Since many of the greasers' home lives are less than
satisfactory, they spend a great deal of time on the streets. Most of the boys,
particualarly Johnny and Ponyboy, learn to travel in groups so they will be less likely
targets of the Socs. Consequently, the greasers
... are almost like hoods; we steal things and
drive old souped-up cars and hold up gas stations and have a gang fight once in a
while.
Steve Randle, for
example, was an expert with cars.
He could lift a hubcap quicker and more quietly
than anyone in the
neighborhood.
Two-Bit
Mathews "was famous for shoplifting and his black-handled switchblade." He liked
fighting and smarting off to cops. Dallas Winston had learned about life on the streets
in New York City, where he was first arrested at the age of ten. In Tulsa, "he did
everything":
... lied, cheated, stole, rolled drunks,
jumped small kids.
But the boys had dreams, too. Dally, the
toughest of them all, liked to ride in rodeos, and he rode honestly, too. He dreams of
escaping the city and living on a horse ranch. Soda knows that life on the streets is
hard, and he wants to marry his girlfriend and settle down. Johnny yearns for a happy
family life, or just somewhere where there is no fighting. Darry knows that his chances
of playing college football is over, but he tackles the responsibility of man of the
house in order to keep his brothers with him. As for Pony, everyone has high
expectations for him. They want him to avoid "getting tough," since they know college is
in his future.
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