Lesson 30: The Outsiders, Chapter 9

Quick Write → Partner Share

Review students’ understanding of Ponyboy’s attitude to introduce contrasting perspectives and prepare for analysis of pacing.

Say these Directions: At this point in the novel, you have thought about Ponyboy’s attitude toward the rumble. Let’s start there with a quick write.

• Ask: Which part of the book feels slower in pace? Which part feels quicker in pace?

  • The first part where Johnny kills Bob was a lot faster. The part in the church was pretty slow. When there is a lot of action, it feels like it is faster to read.

• Ask: What is the purpose of the pacing of each section? Why is one slower than another?

  • The part that’s faster is trying to feel like the characters themselves are moving quickly. There’s a lot of action going on. The part that was slower lets the reader see inside the characters’ heads. When things slow down, we get to learn what the characters are thinking.

Connection to Today’s Learning

• Say: So, even before the rumble starts, we already see a contrast: Ponyboy feels hesitant, while others feel more urgent and ready for action. Today, we’re going to look at how the author, S.E. Hinton, creates and builds those feelings through pacing. Pacing is how fast or slow different moments unfold. We will consider how that shapes the rumble scene in Chapter 9 and what it means.

Poetry Structure Drill

Target Words: prosody, hesitancy, urgency

Say these Directions: We’re going back to a poem we first read in Lesson 14, “Nothing Gold Can Stay.” Back then, we defined the word subsides. Today, we are going to talk about a word that describes the structure of a poem.

Introduce the Word: Present the word prosody to students and pronounce it.

• Say: Prosody is the pattern and the rhythm of a poem. That includes tangible things like the number of lines and the way it might rhyme, as well as more subjective pieces like the tone or the mood. You can think of prosody as the "music" of language; it is what makes something sound like a natural story instead of a robot.

Display the poem “Nothing Gold Can Stay” where students can see it.

• Ask: Does this poem follow a certain rhyme pattern?

  • It follows the rhyme pattern AA – BB – CC – DD. The first two lines rhyme, then the second two, rhyme. This pattern continues throughout the poem. .

• Say: Read “Nothing Gold Can Stay” out loud to a partner. Then switch places. Each time, exaggerate the prosody. Then read the poem to each other again and ignore the punctuation. How did each reading affect the pacing of the poem? Which one do you believe was more effective? Be prepared to explain your reasoning to the large group.

  • The readings that followed the punctuation had large pauses at the periods, smaller pauses at the semicolon, and the smallest pauses at the commas. The readings that did not follow the punctuation read everything at the same speed. The second one went a lot quicker. The version that followed the punctuation was more effective. The periods in the second half made the poem slow down. That really helps you think about how important each part of that poem is.

• Say: Read “Nothing Gold Can Stay” out loud to your same partner, focusing on the tone. The first time, focus on reading the poem with a hesitant tone, or one that sounds unsure or questioning. The second partner should read the poem with urgency, or with a rushed tone, as if something needs to happen right away. Which one do you believe was more effective? Be prepared to explain your reasoning to the large group.

  • The hesitant tone was more effective. The speaker of the poem sounds like they’re acknowledging that something bad will happen, but they’re not quite ready for it yet. It matches the main idea of the poem better.

• Say: Explain to a partner why prosody is important to a poem.

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

Connection to Today’s Learning

• Say: Pacing is important to fairy tales and poems. It’s also important in novels. Today, we are going to talk about how pacing in The Outsiders affects the story.

Part A: Sequencing Hesitancy and Urgency (RL.7.1, RL.7.2, RL7.3) (20 minutes)

Bridge students from analyzing pacing in poetry to analyze pacing in a novel.

• Say: Pacing is important in shorter works like fairy tales and poems. It’s also important in longer works like novels, including The Outsiders. Just like punctuation and rhythm affect pacing in a poem, the sequence of events affects pacing in a novel. With longer works, we first look at the sequence, or the order of events, to understand how the story builds. Let’s quickly review the key events leading up to the rumble:

  • Ponyboy is attacked by the Socs.

  • He and Johnny run away after Bob’s death.

  • The church fire injures Johnny.

  • Johnny is now in the hospital.

  • The greasers prepare for the rumble.

• Say: Now we’ll look closely at how pacing creates different feelings in the rumble scene. Remember that the rumble scene was a street fight between the Greasers and the Socs.

Jigsaw Sequencing

Transition from sequencing a large part of a novel to sequencing just part of that same text.

• Say: Sequencing a smaller part of a text works in much the same way. We’re able to add more details; for example, how could we sequence the rumble scene in Chapter 9?

• The two sides meet to settle their ongoing rivalry once and for all. The fight starts when Darry steps forward. He sees a former football teammate named Paul. The fight is about to start when Dally comes from the hospital. He shares that he threatened a nurse with a knife to be able to get out. When the rumble really gets going, Pony gets kicked in the head a few times. He keeps fighting, even though he’s pretty dazed. At the end, the greasers win when the Socs run away, but they realize that the fight wasn’t worth it. They race to the hospital to be with Johnny.

Place students into small groups of three or four students. Distribute a copy of the Triad Jigsaw Activity graphic organizer to each student.

