The Outsiders Lesson 6

Lesson Plan - Get It!

Audio:

Think about the short scene you just watched.

Answer the following questions in your reading journal before checking your work.

• How do you feel about Cherry after watching that scene, especially knowing Johnny's condition? Do you think she's right not to visit him? Why or why not?

• Do you think she's telling the truth about the "no weapons" at the rumble agreement? Why or why not?

• What does she mean when she says, "Bob had something special that made people want to follow him?" Because a person is a strong leader, does that make them a good person? Explain your answer.

• Do you think Johnny is getting what is due him for killing Bob?

• Why do you think Ponyboy changes the subject to ask her if she could "see the sunset from the Southside perfect?" What significance does this have about his feelings toward Cherry?

• What do you think is going on between Pony's heart and head when he sees Cherry in her Corvette, speaking for the Socs?

This particular scene is an example of foreshadowing.

• What is foreshadowing?

• Did you ever get the feeling you knew exactly what was about to happen in a book or movie?
• Did you ever open up a book, read a phrase like, "It can't hurt now," and thought the worst but still hoped for the best?

Those little clues are called foreshadowing, and, as soon as you open up to Chapter Eight, you get an ominous feeling about Johnny.

Foreshadowing is a literary device where a writer gives an advance hint of what will come later in the story.

Foreshadowing often appears at the beginning of a story or a chapter. It helps the reader make inferences (predictions based on events in the story and personal experiences) about what will happen.

A writer can use a variety of methods to create a foreshadowing.

A foreshadowing can be in the form of a dialogue between characters to hint at what may occur in the future.

Just about any event or action in the story may give a subtle — or not so subtle — hint about what will occur.

Even the title of a work mentioned in the story, such as Gone with the Wind, may be a clue.

Foreshadowing in fictional works creates suspense and keeps readers interested.

• Were there any specific points in Chapters Seven through Nine that made you want to keep reading?

Record any examples of foreshadowing in your reading journal.

At the end of Chapter Eight, Cherry delivers the news to Johnny that the Socs were willing to adhere to the Greasers' terms of the rumble: Greaser turf and no weapons.

Today, gang violence rules inner-city streets. There is news daily about young people being killed by gun violence that is often gang-related. In the 1950s and 1960s, there was a lot of fighting on city and suburban streets alike.

• Do you remember learning about the baby boom in the second lesson in this series?

There were so many teens due to the baby boom, that many didn't know what to do with themselves.

Rumbles like the one illustrated in The Outsiders were prevalent, and they did not discriminate across social, economic, or ethnic lines. Kids fought over girls, their turf (the area they claimed as their hang-out territory), who had the better car, etc.

These fights were an excuse to prove dominance and something exciting to do on a Friday or Saturday night. These early gang and turf wars, such as the one between the Greasers and Socs, were a precursor to the escalation of gang-type violence across the U.S.

In the novel, the rumble is inevitable; some might say it is unavoidable.

• Why?
• Why do you think Darry agrees to fight?
• Why do you think Randy does not want to fight?

The only rule for this particular rumble is one by the Greasers: No weapons.

• Why do you think this is the case?
• Why do you think the Socs hold to their word?

Continue to the Got It? section to control exploring the chapters you just read.