Thursday, September 24, 2015

Character Day

 Today is character day at RHS.  Astrid is dressed as Cherry Valance who was played by Diane Lane in the movie, "The Outsiders"!!  William is Ponyboy.
I ran into Astird this morning at Walmart.  She needed more red temporary hair dye.  The white truck is the ride her Pop picked for her.  This week we have heard of two early drivers (both girls) having a bad wreck.  Astrid has to concentrate when she is driving the little truck as she has to change gears.  Her Pop thought it would be more safe for her.  Sure hope so.
Astrid said Laura read the "outsiders" to them at night, chapter at a time.  She used to read to them from a book each night.  I guess they are too big for that now.  But I think she still reads to Sigrid.  

In 1965 Tulsa, Oklahoma, Greasers are a gang of tough, low-income working-class teens. They include Ponyboy Curtis (Howell) and his two older brothers, Sodapop (Lowe) and Darrel (Swayze), as well as Johnny Cade (Macchio), Dallas Winston (Dillon), Two-Bit Matthews (Estevez), and Steve Randle (Cruise). Their rivalry is with the Socs (pronounced /ˈsoʊʃɪz/ soh-shiz), a gang of wealthier kids from the other side of town. Two Socs, Bob Sheldon (Garrett) and Randy Adderson (Dalton), confront Johnny, Ponyboy, and Two-Bit, who are talking to the Socs' girlfriends, Cherry (Lane) and Marcia (Meyrink), at a drive-in theater. The girls defuse the situation by going home with the Socs. Later that night, Ponyboy and Johnny are attacked in a park by Bob, Randy, and three other Socs. They begin dunking Ponyboy in a fountain, but Johnny pulls out his switchblade and stabs Bob, accidentally killing him.
On the advice of Dallas, Ponyboy and Johnny leave town, and hide out in an abandoned church in Windrixville. Ponyboy bleaches his hair with peroxide in case anybody spots him. He reads Gone with the Wind and quotes the Robert Frost poem "Nothing Gold Can Stay". Dallas arrives with news that Cherry has offered to support the boys in court, that he told the police that Johnny and Pony were in Texas, and gives Pony a note from Sodapop. They go out for food, then return to find the church on fire with children trapped inside. The Greasers turn into heroes as they rescue the kids from the burning church. It doesn't take long for Ponyboy and Dally to heal up. Johnny, on the other hand, ends up with a broken back and severe burns. The boys are praised for their heroism, but Johnny is charged with manslaughter for killing Bob, while Ponyboy may be sent to a boys' home.
Bob's death has sparked calls from the Socs for "a rumble," which the Greasers win. Dallas drives Ponyboy to the hospital to visit Johnny. Johnny is unimpressed by the victory, and dies after telling Ponyboy to "stay gold," referring to the Frost poem. Unable to bear Johnny's death, Dallas wanders through the hospital, pretending to shoot a doctor with his unloaded gun, which clicks harmlessly. He then robs a grocery store with the same gun, but he is shot and wounded by the owner as he flees. Pursued by the police, Dallas is surrounded in a park and the police kill him after he repeatedly refuses to drop his unloaded gun. Ponyboy is eventually cleared of wrongdoing in Bob's death and allowed to stay with his brothers. Turning the pages of Johnny's copy of Gone with the Wind, Ponyboy finds a letter from Johnny saying that saving the children was worth sacrificing his own life. The story ends as it began, with Ponyboy writing a school report about his experiences.
Ponyboy and Cherry Valance!
Ponyboy and Cherry Valance!

2 comments:

Sunshine said...

This book was written by a 17 year old girl. I believe she won a prize for it.

Galla Creek said...

Astrid looks just like Diane lane!