Say these Directions: Work independently to sequence that same rumble scene from Chapter 9. This time, sequence it through the lens of a theme of hesitancy—when characters feel unsure, cautious, or reluctant. This also helps us see the scene’s pacing. Use quotes from the text to support your ideas. Focus on how the scene feels, not just what happens. Be sure not to fill the entire box! We will repeat this with a new theme next.

• As they are talking about the fight, some of the greasers are worried that they won’t have as much help as they normally do. Soda says, “Well, Johnny won’t be there this time…and we’ll need every man we can get” (p. 134). As they start to walk to the fight, they are also thinking about what could go wrong. Darry says, “If the fuzz shows, you two beat it out of there” (p. 137). When the fight starts, Pony notices that a lot of the guys are feeling a little leery. He says, “I think most of the guys were nervous because of the ‘no weapons’ rule” (p. 140). When they’re all sizing each other up, Pony realizes that no one actually wants to fight. He says that he thought, “I shouldn’t be here and Steve shouldn’t be here and Soda shouldn’t be here and Two-Bit shouldn’t be here. We’re greasers, but not hoods, and we don’t belong with this bunch of future convicts” (pp.140–141).

• Say: After you have completed sequencing the scene through the lens of hesitancy on your own, work with your group members to add details on the other side of your Triad Jigsaw Activity graphic organizer. Again, remember to leave some room.

Give groups a few minutes to share ideas and add to their organizers. Then have them continue working on the same organizer to sequence the same scene through a different theme lens.

• Say: Work independently to sequence that rumble scene from Chapter 9 once again. This time, sequence it through the lens of a theme of urgency—moments when characters act quickly or feel pressure, or when the scene speeds up. Use quotes from the text to support your ideas. Think about where the action feels fast, intense, or immediate.

  • As they walk to the rumble, Sodapop gets himself hyped up. He says, “I am a menace to society. Man, do I have fun!” (p. 136). Two-Bit joins him by mocking the Socs and even turning a cartwheel. He says in a mocking voice, “I am a Soc…I jump greasers!” (p. 136). When the fight first starts, Darry is the most urgent of anyone. He says, “I’ll take on anyone” (p. 142). He and Paul then start to move toward each other. Pony notices, “They moved in a circle under the light, counterclockwise, eyeing each other, sizing each other up… The rest of us waited with mounting tension” (p. 143). Even the quiet in the crowd creates urgency. Pony says, “The silence grew heavier, and I could hear the harsh heavy breathing of the boys around me” (p. 143).

• Ask: Where does the scene slow down? How does that connect to hesitancy? Where does the scene speed up? How does that create urgency? What is the difference between hesitancy and urgency? How are they alike?

  • The pacing slows down when characters feel hesitancy, like when they are standing in the lot waiting for the rumble to start. This makes the scene feel tense because everyone is nervous and second-guessing if they should even be there. Once the fight begins, the pacing speeds up into urgency, using short sentences to show how fast and overwhelming the action is. Both of these feelings are alike because they happen when the characters are under a lot of pressure and don't know what is going to happen next.

• Say: We are going to talk more about urgency next. Keep in mind how it relates to hesitancy.

Part B: Compare and Contrast Urgency (RL.7.1, RL.7.2, RL.7.3) (10 minutes)

Pivot students from analyzing hesitancy and urgency to comparing how urgency is developed across scenes. Provide each student pair with a copy of the Comparing Themes Across Texts graphic organizer. Instruct students to draw a line through the far right column, fill in “Urgency” in the top row of both remaining columns (topic), and to label those first two columns “Text 1: rumble” and “Text 2: hospital.” Alternatively, make these modifications before duplicating and distributing the graphic organizers.

Compare and Contrast

Say these Directions: Just like punctuation and rhythm affect pacing in a poem, the sequence of events affects pacing in a novel. You will work in pairs to read the final pages of Chapter 9. As you read, identify key quotes or events that show urgency in each scene. Complete a modified version of the Comparing Themes Across Texts graphic organizer. Find examples of the urgency during the fight and after the fight when the greasers go to Johnny in order to complete the next row. Do not complete the final row yet.

• Say: Work in the same pairs to analyze how the author’s pacing (sentence length, punctuation, dialogue, narration) creates that urgency, and compare how urgency is developed differently in each scene. Pay attention to where the scene speeds up or slows down and how that affects urgency.

• Say: Continue to work with the same partners and use the same table (or work on your own piece of paper if there’s no more room) to contrast the urgency in the rumble and hospital scenes. Then complete the last line to explain how S.E. Hinton’s pacing helps to show this.

  • In the rumble, we hear a lot inside Pony’s head during the rumble. We experience how out of control he feels, which makes things feel really urgent. In the Hospital, there’s more conversation through dialogue at the end of the chapter. There’s still urgency, but we hear how much sadness and fear there are, too.

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

Quick Write

Again, display or share with students “Nothing Gold Can Stay” as well as the small portion at the end of the chapter that begins “I barely heard him” and ends “Johnny died.”

Say these Directions: Reread both the poems and Johnny’s dying words to Pony. Then answer the question: How do Johnny’s last words and the poem work together to show an important idea? How does the pacing of this moment affect its meaning? Use at least one piece of evidence.

• Optional Sentence Starter:

  • “Johnny’s last words mean ____, which connects to the poem because_____”

    • Johnny’s last words mean that their world together as friends can’t stay like it is because he’s about to die.

Instruct students to finish reading Chapter 9, if they did not already finish the reading in class.