okay not to be dramatic but ponyboy michael curtis was NOT overly sensitive. both of his parents died when he was fourteen, and after that darry pushed him too hard in everything just because he was the only kid in that family that had the potential to be something great. he was obviously depressed and anxious constantly, and the loss of two of his best friends–who were like brothers to him–certainly didn’t help with that. not to mention the added major financial issues that his family had and the pressure to be perfect all the time with the possibility of being taken away from the only family he had left hanging over his head.
Me, standing on a wooden box, pulling out a megaphone as the cityscape around me burns: I just love Ponyboy Curtis a lot he isn’t as weak as he’s made out to be a lot of people subject him to unfair comparisons to other characters in the book who are older and have more experience, consequently forgetting this boy was barely fourteen, orphaned only a few months previously and most likely bitter because everyone around him even those who were not children of the Curtis parents had more time around them whilst Pony was robbed of such. While we all recognize that Darry should not be faulted for hitting him, we mock and trivialize his reaction by comparing it to Johnny’s while not recognizing that such a comparison is the very epitome of the widely spread “don’t trivialize others problems just because some have it worse” that originated on this very website. His family was built on healthy relationships and nonviolent punishments, so his reaction to the deviation of this practice is more than understandable. In conclusion, it can be tacked on that his reputation as “the weak one” may be the movie’s fault, as it eliminated ponys part in the rumble which, if you might recall the book, was not that of the damsel, but a useful ally, by helping Dallas when his arm was burnt and not fit for fighting. Thank you. That is all.
∟ Ponyboy. I asked the nurse to give you this book so you could finish it. It’s worth saving those little kids. Their lives are worth more than mine. They have more to live for. Tell Dally I think it’s worth it. I’m gonna miss you guys. I’ve been thinkin’ about it, and that poem? That guy that wrote it… He meant you’re gold when you’re a kid. Like green. When you’re a kid, everything’s new. Dawn. Like the way you dig sunsets, Pony, that’s gold. Keep it that way, it’s a good way to be. I want you to ask Dally to look at one, I don’t think he’s ever seen a sunset. There’s still lots of good in the world. Tell Dally, I don’t think he knows.
The Outsiders Characters + Book Descriptions:
C. Thomas Howell as Ponyboy Curtis ↳ My hair is longer than a lot of boys wear theirs, squared off in back and long at the front and sides, but I am a greaser and most of my neighborhood rarely bothers to get a haircut. Besides, I look better with long hair.
