A Soc and Bob's girlfriend. Cherry is open-minded, sensitive, and courageous. She befriends Ponyboy early in the novel and helps him to see that Socs are people, too. After Bob dies, Cherry plays a minor role as a liaison between the two gangs. Ponyboy always keeps in mind her contention that, despite the superficial differences between them, the Socs and greasers see the same sunset.
Cherry Valance Quotes in The Outsiders
The The Outsiders quotes below are all either spoken by Cherry Valance or refer to Cherry Valance. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 2
Quotes
"Things are rough all over."
Related Characters:
Cherry Valance (speaker)
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 3
Quotes
It seemed funny that the sunset [Cherry] saw from her patio and the one I saw from the back steps was the same one. Maybe the two worlds we lived in weren't so different. We saw the same sunset.
Related Characters:
Ponyboy Curtis (speaker), Cherry Valance
Related Symbols:
Sunsets and Sunrises
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 8
Quotes
"Hey," I said suddenly, "can you see the sunset real good from the West Side?"
She blinked, startled, then smiled. "Real good."
"You can see it good from the East Side, too," I said quietly.
"Thanks, Ponyboy." She smiled through her tears. "You dig okay."
She blinked, startled, then smiled. "Real good."
"You can see it good from the East Side, too," I said quietly.
"Thanks, Ponyboy." She smiled through her tears. "You dig okay."
Related Characters:
Ponyboy Curtis (speaker), Cherry Valance (speaker)
Related Symbols:
Sunsets and Sunrises
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire The Outsiders LitChart as a printable PDF.
Cherry Valance Character Timeline in The Outsiders
The timeline below shows where the character Cherry Valance appears in The Outsiders. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 2
...in, while Johnny leaves to get a Coke. One of the girls, a redhead named Cherry Valance, calmly tells Dally to shut up. He doesn't listen. The girls refer to the...
(full context)
Soon Dally walks off to the concession booth, and Cherry and Ponyboy start talking. Cherry compliments Ponyboy's name, and as they talk about school Ponyboy...
(full context)
When Johnny returns, Cherry smiles at him. But when Dally soon returns and offers Cherry a Coke, she throws...
(full context)
...being confronted by a Soc. Johnny is particularly shaken. Two-Bit sits down and banters with Cherry and Marcia. He's looking for Dally, who's slashed the tires of a car owned by...
(full context)
Ponyboy tells Cherry that the Socs attacked Johnny four months earlier: the greasers found Johnny lying motionless in...
(full context)
Ponyboy's story shocks Cherry. She assures Ponyboy that all Socs are not like the ones who jumped Johnny. Ponyboy...
(full context)
Chapter 3
Cherry and Marcia realize that they don't have a ride home from the drive-in. Two-Bit talks...
(full context)
Cherry then asks Ponyboy about Darry. Ponyboy responds that Darry doesn't like him. Two-Bit and Johnny...
(full context)
...stops beside the group. The boys in the car are Socs. One of them is Cherry's boyfriend, Bob, who pleads with the girls to forgive them for drinking. Johnny seems spooked,...
(full context)
Chapter 5
...gangs are planning to have a "rumble" on the following night. Finally, he reveals that Cherry has been acting as a "spy" for the greasers.
(full context)
Chapter 6
As Johnny and Ponyboy devour a big meal at the Dairy Queen, Dally explains that Cherry felt responsible for a situation that resulted in Bob's stabbing, so she offered to watch...
(full context)
Chapter 7
...along. The article credits the boys with saving the children's lives. The report also quotes Cherry and Randy regarding the killing of Bob—both of them insist that Johnny acted only in...
(full context)
Chapter 8
Cherry Valance is at the vacant lot in her Corvette when Two-Bit and Ponyboy arrive. She...
(full context)
Chapter 11
...person. He puts the aspects of Bob that he saw together with the things that Cherry and Randy told him about their friend, and decides that Bob was cocky, quick to...
(full context)
Chapter 12
...condition, the judge doesn't question him about anything other than his home life. Randy and Cherry testify that Johnny killed Bob in self-defense. The judge acquits Ponyboy and sends him home...
(full context)
