Previous
Setting
Definition of Simile
A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things. To make the comparison, similes most often use the connecting words "like" or "as," but can also... read full definition
A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things. To make the comparison, similes most often use the connecting words "like... read full definition
A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things. To make the comparison, similes most often... read full definition
Key Examples in The Outsiders
Chapter 2
Explanation and Analysis—The Cheshire Cat:
When Johnny and Ponyboy are at the drive-in, Two-Bit sneaks up on them and scares them half to death. Ponyboy compares Two-Bit's mischievous demeanor to the Cheshire Cat, alluding to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland:
“Okay, greasers, you’ve had it.” I almost jumped out of my skin. It was like having someone leap out from behind a door and yell “Boo!” at you. I looked fearfully over my shoulder and there was Two-Bit, grinning like a Chessy cat. “Glory, Two-Bit, scare us to death!”
Related Themes:
Chapter 4
Explanation and Analysis—Eyes of an Animal:
Four months before the start of the novel, Johnny is attacked by a group of Socs driving a blue Mustang. When that same blue Mustang begins to circle Johnny and Ponyboy, the novel uses a simile to explain the depth of Johnny's fear:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Johnny was scared to death. I mean it. He was as white as a ghost and his eyes were wild-looking, like the eyes of an animal in a trap. We backed against the fountain and the Socs surrounded us. They smelled so heavily of whiskey and English Leather that I almost choked.
Related Themes:
Chapter 6
Explanation and Analysis—Grief and Tears:
When Darry and Soda pick Ponyboy up from the hospital after the church fire, Darry begins to cry in a rare show of emotion. This reminds Ponyboy of Soda's breakdown at their parents' funeral, which he describes with a simile:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Suddenly I realized, horrified, that Darry was crying. He didn’t make a sound, but tears were running down his cheeks. I hadn’t seen him cry in years, not even when Mom and Dad had been killed. (I remembered the funeral. I had sobbed in spite of myself; Soda had broken down and bawled like a baby; but Darry had only stood there, his fists in his pockets and that look on his face, the same helpless, pleading look that he was wearing now.)
Related Themes:
Chapter 9
Explanation and Analysis—A Candle Extinguished:
Shortly after Johnny's heroic actions surrounding the church fire, he succumbs to his injuries in the hospital. When Johnny dies before Ponyboy's eyes, Ponyboy uses a simile to process the moment:
Unlock with LitCharts A+The pillow seemed to sink a little, and Johnny died. You read about people looking peacefully asleep when they’re dead, but they don’t. Johnny just looked dead. Like a candle with the flame gone. I tried to say something, but I couldn’t make a sound.
Related Themes:
