Why is Ponyboy's loss of consciousness so important to the novel The Outsiders?I mean, it does it make him less traumatic after having the...

This is a very good question, and one that I had never
considered before. Ponyboy actually falls into unconsciousness twice during the novel,
and both times he manages to avoid deadly scenes that would have otherwise scarred him
even further. His first lapse into unconsciousness comes after he is nearly drowned by
the Socs in the fountain at the park. When he awakes, he finds that Johnny has killed
Bob Sheldon, the Soc with the rings who undoubtedly intended to drown Pony. Although
Pony sees Bob's bloody body, he does not witness the killing. The second occurrence
comes after Dally is killed by the police. This time Pony sees Dally shot, falling "dead
before he hit the ground." It is all too much for Pony, who immediately passes out. In
both cases, Pony was sick to his stomach at the sight of the dead bodies, and each time
his unconsciousness allowed him to avoid a more troubling aftermath. By missing out on
at least part of these two episodes--Johnny actually knifing Bob, and having to stand
over Dally's body with the others--Pony manages to maintain a bit of the innocence that
the rest of the greasers always wanted for him. They had always warned him: "don't get
tough. You're not like the rest of us and don't try to be..." The two instances where
Pony passed out saved him from the hardening that the images may have
instilled.