Why does darry hit ponyboy

After losing his parents, Darry fears losing another loved one. Cherry's willingness to clue the greasers in on Soc activity shows her to be in a kind of limbo. What did ponyboy and cherry conclude about sunsets? Later in the novel, Ponyboy and Cherry discuss sunsets again, agreeing that their beauty can be seen from both the West Side, where the Socs live, and the East Side, where greasers live.

What did Johnny say when he killed Bob? When Bob went down, all the other Socs ran. Are the names ponyboy and sodapop nicknames? No the names Pony boy and Soda pop are not nicknames they are they're real name because when they are at the movies with Cherry and Marcia they ask if Pony boy is his real name and he said it was and that it said Soda pop on Soda pop's birth certificate. Why is cherry helping the greasers? Cherry helps the Greasers for a few reasons.

She doesn't think the fighting is right, and wants the fighting to stop. Secondly, she has a huge crush on Dally. Her feelings for Dally motivate her to do what she can for the Greasers. What does the blue Mustang symbolize? The blue Mustang represents the Socs wealth as well as the danger they pose to greasers. When Ponyboy or another greaser spots the Mustang, he knows trouble is coming. As the novel progresses, however, and Ponyboy comes to understand and feel compassion for the Socs, the Mustang loses some of its power to intimidate.

They decide to go to Dally, thinking he might be able to help them. They find Dally at the house of Buck Merril, his rodeo partner. He manages to get the boys fifty dollars, a change of clothing for Ponyboy, and a loaded gun.

He instructs them to take a train to Windrixville, where they can hide in an abandoned church. Ponyboy and Johnny get on a train, and Ponyboy goes to sleep. When they get to Windrixville, they hop off the train and find the church, where they collapse into exhausted sleep. In these chapters, Hinton uses symbols to represent the tensions between the two socioeconomic groups. In this section, and in most of the novel, the greasers move about on foot, leaving themselves vulnerable to the Socs, who are protected in their cars.

Ponyboy identifies Bob, a Soc, by the large rings he wears on his fingers, and, of course, jewelry of this kind is a traditional symbol of wealth. But Bob also uses these rings as weapons in his attacks, in the same way that brass knuckles are used to increase the damage of a punch in a fight.

Therefore, on a symbolic level, Bob transforms his wealth into a physical weapon. Greasers, on the other hand, cannot represent themselves with material luxuries. Their primary identifying symbol is their long hair. Unlike cars or rings, hair is a costless symbol, all the cheaper because the greasers do not have to pay to cut or style their hair. Cars and jewelry symbolize the Socs; hair symbolizes the greasers. On a psychological level, this incident presents a crisis for Ponyboy because it casts doubt in his mind over the burgeoning conclusions he makes about the commonalities between the Socs and the greasers.

The church gives Ponyboy a creepy feeling, perhaps a premonition, but sleep overtakes both boys and any fears or premonitions are lost to exhaustion. Chapter 4 contains one of the novel's primary climaxes, the decisive turning point to which many of the preceding chapters' foreshadowing alludes.

When he kills Bob, Johnny loses the look of a wild animal caught in a trap and instead he "looked as cool as Darry ever had. This single action starts a series of events that leads Ponyboy on a path of self-examination, characterized by his statement, "There are things worse than being a greaser. Ponyboy blames Darry for starting this string of events just as many children — and adults — blame their parents for all of their misfortunes.

As a result of frustration and fear for Pony's safety, Darry had slapped him when he returned home well after curfew. This slap did make Pony run away, thus in Ponyboy's mind starting this whole nightmare: "I bet Darry's sorry he ever hit me. When Johnny and Ponyboy turn to Dally for help, Dally reacts to Ponyboy the same way that Darry did, questioning Ponyboy's common sense.

It is ironic that as Pony turns his back on Darry, another person steps in to question his judgment, and thereby prompts Pony to see Dally's perspective, and maybe Darry's, of himself. The belief that one's parents are responsible for their children's misfortunes does not enter into Johnny's rationale for his actions. Johnny's abusive parents could easily have been blamed for their son murdering another person, but that thought doesn't occur to Johnny. His thoughts are self-motivated.

Pony heads back to the vacant lot, wakes Johnny, and announces that it is time for them to run away. Johnny tries to calm Ponyboy. Johnny points out that Ponyboy is lucky to have family who cares about him, and that the gang members never really take the place of family in Johnny's life. They walk to the park, and Ponyboy decides to return home after cooling off a bit.

Ponyboy's character grows as his perspective changes, and he realizes the many similarities that he and Cherry share. Cherry asks whether he watches sunsets, and Ponyboy answers that he does. She admits that she enjoys watching them, but that she hasn't had much time for it lately. A sunset, which they both can watch from their respective homes, represents their outlooks on life.

To Cherry, a sunset is the fading of daylight, when the sun drops below the horizon. It takes away a day and signals the beginning of another, a fresh start. Cherry has, at this point, apparently given up and accepted the rat race: "We're always going and going and going, and never asking where.

To Pony the sunset signals that everyone now is in the dark, one cannot escape the sunset no matter how rich or poor they may be. It is the great equalizer, and it gives everyone a second chance.

Ponyboy realizes that "maybe the two different worlds we lived in weren't so different. We saw the same sunset. Ponyboy and his gang are not the only outsiders; Cherry is an outsider as well. She feels trapped in her world and from her perspective can only see Ponyboy and his friends as unattainable, a realization that saddens her.

Her comments about Dally justify her irrational admiration for him: "I could fall in love with Dallas Winston. I hope I never see him again, or I will.