Summarize chapters 9-12 in 3-5 sentences and on the last sentence, include the theme.

Your job, when you write a summary, is to think through
all the ideas in the book and pick out the most important ones. Which events
do you think are most important in the final chapters of
The Outsiders?

It can be overwhelming
to narrow ideas down this way. To help you, I will pare down the events of the book a
bit. Pick out the details you think are most important, referring back to your reading
in order to make your choice:

• Ponyboy thinks
  about fighting and realizes he does not like to do it, whereas his brothers and friends
  do.


• The greasers and Socs hold a rumble, which the
  greasers win.


• Johnny
  dies.


• Ponyboy wanders around town, hurt and alone,
  grieving for his friend.


• Dallas gets shot and killed by
  police.


• Ponyboy gets sick and spends several days in bed
  with a fever.


• Ponyboy is acquitted of any wrongdoing on
  the night Bob died.


• Ponyboy has trouble re-adjusting to
  school and comes close to failing English class.


• Soda
  gets angry when his brothers fight, and he makes them promise not to ask him to take
  sides anymore.


• Ponyboy decides to write a story about his
  experiences with his friends.

Major themes of
The Outsiders include class conflict, loyalty, and the search for
self. Which of these themes do you think is most important in the final chapters of the
book? As you write your summary, highlight the events that develop the theme you
choose.