Ponyboy's Dynamic Characteristics

Authors Note: Ponyboy is my favorite character, and he is a dynamic character, so I got the idea there to write this piece.

    Imagine yourself in this scenario; your friend had just murdered someone, and you're running from the cops. Of course, this is no surprise to the public society. Through time and thoughts, you've worked to become a better person, by doing good deeds and supporting others. These are the events that happened to Ponyboy Curtis all occurring in the time period of a few days.

    To get the ball rolling, Ponyboy is a greaser, one of the two gangs that don't get along very well. He is looked at by society as the bad guy who robs places, gets in fights and does bad things. He also has family troubles, and it seems as though he doesn't try very hard to fix them right away. Things got even worse when his parents died. Darry had to quit everything to get a job to raise money for the three of them. Things just don't go well and it makes Pony look like a bad person.

     Quite unexpectedly, Ponyboy starts doing things that change him. Hanging out with soc girls, his friend Johnny actually killing a soc, running away from his life and family.. He realizes this is no way to live. He works on living a better life. One day, a church happens to catch on fire, and the innocent children on the inside are in need of help. Johnny and Ponyboy decide to be heroes, and do something they've never done before; risk their lives for someone they don't know. Ponyboy comes out slightly injured, but mostly alright, but Johnny comes out half dead. It made everyone think differently about him, how he acted and what he was like. They looked at greasers differently, as people who care for others.

    After the event of Johnny unable to maintain life and Dally's suicide, Ponyboy realizes there's a lot more to life than just having the gang. He realizes it's good to be kind to others, and there's no need to fight. After his talk with Randy, he realizes that socs aren't all that bad, and life isn't always perfect for them like he thought.

     Ponyboy became a better person, and all it took was some eye-opening. It's possible for people to change, and in this story, Ponyboy clearly proves it to be true. Don't think things are impossible. The word itself says "I'm Possible!" This states why Ponyboy is a dynamic character.

What Family Really Is

     Have you ever thought about what your life would be like if you were watching the news and all of a sudden, your parent's faces popped up on the screen? Would you be worried, or scared? After watching, you hear that they had passed away in a car crash. Would you freak out? Would you wonder what happened, or maybe run out the door to the crash site? This is what happens in the story The Outsiders. Family is an issue for Ponyboy, Darry, and Soda.

     Darry, the oldest, started out as a Soc. When their parents were still alive, they were somewhat rich. He had everything. Until Soda and Pony came, and their parents got in that huge car crash, and there was nothing that could be done about it. After that, Darry chose to be a good brother and he quit the school football team, which he happened to be the star of. He had to quit school for a little while to get a job and support his brothers. Once they were back on their feet, they were back at school, only Darry could never be a Soc again.

     Soda and Pony felt bad, because they felt like it was all their fault that Darry couldn't be a Soc, or on the football team, or anything. But even though that was the case, they had the gang, and they treated each other like family. They supported one another and they loved each other, and would help no matter what. Nothing can come between them. The main point of family has nothing to do with blood, it is who you love and who matters to you that is your family and nothing else.

The Last of Bob

"I'm going to ring their necks," I said, as I drove at a slow pace. I was sick of those greasers, and it had crossed the line when they had stolen our girls the other night. I can't believe my girlfriend Cherry was stupid enough to go with him. I know I shouldn't be talking about her like that, but she's getting on my nerves. As I drove by the park, I spotted a couple of people walking. I thought, "What on earth are they doing? It’s 2 in the morning!" I drove up a little closer to get a better look of who it was, and then I stopped. It was those greasers. I parked the car and the boys and I approached them. They looked pretty scared; they were pale. As we met, I said, "Hey, whatta ya know? Here's the little greasers that picked up our girls. Hey, greasers." Johnny looked at me and said "You're outta your territory. You'd better watch it." Randy swore at them as we stepped closer. I was staring at Johnny. I said, "Nup, pal, yer the ones who'd better watch it. Next time you want a broad, pick up your own kind -- dirt." I could tell they were  getting more upset. I could see the anger boiling up inside them from the looks in their eyes and from their facial expressions. To top it off, I added, "You know what a greaser is? White trash with long hair." I knew that crossed the line. They were furious. There was no doubt about it. He opened his mouth and spoke. "You know what a Soc is?" His voice was filled with rage and fury. "White trash with Mustangs and madras." Then, he took a step forward, and the little culprit spat at me.  It must be embarrassing to have a comeback that lame. I smiled and shook my head. I said, "You know, you could use a bath, greaser. And a good working over. And we have all night to do it. Give the kid a bath, David." Then it got physical. David shoved Ponyboy's head into the water fountain, so I thought, "Okay, all I have to do now is beat up this one." I threw a punch, and he tried to block it. He slapped me, and I tried to grab him. I caught a glimpse of something shiny, before I felt something dig violently into my skin. The pain shot through my body, and I felt paralyzed. It then happened again, with more power this time. The pain was so intense, and I tried to grab his hand, but couldn't find the strength. I only felt it one more time before my eyelids got heavy. The last thing I saw was the guilt and horror on Johnny's face.

