On p. 43, Ponyboy cries out, “It ain’t fair that we have all the rough breaks!”. What are the rough breaks that he is referring to? How do their lives differ from the Socials? (Include a citation)
Pony is referring to the difficulties in their lives.... the loss of his parents, Darry's newfound fatherly role.... the lack of money, the hard work, and the dysfunctional families. In his own way, he is jealous because he thinks the Socs don't face the same challenges.... he just wants a break.
"It ain't fair!" I cried passionately. "It ain't fair that we have all the rough breaks!" I didn't know exactly what I meant, but I was thinking about Johnny's father being a drunk and his mother a selfish slob, and Two-Bit's mother being a barmaid to support him and his kid sister after their father ran out on them, and Dally--- wild, cunning Dally- -- turning into a hoodlum because he'd die if he didn't, and Steve--- his hatred for his
father coming out in his soft, bitter voice and the violence of his temper. Sodapop... a dropout so he could get a job and keep me in school, and Darry, getting old before his time trying to run a family and hold on to two jobs and never having any fun--- while the Socs had so much spare time and money that they jumped us and each other for kicks, had beer blasts and river-bottom parties because they didn't know what else to do. Things were rough all over, all right. All over the East Side. It just didn't seem right to me.
The Outsiders
