Did Ponyboy Really Care About Me

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In the novel The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, Ponyboy, the main character, faces an inexplicable dilemma of having his freedom and personality taken away. Ponyboy is risking his chances of living with his two older brothers, Darry and Sodapop. If Ponyboy is taken away from his brothers, he will be sent into a boys’ home, or a foster home. Ponyboy is a member of a gang called the greasers, containing members who watch out for each other. Ponyboy Curtis is living happily with his two brothers, who are the only blood relation to him; his brothers are his last bit of family. Ponyboy would feel neglected in a foster home or boys’ home; he would not receive the necessary care to feel needed. Living somewhere else would constrain the relationship between …show more content…

Without the compassion of his brothers, Ponyboy would have nobody left that truly cares about him. “Darry did care about me, maybe as much as he cared about Soda, and because he cared he was trying too hard to make something of me. When he yelled ‘Pony, where have you been all this time?’ he meant ‘Pony, you’ve scared me to death. Please be careful, because I couldn’t stand it if anything happened to you’”(98). Ponyboy only has his brothers, but his brothers are all that he needs to make him happy. Pony’s brothers both do not want to lose him, and could not bear the idea of living without Ponyboy. Although staying with Darry and Sodapop would keep Ponyboy happy, they would both also benefit from being away from one another. “He's as hard as a rock and about as human...he thinks I'm a pain in the neck. He likes Soda--everybody likes Soda--but he can't stand me”(42). Darry and Ponyboy do not always see eye to eye on every topic, which can cause conflict between the two. Despite the fact that Darry and Ponyboy bicker over pointless topics, they both truly love one another. Their relationship is symbiotic; one cannot live without the other. With one gone, the other has one less person who truly cares about them; all they have is each other. "’We're all we have left. We ought to be able to stick together against everything. If we …show more content…

Ponyboy would not be considered important in a foster home or boys’ home. Nobody could ever care as much about Ponyboy as his two brothers do. “‘I reckon it never occurred to you that your brothers might be worrying their heads off and afraid to call the police because something like that could get you two thrown in a boys’ home so quick it’s make your head spin’”(50). Darry and Sodapop, Ponyboy’s two brothers, would put Ponyboy before all else, because they truly care about him. Darry and Soda do not want Ponyboy to be sent away, so they purely relied on trust. Soda and Darry would rather risk the chance of losing Ponyboy by not knowing where he is, than having him sent into a boys’ home. Also, Ponyboy would not receive the necessary care from a boys’ home, because he does not know anyone. If Darry is mad at Ponyboy, Pony understands that Darry still loves him. "It was my house as much as Darry's, and if he wanted to pretend I wasn't alive, that was just fine with me"(52). Ponyboy is comfortable with Darry, and sees himself as an equal to Darry rather than a minority. Pony knows that he has every right to live with Darry and Soda, and is content with whatever attitude they show towards him. Ponyboy knows that even though Darry seems mad at him, he truly is not. If Ponyboy were to live in a boys’ home, he would not know if people were

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