School Times

    School is an important part of a kid's life. But how are we to learn if we're tired and unresponsive in the morning? Older kids should get to sleep in. The younger kids should have to get up earlier. The times of what time school starts should switch, an the ending times should stay the same. It would be a benefit for the teens and honestly, the younger kids probably won't care as much.

     A proven fact by experts is the simple statement that teens need more sleep. The risk of fatal injuries or death is increased if it's an older teen that can drive. It can also slow down your reaction time, it causes lapses in attention, exacerbates emotional and behavioral problems. Also if they change their 'sleeping schedule' on the weekends, they stay up longer on school nights and sleep less. It also effects their school performance. Since it's difficult to pay attention when you're tired, they might not learn as well and might do worse on homework or a test. It also increases moodiness and the chance the teens will start into drugs and alcohol. Sleep amount has a huge effect.

     Teens get more homework than the younger kids. Teens stay up later doing their homework. They get tired, but to avoid trouble, they force themselves to stay up and finish the paper. In that case, teens stay up later, and get yet even less sleep. If they had an extra hour to sleep in, they could use that to finish their homework and still get more sleep. It would help a lot with both homework completion and attention in school. If teens had less homework, they would go to bed earlier. By choice.

     The younger kids have recess, so they basically have intermission. But since they're younger and have lots more energy, they could use it. We don't have a recess for more than 5 minutes. Recess eats up time in their day, and we spend the whole day working. Which makes us even more tired, working our brains all day. If they started earlier, they could have the needed recesses and at the same time, work as hard and as long as we do.

     The beginning times should switch for the main reason of sleep. Teens need more sleep, and it would be easier if they could catch another hour of it. It would help with a lot of things they do, and it would make life safer, easier, and it would help teens achieve higher grades. Sleep is basically what teens like to do!

Periwinkle the Panda

Periwinkle the Panda was having a good time. His mother was teaching him how to fight, and they were punching the fake tree planted in the middle of their cage. They were talking about last night’s football game, when suddenly, someone opened the door. “Dinner Time!” he yelled. They ran over to take the bamboo sticks out of his hand, and he jumped back. “I hate working with the pandas,” he said to his partner. “They’re big and scary.” “I don’t think they’re that bad,” his partner said. He replied, “Well, either way, we’re getting rid of them. The boss will never know.” Clueless, the pandas just sat there, eating and still talking about the football game.

            The Beijing Zoo was rather rich. A TV in each cage, lots of toys, and an overstock of food. Some were being tested on, like the pandas. They were seeing if they would act differently if they watched sports, drama, or comedy shows. The sports and comedy section stood out the most to them. Obviously, since they were talking about the football game, the watched sports. Interesting!

            That night, it was not calm. The wind was forcing the trees to scrape against the wall, and it was making Periwinkle scared.  It was raining rather hard, and it was not pleasant. That night, he had a dream. A dream the world of black and white became color. And all pandas were the glorious colors of the rainbow. If only it was like that in real life…

            Periwinkle woke up in a ball. He fell off his little panda bed and he was in a pile of long grass. He sat up, and he saw his mother sleeping. He started walking towards the food dish, sitting there, and waiting. About an hour later, the men came, and they fed the pandas. Periwinkle woke his mom up, and they enjoyed their meal. “Ready?” said the man. “No!” said his partner. “Let’s go.”

           Next thing they know, there’s a snare pole around Periwinkle’s mothers’ neck. She tried to break free, but there was nothing she could do. She was trapped. Periwinkle started to cry, “MOMMY!!!” She was tugged back, and with that, she smacked the man so hard, he fell to the ground. He didn’t let go. There was nothing she could do, and nothing Periwinkle could do.

            “Run!” She said. “Run, and don’t ever come back!”

            Periwinkle started to run, but saw nowhere to hide. There was an open door, and he crawled through. He ran until he could no more, and he found himself asleep on the floor of a bamboo forest. As he fell asleep, he couldn’t help but dream about his mother. Was she alright? Is she dead? Even worse, is she dead? Whatever happened, he couldn’t go back. Never.

            When he woke up, there was something very close to his face. He looked up, and saw another panda. “Mommy! You’re okay!” he happily screamed. He jumped up on the other panda, which now had a very confused facial expression.

            “What on earth are you talking about?” It was a female voice, but not his mother’s. He took a step back, also confused, now. “I’m Pinky! Not your mommy!” she said. Pinky looked at Periwinkle, who started to cry. “What’s wrong?”
            “My mommy is either in great pain, or dead.” He cried even harder at the thought, and couldn’t pull it together. How was he to survive on his own, knowing only the experience from his mother?

           “You can live with us, if you’d like!” Pinky offered. She ran off, signaling the ‘follow’ symbol. Unsure, Periwinkle slowly followed. “Come on!” she giggled.

           They walked through the forest for a very long time, talking about their lives, exchanging stories and such. They walked and walked, until they could no more. They found themselves lost, so they made a base and stayed there, never able to find anyone, or anything.

            They stayed there for their lives, eventually having kids and growing up to be one big happy family. But Periwinkle’s mother never left his heart.