Lesson 33: The Outsiders, Chapter 10

Turn and Talk

• Say: In Lesson 32, you used dialogue, voice, and pacing to create emotional impact in your own writing. Today, you will analyze how S.E. Hinton creates emotional impact in Chapter 10 through word choice, figurative language, and other narrative techniques.

Have students take out their copies of The Outsiders with their annotations.

• Lesson 32 Homework: Students read Chapter 10 and annotated the text in response to the following prompt: Identify one moment in the chapter that creates a strong emotional response for the reader. Then explain how the author creates that emotion using narrative techniques such as dialogue, pacing, description, or a character’s inner thoughts.

• Say: For homework, you identified a moment in Chapter 10 that creates a strong emotional response and explained how the author creates that emotion.

Briefly review elements of narrative craft that Hinton uses, such as pacing, dialogue, voice, direct address, word choice, and descriptive/sensory detail.

Say these Directions: Choose one quote from Chapter 10 that creates a strong emotional response. Explain what the author does to create that emotion, using a technique like word choice, pacing, or inner thoughts. Be ready to share the quote and the technique you identified.

• When Ponyboy repeats “I'm not going to think about it. I'm not going to remember it,” the author’s word choice and repetition show he is trying to block out painful memories. This creates a strong emotional effect because it shows the reader how much Ponyboy is suffering and how hard he is struggling to stay in denial about losing his friends.

Connection to Today’s Learning

• Say: Chapters 9 and 10 are emotionally intense because of what happens to Johnny and Dally. In Lesson 32, you created emotional impact in your own writing. Today, instead of creating emotional impact, you will analyze how the author creates it. You’ll focus on how Hinton’s word choice and figurative language shape that impact and connect it to the techniques you used as writers.

Word Relationships

Target Words: conviction, mentality

Say these Directions: Throughout this unit, you’ve learned words that describe how people think, form beliefs, and view the world. Let’s explore two of these words more deeply.

Introduce the Activity: Present the words conviction and mentality. Review their definitions.

• conviction: a firmly, strongly held belief, idea, or opinion

• mentality: capacity for thought or specific way of thinking

Ask students to discuss the relationship between the words.

1. Ask: How are conviction and mentality related to each other? What do they both describe?

   • They are related because someone’s way of thinking can affect what they believe is true or important. Both words describe why someone might think the way they do.

Share Student Connections: Share in a whole group some connections made by student pairs.

Connecting Words: After students share, prompt students’ connecting across words.

• Ask: What could a person’s convictions show about their mentality? Can you think of an example?

  • A person’s beliefs or opinions can suggest that they think a certain way. For instance, if you have a conviction that being a vegetarian is the right thing to do, animal rights probably play a role in your mentality.

• Ask: If someone has a conviction that loyalty is important, what does that indicate about their mentality toward relationships?

  • As needed, review that loyalty is a strong commitment to someone or something, often out of a sense of duty.

  • Someone who strongly believes in loyalty probably has a mentality that makes supportive relationships a priority, or a mentality focused on duty to others.

• Ask: If defiance is an important part of someone’s mentality, what are some convictions they might have?

  • As needed, review that defiance is a refusal to obey or a resistance to challenging forces or authority.

  • A person whose way of thinking is shaped by defiance may have convictions that it is good to break rules or that authority figures oppress people.

• Ask: What is one conviction that a character in The Outsiders has? How would you describe the character’s mentality based on this conviction?

  • Dally has a conviction that being tough and aggressive is important for survival. This suggests his mentality is focused on identifying and surviving threats.

• Say: Explain to a partner how identifying word relationships helped you to understand the words.

Connection to Today’s Learning

• Say: As you explore how character deaths impact the survivors and the reader, consider the role that characters’ convictions and mentalities play in their choices.

Part A: Analyze Word Choice and Figurative Language: The Outsiders, Chapter 10 (RL.7.2, RL.7.3, RL.7.4, L.7.5.a) (15 minutes)

Have students turn to the section of Chapter 10 where Dally dies. Lead a discussion about the author’s use of words and figurative language to enhance the scene.

