The Outsiders Chapters 4 - 6

Ponyboy and Johnny are alone in the park at 2:30 when they see a blue mustang from the previous night. Bob and Randy exit the car with three other Socs. All of them are visibly drunk, and they begin to circle the young Greaser boys. Ponyboy and Johnny are terrified but they put on brave faces as they stand their ground. The Socs are angry about Johnny and Ponyboy hanging out with their girlfriends and want to teach them a lesson. A Soc grabs Ponyboy when he tries to escape and holds his head under the water fountain attempting to drown him. Ponyboy starts choking and begins to lose consciousness, but he is suddenly flung out of the water. When he regains consciousness, Ponyboy is stunned to see Bob's bloody and lifeless body. Johnny appears ill as he stares at the corpse while the rest of the socs beat a hasty and panicked retreat. Johnny explains that he killed him with his switchblade. He used the blade in a frenzy when he thought the Socs were going to drown Ponyboy. Ponyboy vomits, and he begins to panic and scream. Johnny helps him calm down, and they decide on seeking Dally's help.

They find Dally at his rodeo friends’ house. He hears their account without judgment or reaction. He helps them with 50 dollars, a gun, and clothes. Ponyboy makes Dally promise him not to reveal anything about the incident to his brothers. Dally advises them to leave town and gives them clear directions to a nearby abandoned church where they can remain undetected. He is certain that they will be able to survive a week or so with the supplies he has given them. Dally promises to come to see them as soon as he has a better understanding of the situation. They follow his advice, and the two of them take the train to Windrixville. They get off it at the first stop. Ponyboy attempts to appear like a local, and he goes out to seek directions to Jay Mountain. As the two of them make their way on the pointed path, it dawns on Ponyboy that his life has changed forever. They reach the abandoned spooky church and immediately fall asleep.

The following day, Ponyboy wakes up disoriented and he tries to convince himself that it is one of his regular weekend mornings at home. He gets up with resignation as he recollects the events of the previous night, and finds a note from Johnny telling him that he has gone into town to fetch supplies for their week in hiding. Ponyboy's hyperactive imagination makes him think of the worst scenarios. Much to his relief, Johnny returns with a week’s supply of cigarettes, cards, bread, baloney, a novel Gone With the Wind, and some bleach. Johnny insists that they disguise themselves as the newspapers will have circulated their descriptions by now.

Johnny cuts Ponyboy’s hair and bleaches them. He tries to cheer up Ponyboy, who is quite upset since he had always been rather attached to his 'tuff' hair. The boys begin to feel lonely, and miss being at home with the rest of the gang. Johnny breaks down with the guilt of having killed Bob, and for being responsible for their present condition. They both cry and eventually manage to console one another. Johnny assures Ponyboy that everything will be all right henceforth. The next five days are spent in the church, where they try to entertain each other and smoke cigarettes. The southern gentleman from the novel they are reading reminds Johnny of Dally. One morning, they witness a beautiful sunrise together, and Ponyboy recites a poem by Robert Frost. Johnny is very moved by the poem and asks for its meaning, but Ponyboy doesn't completely understand it either.

Ponyboy’s health deteriorates due to excessive smoking, and he takes a nap to recover. He wakes from his nap to find that Dally has arrived at the church. He had been questioned by the police and had convinced them that the people involved with Bob’s murder had fled to Texas. He now believes it's safe for them to leave. He hands a letter to Ponyboy from Sodapop. The letter expresses how worried Soda is for Pony, and urges him to forgive Darry for his angry outburst. Soda notes how skinny the boys have become over the past week, and decides to take them to a nearby Dairy Queen for some fattening up. The boys gorge themselves on ice creams and sandwiches, shocking Dally with their hungered fervor. Dally updates them about the events that have happened following Bob’s death. Serious fighting has broken out between the two gangs all over the city, and a group battle called “the Rumble” has been scheduled. Dally informs them that Cherry has been acting as a spy for the Greasers, as she has been blaming herself for Bob’s death. He goes on to add that she is willing to testify on their behalf and inform the police that Johnny and Ponyboy had fought the Socs in self-defense. They are both shocked to learn of Cherry’s aid in the matter. Johnny suddenly announces that they both want to return home and that he was willing to confess to the crime. Dally attempts to dissuade him, as he feels that prison may be too much for Johnny. Johnny remains adamant and asks after his parents’ reaction, and he is visibly disappointed when he learns that they haven’t been worried about him. Johnny insists on going to the police despite Dally’s many protests and explains that it’s not just for his own sake, but Ponyboy's as well, since his family must be worried about him. 

