The Outsiders Chapter 12

1. What 'circumstances' do Ponyboy's teacher refer to? What circumstances does Ponyboy think his teacher is referring to?
The circumstances that Ponyboys teacher is referring to is that he has missed a lot of school and if he comes up with a good semester theme he will pass Ponyboy with a C grade. The circumstances Ponyboy thinks that his teacher is referring to is that he was goofing up because he was in a lot of trouble.

2. Why doesn't Ponyboy feel scared when the socs approach him and he threatens them with a broken bottle (p.170-171)? How is this a dramatic change from the Ponyboy we have seen up until this point?
Ponyboy does not feel scared when the socs approach because he is use to facing his fears and he knows that the socs are 'just guys' like the greasers and they don't like to fight either. This is a big change because at the beginning of this story Ponyboy is scared stiff every time he came close to a socs and now he wasn't scared at all.

3. What does Darry mean when he says, "you don't just stop living because you lose someone" (p.173)?
When Darry says that "you don't just stop living because you lose someone" he means that it's not the end of the world and everyone dies eventually. It was their time to go and sooner or later you need to move on with your life.

4. How do we know Sandy didn't love Soda as much as he loved her?
We know that Sandy didn't love Soda the way he lover her because she moved away to Florida after he asked her to marry him. Soda wrote her a letter but Sandy sent it right back without opening the envelope.

5. Explain how Darry and Ponyboy play tug of war with Soda.
Darry and Ponyboy play a tug of war with Soda because they are always trying to get him to pick one side of the fight. This hurts Soda to ever hear them fight but to have to pick a side is just unbearable.

6. What do we learn was so special about Johnny (p.178)?
We learn that johnny was so special because he listened to more problems in the gang. He cared about what you were saying and he thought that he didn't do enough in his lifetime and had never been out of their neighborhood.

7. What does Ponyboy end up doing for his English assignment?
The assignment that Ponyboy decides to do for English is write about what happened from the very beginning. He wrote about the problems with the socs, running away to Windrexville, and Johnny and Dally's death. This novel is the assignment that Ponyboy wrote for his English.