The Outsiders Chapters 7 - 9
That evening, the reporters and police interview the three Curtis brothers in the hospital waiting room. Being bombarded with many questions sickens Ponyboy, but Soda keeps the atmosphere light by joking around with the hospital staff. The doctors finally share the information that Darry is fine, but even if Johnny survives, he will be crippled for life due to his broken back. The Curtis brothers return home feeling helpless. Ponyboy is cooking breakfast for his still-asleep brothers the following morning when Steve comes in with the newspaper. The front page celebrates Ponyboy and Johnny as heroes for their brave rescue of the children from the burning church. Cherry and Randy are also featured in an interview in which they defend Ponyboy and Johnny, but they still have to appear for a murder trial. The paper also has a separate column that praises the three Curtis brothers for their work ethic, and excellent school records. The column makes Ponyboy worry that he might be separated from his family because they may take the recent incidents to argue that Darry isn’t a fit guardian for him and Sodapop. Steve doesn’t seem to think so, and he reassures Ponyboy. Darry and Sodapop soon wake up and Ponyboy tells Darry that he had a nightmare the previous night. This concerns Darry since Ponyboy had suffered from serious night terrors when he was a child. A doctor had advised them that Ponyboy had a hyperactive imagination and he should exhaust himself mentally and physically to keep from having such nightmares.
Ponyboy asks about Sandy, Soda’s girlfriend, to lighten the atmosphere and finds out that she had moved to Florida because her parents disapproved of her marrying Sodapop so young. Two-Bit stays behind with Ponyboy to babysit him at Darry’s request, who has to leave for work. The two of them go out to get some sodas and realize that they are being trailed by the same blue mustang. Randy and David are in the car and Randy invites Ponyboy to speak in private. In the car, Randy admits that he had been shocked to hear that the Greasers had saved the children’s lives so selflessly. Ponyboy retorts that these things had little to do with their group identity and more about who they were as individuals. Randy confesses that he is quite over all the violence, and has no interest in being a part of the rumble. He tells Ponyboy about Bob and tries to convince him that he had been a good person. Randy realizes that fighting will not avenge his death. Ponyboy is reassured by the conversation that there are several similarities between the Socs and Greasers.
After the conversation with Randy, Ponyboy, and Two-Bit visit Johnny and Dally in the hospital. They have a difficult time getting access to Johnny and only manage it after several requests. Ponyboy is deeply affected by Johnny’s condition since he appears so pale and weak. He asks Ponyboy to buy a copy and complete reading the book, Gone with the wind to him. Two-bit goes out to buy Johnny some hair grease, and the book while Ponyboy tries to keep Johnny’s spirits high as he attempts to remind him how deeply the gang members care for him. Johnny is worried about dying, and he is certain that he hasn’t seen enough of the world yet. A nurse comes in to tell them about the arrival of Johnny’s mother, but Johnny has no interest in seeing her. He loses consciousness soon after the exchange. Two-Bit reruns the novel, but the Nurse doesn’t let him back in and so he hands her the novel to pass to Johnny. Two-Bit and Ponyboy come across Johnny’s mother outside, who can be heard berating Johnny to the nurse. Ponyboy takes away Two-bit before the situation gets tense, and they head out to find Dally. They find him recovering well, but he goes into a foul mood when he learns about Johnny’s condition. He asks for Two-Bit’s switchblade without telling them why he needs it.
Two-bit worries about Ponyboy having a fever since he has felt progressively worse the whole day. Ponyboy convinces Two-Bit to keep his weak health a secret since Darry will not let him fight in the Rumble if he were to learn of it. Ponyboy has a sudden premonition that something unstoppable and deadly is about to happen. On their way home, they come across Cherry Valance in her corvette. She tells them that the Socs will play fair with no weapons. Cherry and Ponyboy talk in private and she blames Bob for his excessive alcohol use. She is deeply saddened by his death, and also tells Ponyboy about his good side. She tells him that she spied to help Ponyboy since he was a nice kid. Before parting, pony reminds her that the sunsets on the east side of town were just as pretty.
After returning home at 6:30, Ponyboy has roughly half an hour to prepare for the rumble. At dinnertime, Ponyboy can hardly bring himself swallow to his food. Darry tries to convince Ponyboy to withdraw from the fight but he relents when Ponyboy points out that their gang is already short of members. The boys exit the house excitedly doing somersaults and flips, chanting their Greaser pride slogans. Twenty-two Socs arrive to fight the greasers and they all agree to use no weapons.
Darry, the strongest among the Greasers initiates the rumble. Paul Holden, an old teammate from Darry’s high school football team, comes forward to take on Darry. The atmosphere gets tense, as they all wait for someone to swing first. Ponyboy reflects the unnecessary hate that exists between the two classes. Dally arrives out of nowhere and the distraction allows Paul to punch Darry. Amidst the rumble, a fevered Dally tells Ponyboy that he had threatened the nurse to let him leave with the help of the switchblade because no rumble is complete without him being in it. A Soc punches Ponyboy in the head, and he falls unconscious. The Greasers win the rumble and the Socs drive off. Dally takes Ponyboy to the car to take him to Johnny because his condition is already worsening. The police stop them for over-speeding, but Dally lies to them about heading to the hospital after an accident. Noting Ponyboy’s poor condition, they decide to give them a police escort to the hospital.
Dally is worried about Johnny, and he blames himself for his condition. He regrets encouraging Johnny not to ‘get hard’ as he believes if Johnny had been hard then he wouldn’t have run into the burning church. They rush into Johnny’s room, where they find him taking his last few breaths. Dally feverishly tells Johnny of their victory in the Rumble, but Johnny struggles out a few words about how fighting is no good. Johnny is happy to hear that Dally is proud of him. In his final moments, Johnny calls Ponyboy and tells him to stay gold, reminding him of the poem he had recited watching the sunrise. Ponyboy goes numb and struggles to respond as he witnesses Johnny die. On the other hand, Dally is grief-stricken and reacts furiously, banging the walls angrily before storming out of the hospital.
Analysis
Dally’s reaction to Johnny’s decision to turn himself into the police, gives the reader a deeper understanding of the character. The reader learns that Dally’s hard exterior covers a caring and thoughtful adolescent who doesn’t wish for Johnny to go through the difficult conditions of prison. Both Johnny and Ponyboy are deeply sensitive teenagers, and not hardened criminals despite the circumstances they find themselves in. They rush in to save the children due to a sense of responsibility and not bravado or even ego. The Greasers are largely considered to be morally corrupt by society at large and this is indicated in the newspaper’s depiction of Ponyboy and Johnny as unlikely heroes. It highlights the view that members of the lower social class are inherently bad while more affluent members of society, like the Socs, are inherently good. In contrast, Two Bit understands that Ponyboy and Johnny have always had the makings of heroes. Their conversation about Darry underscores the sameness that exists between the two groups since they all seem to be aware that Darry could easily be a Soc if he chose to leave behind his family and friends.
Johnny's final moments with Dally and Ponyboy are deeply emotional. Johnny grieves for a life not lived while Dally’s narrow focus doesn’t allow him to see beyond the cyclical violence between the gangs. He begins to believe that Johnny ends up dying because he hadn’t been hard enough to think of himself during the church fire. On the other hand, Randy and Ponyboy manage to find common ground in their group. Ponyboy helps Randy realize that individuals are not merely defined by their social groups. In the same vein, Cherry does something similar for Ponyboy during her conversation with him, as she attempts to explain Bob’s good side.
