Friday, February 19, 2016

What are some quotes in The Outsiders that show that Ponyboy is judgmental?

There are many quotes in the novel, The Outsiders, that showcases Ponyboy's judgment of others. Most of those judgmental quotes involve Dally, while some others are about family, and how Ponyboy perceives them. 


The first example of Ponyboy's judgement comes in chapter 5. At that point in the novel, Ponyboy and Johnny were on the run for about 4 to 5 days. Soda wrote a heartfelt letter to Ponyboy, asking him to turn himself...

There are many quotes in the novel, The Outsiders, that showcases Ponyboy's judgment of others. Most of those judgmental quotes involve Dally, while some others are about family, and how Ponyboy perceives them. 


The first example of Ponyboy's judgement comes in chapter 5. At that point in the novel, Ponyboy and Johnny were on the run for about 4 to 5 days. Soda wrote a heartfelt letter to Ponyboy, asking him to turn himself in and come home. Instead of listening to Soda's feelings, Ponyboy responds,



He could improve his spelling...



There was no real sentimentality on Ponyboy's part. He did not concern himself with the passion or tone of Soda's letter. He criticized and judged his spelling, then moved on. 


Another example of how Ponyboy judges others happens in chapter six. Dally is trying to convince Johnny not to turn himself in and go to jail. He opens up about being hardened in jail, and that Johnny doesn't know what jail will do to him. Instead of hearing the pleas that Dally is making, and accepting his truth, Ponyboy judges him again. 



Dally never talked like that. Never. Dally didn't give a Yankee dime about anyone but himself, and he was cold and hard and mean. 



Ponyboy allows his bias and disdain for Dally to cloud his perception. He doesn't listen to Dally's words, nor does he understand or accept Dally's truth. Instead, he judges him and ignores all evidence to the contrary of what he perceives. 

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