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Ponyboy (Naive (Ponyboy is a young, adolescent boy. Although he may be…
Ponyboy
Shy
'..."I'm okay." I tried to think of something to say. I'm usually pretty quiet around people, even the gang.'
Despite his reputation as a greaser, Ponyboy is shy, even around his gang.
'The girl looked at me. I was half-scared of her. I'm half-scared of all nice girls, especially socs. "Are you going to start in on us?"
I shook my head, wdie-eyed. "No."'
'I have a rep for being quiet, almost as quiet as Johnny.'
Naive
Ponyboy is a young, adolescent boy. Although he may be smart, he's still young and naive, which you can see in how he thinks with great bias.
'If I thought about it, I could have called Darry and he would have come by on his way home and picked me up, or Two-Bit Mathews - one of our gang - would have come to get me in his car if I had asked him, but sometimes I just don't use my head.'
'I didn't quite get what he meant about Darry. Darry thought I was just another mouth to feed, and somebody to holler at. Darry love me? I thought of those hard, pale eyes. Soda was wrong for once, I thought. Darry doesn't love anyone or anything, except maybe Soda.
'I don't care, I lied to myself. I don't care about him either. Soda's enough, and I'd have him until I got out of school. I don't care about Darry. But I was still lying, and I knew it. I lie to myself all the time. But I never believe me.'
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Troubled
Ponyboy is a nice kid, compared to some of the other greasers, but the way he acts in certain situations gives way to how he thinks in troubled ways.
'The girls, I mean...did they cry when their boys got hauled in, or did they run out on them like Sylvia did on Dallas? But maybe their boys didn't get arrested or beaten up or busted up in rodeos.
'We bought cokes and blew straws at the waitress, and walked around eyeing things that were lying out in the open until the manager got wise to us and suggested we leave. He was too late, though; Dally walked out with two packages of Kools under his jacket.'
'..."What's a nice, smart kid like you running around with trash like that for?"
I felt myself stiffen. "I'm a grease, same as Dally. He's my buddy."'
Smart
Ponyboy is clearly very smart, even though he is young. He mentions getting good grades and getting put up a year in school. He often says things that are greatly insightful without realizing it.
'I can understand why Sodapop and Steve get into drag races and fights so much, though - both of them have too much energy, too much feeling, with no way to blow it off.
'..."That's why we're separated," I said. "It's not money, it's feeling - you don't feeling anything and we feel too violently."'
'..."You don't look old enough to be in high school," The dark haired girl said.
"I'm not. I got put up a year in grade school."'
Sensitive
Ponyboy is sensitive and emotional, but only in his own head. He's smart enough to know that a greaser shouldn't be sensitive on the outside.
'...But the ground beneath me began to blur and I felt hot tears running down my cheeks. I brushed them awat impatiently. "I'm just a little spooked, that's all."'
'This girl beside me kind of gasped, and said, "They are right. You are a hood." That didn't make me feel so hot.'
'Dallas could talk awful dirty if he wanted to and I guess he wanted to then. I felt my ears get hot.'
Caring
Ponyboy is sweet, and a nice boy. He cares a lot, in general, but also about his friends.
'..."Me and Johnny'll come," I said. I knew Johnny wouldn't open his mouth unless he was forced to.'
'I couldn't tell her that Soda had bawled all night after they came and got Mickey Mouse. I had cried, too, if you want to know the truth, because Soda never really wanted anything except a horse, and he lost his.'