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Allusions
Chapter 2
Explanation and Analysis—Johnny's Beating:
At the drive-in, when Two-Bit sneaks up on Johnny and Ponyboy like a Soc, Johnny recoils in fear. When Cherry asks about Johnny's reaction, Ponyboy explains with a flashback:
It was almost four months ago. […] I think we all heard the low moan and saw the dark motionless hump on the other side of the lot at the same time. Soda reached him first. Johnny was lying face down on the ground. Soda turned him over gently, and I nearly got sick. Someone had beaten him badly.
Ponyboy tells Cherry—a Soc—about Johnny's past to explain why he was so shaken. In a flashback, he describes how a group of Socs in a blue Mustang jumped Johnny and badly beat him up. His injuries were so severe that Ponyboy could barely look at him. The novel uses this flashback not only to justify the greasers' hatred of the Socs, but also to foreshadow how Johnny will fight back the next time. As a multipurpose literary device, the flashback also foreshadows the moment where Ponyboy and Johnny get jumped, as well as Johnny’s inevitable death. Moreover, the description of Johnny's attack explains why he carries around a six-inch switchblade and why he stabs Bob when Ponyboy is being drowned. Johnny is still terrified, but he refuses to let the Socs terrorize him or Ponyboy again.
Related Themes:
