Prior to their being attacked by the Socs, Ponyboy Curtis
and Johnny Cade sometimes exhibit typically adolescent behavior (especially Ponyboy).
However, they are forced to grow up quickly in some ways after Bob's death. Johnny's
reaction to Ponyboy's recitation of the poem in Chapter Five is an excellent indicator
of his maturity.
In Johnny's response to the poem, it is
evident to the reader that he has changed and began to notice see the beauty in life
that he failed to recognize before their time at the
church.
readability="14">
Johnny was staring at me. "Where'd you learn
that? That was what I meant."
"Robert Frost wrote it. He
meant more to it that I'm gettin', though...I always remembered it because I never quite
got what he meant by it."
"You know," Johnny said slowly,
"I never noticed colors and clouds and stuff until you kept reminding me about them. It
seems like they were never there
before."
By admitting that he
does not understand Frost's message, Ponyboy makes it clear to the reader that he has
not reached the same level of maturity as Johnny. However, Ponyboy does experience
extreme "growing pains" after the deaths of Johnny and Dally, as well as other
events.
No comments:
Post a Comment