Last post for A Wrinkle in Time-Comparing and contrasting

I agree that Meg realizes that hatred and fear won’t help her or solve anything but she learns that love is much better then hatred and it more powerful and very positive feeling to have. It is hard to fight hatred and fear with hatred and fear; it will just absorb each other. That is good to learn love and use it rather than hatred.

The Outsiders and A Wrinkle in Time are two completely different books but have some similarities. What make the books different is the story lines like The Outsiders is about a kid named Ponyboy and his gang of greasers and A Wrinkle of Time is about a girl name Meg, who isn’t the brightest child, on a dangerous journey to find her farther with her younger brother Charles Wallace and Calvin O’Keefe. Even though the story lines are different, they do have some similarities between the books like they are both science fiction books.

A Wrinkle in Time is also similar to 1948; the only thing that makes them similar is the government systems. On the planet of Camazotz, the government called the IT controls everyone and made sure everyone will stay tune with the brainwashing of IT. If anyone doesn’t stay tuned or stay under the rule of IT, he or she will be taken it to get an adjustment or in other words, brainwashing. Another way how IT has control over their people is by looking into the man with the red eyes or the light or else “he’ll hypnotize you (134).” With 1984, if anyone disobeys the rule or rebel against Big Brother by thinking or any other way, they would be arrested and will be force against their will to never do those actions against Big Brother and brainwashed to devote themselves to Big Brother. So they are similar because of the government that were in each books have control over the people by brainwashing.

3rd Post of A Wrinkle in Time-Theme

I think that the author wrote about Charles Wallace character not only to make readers perceive him but also to show how the youngest can be the wise. As you said in your post, Charles Wallace acts for mature and is very smart then his average age.

Another theme of this book is good versus evil. Meg, Calvin, and Charles Wallace went on a dangerous journey to find Meg and Charles Wallace farther who is prisoned by The Dark Thing. Not only will they encounter the evil The Dark Thing but they will also encounter the IT and the Red Eye Man who are all evil. They had to fight these evil people or things to bring home Meg and Charles Wallace Farther since he has been gone for years. Throughout the book, Meg faced evil and face even more dangerous evil on her life or death journey to save her farther with Charles Wallace and Calvin. The guy with the red eyes appears “in horrified fascination…His eyes were bright and had a reddish glow. Above his head was a light, and it glowed in the same manner as the eyes, pulsing, throbbing, in steady rhythm. (134)” That seems to make you pretty evil you have red eyes. And that the fact he can hypnotize you to fall under his control and IT.

The last theme that I could find that we hasn’t been mention or declared as a theme is love and that love can conquer anything. Towards the end of the book, Meg used love to save her younger brother Charles Wallace from IT and The Dark Thing. Just overall, it is what love that won the battle against darkness. And it was bring happiness into Meg’s life again after being filled with hatred. It is what love that brings her and family back together after rescuing her farther, saving her from being filled with hatred.

2nd post for A Wrinkle in Time-Banned book

I agree that the book teaches the readers that being different from everyone else are a good thing because it is an important trait of human characteristics of having something unique that makes from being the same as everyone else.

Even though this is a good book to read even for kids, it is consider a banned book. People have challenged this book to be banned because religious reasons like the use of witchcraft in the book. In the book, there is use the use of a crystal ball, time traveling, and telepathy not to mention that Mrs. Who, Mrs. Whatsit, and Mrs. Not only is the Mrs. W’s the only witches in the books, but there is a medium who is dresses in a “beautiful pale mauve silk, and a long, flowing, purple satin gown, In her hands was a crystal ball (96)." There are some versus from the bible on page 77. There are also other references to versus from the bible People who believe in religion would think it is offensive to use versus in a science fiction that has some witch craft in the book since witch craft. Witch craft is consider sinful because people who believe in religion think it is worshiping the devil. The book is mostly just banned for is because the use of magic in the book and the religious content too. By having some religion in the book with a mix of science fiction makes it show a bad example of religion.

I don’t think that A Wrinkle in Time should be a banned book. The only reason it is banned or challenge is because of religion but there is nothing really bad in the content. I get why some people wouldn’t like the content in the book but they shouldn’t challenge it just because they don’t like it.

