle because he has too much lately. He has seen, and has been part of a lot of violence. He was always the one Greaser trying to "stay gold" but he is growing to be like the other Greasers. He is becoming more tough and hard. This is a dramatic change from the Pony we have seen up until this point because he has always been the good Greaser that is a good student in school, and he was never as tough as the other Greasers. When Two-Bit says something about him getting hard like the rest of the Greasers, Pony starts to pick up the glass from the broken bottle, so that no one runs it over with their car, or steps on it. I still think that Pony is still the same person as he was before, just a little stronger, but he is still the Greaser that will "stay gold".
What does Darry mean when he says, "you don't just stop living because you lose someone"?
When Darry says this, he means that just because someone you love dies, doesn't mean that you can stop doing what you normally do. You still need to go to work/school, and that you still have responsibilities that you need to keep doing. Darry want Pony to realize that just because Johnny died, he can't always just sit around and do nothing and that he still has a life ahead of him, an he needs to live that life. I think this is what Johnny would have wanted him to do.
How do we know Sandy didn't love Soda as much as he loved her?
We know that Sandy didn't love Soda as much as he loved her because Sandy moved away to Florida to have a baby that they later found out wasn't even Soda's. Even though Sandy cheated on Soda, he still loved her and wanted to marry her, but it was obvious that she didn't feel the same way. Soda sent her letter after letter, and all of them were returned to him unopened. She didn't want anything to do with Soda from now on and that proves that she didn't love Soda as much as he loved her.
Explain how Darry and Ponyboy play tug of war with Soda.
Ponyboy and Darry play tug of war with Soda because they are always fighting or arguing, and since Soda is the middle child and has no one to argue with, he usually stands and watches, while Pony and Darry are yelling at him who's side is he on, when he really doesn't want anything to do with them at this point. When Pony asks him a question, Soda cry's "Don't" and runs out of the house, causing Darry and Pony to run out after him to catch him. When they finally catch him, Soda says "I can't stand to hear y'all fight. Sometimes...it's like I'm the middleman in a tug o' war and I'm being split in half". That is how Pony and Darry have been playing tug of war with Soda.
What do we learn was so special about Johnny?
Johnny was special because he had a gift for listening and caring for his friends. On page 178,it say that Johnny was more than a buddy to all of them, and that his gift for listening was really rare. After realizing how special Johnny was to all of them, Pony picks up Johnny's copy of Gone with the Wind and finds Johnny's last letter. Pony is really happy that he had a friend that actually listened and cared, but is sad because he is gone now.
What does Ponyboy end up doing for his English assignment?
Pony was having trouble coming up with an idea for his English assignment at first because he couldn't come up with an interesting topic. He was thinking about writing about horses, because he and Soda like them, but then he decided that that wasn't interesting. He finally decided to write about what has been happening in his life the last couple of weeks, and that assignment turned into the book, The Outsiders.