As they reach the church where they had been staying, the boys realize with shock that it is on fire. They don’t listen to Dally when he asks them to stay in the car and rush out to learn what caused the fire. They encounter school children and their teachers, who inform them that they had all been out for a picnic when they noticed some children missing. One of the adult chaperones claims that he can hear screams from inside the church. Ponyboy and Johnny jump into the fire-blazed church to help the children to safety without hesitation. Dally yells from outside that the roof is about to cave in, but they disregard his warning. The two of them can find and help the children exit the church, but the ceiling crumbles as they rescue the last child. Johnny pushes Ponyboy outside and screams. Ponyboy realizes that Johnny is still in the church, he tries to go back in but Dally clubs him on the back and he loses consciousness.

Ponyboy wakes in the ambulance accompanied by a schoolteacher, Jerry. Jerry tells him that his back had been on fire, and Dally’s jacket as well as his fast action in putting out the flames on his back had saved Ponyboy’s life. He also learns that both Dally and Johnny had sustained some injuries as well and that they were in the other ambulance. Johnny has the more serious injury among the three of them since a flaming piece of tinder had fallen on his back. The teacher praises the three of them with deep emotion and tells him that they had been sent to save the children by God. At the hospital, Ponyboy sees Johnny and Dally on the stretchers in the waiting room. Ponyboy tells Jerry about the horrific incident with Bob, as he feels undeserving of Jerry’s praise. However, the details of his encounter with the Socs don’t lead to Ponyboy’s condemnation as he had feared. Jerry continues to believe that they are all good boys, and he even encourages Ponyboy to stop smoking Sodapop and Darry arrive at the hospital and they are immediately overwhelmed by emotion at the sight of their brother. Ponyboy watches Darry crying silently and realizes that Darry does love him. They embrace each other, believing that everything will be settled once they return home.

Analysis

This section of the novel features the central event that propels the adolescent characters into the adult world full of complex dangers and realities. The violence between the two gangs reaches a zenith when the Socs ambush Johnny and Ponyboy for mixing with the Soc girls. This confrontation turns out to be too much for Johnny, who is still quite shaken from his previous encounter with the Socs. In his frayed state. Johnny ends up using his knife to defend himself and ponyboy, which leads him to kill Bob. It is evident to the reader, that the two boys are not hardened criminals, but scared teenagers struggling to survive in difficult conditions with little to no adult supervision. Ponyboy’s innocence is especially evident in his initial reaction to Bob’s death. He finds himself screaming in hysterics while talking to Johnny, and the sight of Bob’s dead body causes him to be sick.

Dally’s reaction to their tale reveals that despite his difficult past, he feels a deep loyalty to his friends. Dally has had the most trouble with the law, and yet he risks being charged by the police for aiding his friends in escaping. He gives them some clothes, money, and a gun. The gun is a poignant symbol of the troubled futures that await the boys as they attempt to evade the legal system. Ponyboy and Johnny are shown to be extremely vulnerable. They cry together after leaving Dally, as they attempt to shed their Greaser identity, which had sheltered them through so much thus far. Their change in hairstyle indicates that they are truly on their own since it is an important part of the Greaser group identity. The boys attempt to steel themselves for the difficult roads that lie ahead after they have cried themselves out. This is not quite the case, the boys have another deeply vulnerable moment as they watch the sunrise. Robert Frost’s poem emphasizes the loss of golden things like innocence and childhood, but it also reminds them that such things ought to be cherished and nurtured.