Say: You will now analyze how the author uses word choice and figurative language to create emotional impact in this scene.

Say these directions: Follow along and take notes on how specific words and phrases create meaning and emotional impact.

Briefly review the definition of figurative language with students (words used for effect to mean something beyond their literal meanings).

Model: Analyzing Word Choice

Draw students’ attention to the sentence on page 154 that begins: “Two friends of mine…” As needed, review that alliteration means using the same letter or sound at the beginning of connected words.

• Ask: Where does the author use alliteration in this line? (hero, hoodlum)

Explain that writers use alliteration to give language rhythm and also to make ideas resonant and memorable for the reader. In this case, the alliteration highlights the contrast between the words.

• Ask: What are the meanings of each of these words? What do these words suggest about each character?

  • The connotation of hero is brave and admirable. The connotation of hoodlum is violent and dangerous. This contrast shows how the same person can be viewed in very different ways depending on perspective. It highlights the idea that identity is complicated and not defined by just one label.

• Ask: Why do you think the author chooses these words to describe Ponyboy’s thoughts about Johnny and Dally? How does Ponyboy’s perspective differ from how others might see Dally?

  • Ponyboy is thinking about how other people will view his friends based on the ways they died.

• Ask: How does this sentence relate to the theme of identity?

  • The sentence asks readers to think about how a word can sum up a person’s identity and whether the word really describes who the person is.

Point out the structure and shortness of the phrase as an example of narrative craft. Display a longer version of the sentence with the same meaning. (Ex. One of my friends died being thought of as a hero, but the other one died being thought of as a hoodlum.)

1. Ask: How does Hinton’s sentence have a greater impact on the reader?

   • Hinton’s sentence is sharper and more direct and focuses on the two important words, without adding many other words as explanation.

Model: Analyzing Figurative Language

Draw students’ attention to the pair of sentences on page 154 that begins: “But yesterday was …”

• Say: This language is not meant literally. It is used to express an idea. This figurative language exaggerates time to show how deeply the events affected Ponyboy.

• Ask: When Ponyboy says yesterday was “years” or “a lifetime ago,” what does he mean? What does the figurative language tell you about his perspective?

  • Ponyboy means that so much has changed between yesterday and today, it feels like a lifetime has passed. The figurative language tells me that the events that happened are significant enough to change his whole world. He may feel like he has grown years older.

  • Say: Figurative language helps readers understand a character’s emotions and perspective more deeply.

Jigsaw Reading

Divide students into three roughly equal groups.

Say these directions: Work with your group to answer your question using specific words or phrases from the text. Be ready to explain what the language shows about the character or idea.

• Group 1: Think about Ponyboy’s description of Dally as a “dead juvenile delinquent” (p. 154). What do these words suggest about Dally? How does this contrast with how Ponyboy sees him?

  • The phrase “dead juvenile delinquent” suggests that society sees Dally as a criminal rather than a person. The word “delinquent” has a negative connotation, showing how people judge him based on his actions. This contrasts with Ponyboy’s view, revealing that identity can be shaped differently depending on perspective.

• Group 2: Think about the author’s use of the phrase “spit fire into the night” (p. 154). What image does this create? What idea or feeling does it express?

  • The phrase “spit fire into the night” creates a vivid and violent image, like something dangerous and out of control. It makes the scene feel intense and chaotic, increasing the emotional impact. This figurative language shows the destruction and anger in the moment, helping the reader understand the seriousness of the situation.

• Group 3: Think about how Ponyboy describes “visions of things past … dancing in the red mist that covered the lot” (p. 155). What does this figurative language suggest about Ponyboy’s thoughts and emotions?

  • This figurative language shows that Ponyboy is overwhelmed by memories of past events. The word “dancing” suggests that these memories are moving quickly and uncontrollably in his mind. It reveals his confusion and emotional pain, showing how deeply the events have affected him.

Call on 1–2 groups to share their responses. Limit discussion to one key idea per group.

• Ask: What word or phrase in the text supports your thinking? What idea does this language help develop? (identity, loyalty, belonging)

Provide students with a confidence continuum (i.e., 1–5). As needed, model how to demonstrate a level of confidence using the continuum.

Part B: Analyze Extended Comparison (RL.7.2, RL.7.3, RL.7.4, RL.7.6) (15 minutes)

Review the definition of gallant (brave, noble, or heroic). To support student discussion, explain that the noun form of the word is gallantry. (A gallant person behaves with gallantry.)

• Say: An extended comparison is when an author compares ideas across different parts of a text to develop a deeper meaning.

• Ask: Where have you seen this word before in the book, and in what context?

  • (The author uses this word in Chapters 5 and 10 to compare Dally and Johnny to “Southern gentlemen.”)

• Ask: What can you infer about the gentlemen in Gone with the Wind from the descriptions in The Outsiders?

  • They were brave, and this bravery helped them to face danger, knowing they would die; they willingly went into dangerous situations for noble reasons.

Jigsaw Reading

Have students return to their original Jigsaw groups of three.

Say these directions: Work with your group to analyze how the word gallant is used in your passage. Use evidence to explain what it reveals about the character or idea.

Have each group reread their assigned passage and respond to the following questions.

• Group 1: Chapter 5, passage from “He was especially stuck on the Southern gentlemen …” to “That’s gallant” (pp. 75–76).

  • Based on what you read in Chapter 10, why do you think the author compares Dally to Southern gentlemen? What does this reveal about Johnny’s thinking and values?

    • The author compares Dally to Southern gentlemen to show that he is brave and willing to risk himself for others. Johnny makes this comparison because he admires Dally and sees good qualities in him that others might not notice. This reveals that Johnny values loyalty and courage, even in someone who is often seen as tough or dangerous.

• Group 2: Chapter 10, passage from “Dally raised the gun …” to “He died gallant” (p. 154).

  • How does the word gallant help explain Dally’s actions and beliefs?

    • The word gallant helps explain that Dally sees his actions as brave, even though they are dangerous. Ponyboy believes Dally wanted to die on his own terms, which connects to the idea of risking danger for a belief. This shows that Dally’s mentality is shaped by defiance and loyalty, even if his actions have serious consequences.

• Group 3: Chapter 10, passage from “Don’t remember how Johnny was your buddy …” to “Don’t remember” (pp. 156–157) and passage from “I looked at the paperback …” to “Don’t remember” (p. 158).

  • Why does Ponyboy compare Johnny and Dally to Southern gentlemen? What does this show about how he is thinking about their deaths?

    • Ponyboy compares Johnny and Dally to Southern gentlemen because both of them faced danger and were willing to risk their lives. He is trying to decide which death was more “gallant,” showing that he is thinking deeply about their choices. This reveals that Ponyboy is questioning his own beliefs about heroism, loyalty, and what it really means to be brave.

Have students form new groups (they can return to their Part 2 groups from the previous Jigsaw routine or form entirely new ones) and compare responses using the Jigsaw Reading graphic organizer.

Call on 1–2 groups to share their responses. Limit discussion to one key idea per group.

• Ask: What word or phrase in the text supports your thinking? What idea about identity, loyalty, or belonging does this comparison help develop?

Quick Write

Review or explain that an epitaph is a statement that remembers and honors a person who has died.

Say these Directions: In one sentence, write an epitaph for either Dally or Johnny. Use specific word choice or figurative language to explain what defines their identity and what idea the author develops about loyalty, identity, or belonging.

• Optional Sentence Starter:

  • “ ______ was _______, and through _______, he showed _______ about (identity/loyalty/belonging).”

  • Johnny Cade was quiet and gentle, yet his bravery in saving the children showed that true heroism comes from loyalty and selflessness.

Instruct students to read Chapter 11 of The Outsiders. Students should annotate and take notes in their Journals in response to the following prompt:

• What does Ponyboy share with the reader that he does not say to other characters? Include at least one specific example from the text and explain what this reveals about his thoughts or feelings.