1st post for A Wrinkle in Time-Analysis of Meg

In the begging of the book, Meg wears glasses and braces that is stubborn and defines her from others and thinks she is dumb, even though, she is capable of being smart to. What prevent her from being smart is that “she gets sullen and stubborn and sets up a fine mental block for herself (50).” She hates herself for being different from everyone else the one who doesn’t have and isn’t the smartest in her family and at school. It seems like she keeps her distance from other people since she is different from other people like when she choices to have her room up in the attic. I think that she believes that she is against the whole world.

Meg isn’t the only odd ball out of her family; Charles Wallace is also different like Meg. How they are similar to each other is because they are both considered different from everyone else but are very smart in their own way. Charles Wallace is very smart and seems to know everything like he can predict the future.

I think that Meg doubts herself more then she needs too because not all people think she isn’t beautiful or smart, Calvin. When Calvin and Meg were talking on top of a wall by Meg’s house in the night, Calvin commented to Meg “you know what, you’ve got dream-boat eyes…I don’t think I want anybody else to see what gorgeous eyes you have (61)” This shows Meg that even though she has braces and wears glass doesn’t mean that all people will think she is ugly like Calvin. I think towards the end of the book, I think that Meg will realize the potential she has and make her become mature at the end of the book, increasing her self-esteem since in the beginning of the book.

I agree that one of themes of this book is one self since in the beginning of the book, Meg didn’t want to be herself but as the book progress, she like to be herself and wasn’t afraid to be different.

The Last Post to A Wrinkle in Time...Yay!!!!

Molly Walsh

Post 8 (Post 4 for A Wrinkle in Time)

January 16, 2012

            In A Wrinkle in Time, there was a lot of talk about family and love and in the end it is what saved Meg, Charles Wallace, and everyone else from IT.

            Even if Meg was having a rough time in her life, she knew she could rely on her family to love her and be there with her.  She had a special connection to Charles Wallace that no one else quite had.  It was like she got him, even if she didn’t realize it.  There was also Meg’s love for her father.  Despite the fact that he was missing, she still loved him and had faith that he was alright.  Her love for him eventually caused him to be rescued.  Meg and Calvin came to love each other, too.  As they got to know one another on their strange travels, it seemed as if they fell in love, which was actually a really cute part of the story.  I was rooting for them.  Anyway, the family had really close bonds and were able to defeat the evil brain, otherwise known as IT because their love outweighed IT’s cruelness and need for control.   Because of Meg’s love for Charles Wallace, she was able to overcome IT’s creepy mind control over him.  She stays tough, even though the IT controlled Charles Wallace is trying to drag her to the dark side.  She comes to see that IT only has hatred and things that would rip people apart, but he doesn’t have love.  She knows the only way to defeat IT was to have her love outweigh IT’s hate and oppression, and it worked.  Through the love of Charles Wallace and the rest of her family, Meg overcame evil and could live in peace with all who loved her, again.

Charles Wallace and Calvin--Another Wrinkle in Time Post

Molly Walsh

Post 7 (Post 3 for A Wrinkle in Time)

January 16, 2012

            For this post, I want to discuss the characters Calvin and Charles Wallace.  They are two of the main characters in the book and they have very complex parts to them.

            Calvin, at the surface level, is athletic and is pretty popular.  Meg never saw him as anything more as a jock.  As they get to know each other, though, realizes that he has it tougher than she ever would have guessed.  His family doesn’t care for him, but he has to take care of them and he even loves them.  He also isn’t really himself as part of the in crowd.  He mentions while in the living room of Meg’s house, “Sure, I can function on the same level as everybody else, I can hold myself down, but it isn’t me.”  He was just a lonely person in a happy shell until he met Meg.  As a reader, it is clear that he just wants a sense of belonging because he has been neglected by his family for so long.  He was a really good pair for Meg, too.  It seemed like he was able to get her even though they weren’t the most predictable match.

            Charles Wallace, Meg’s little brother, was a strange and fascinating character.  Even though he was only five, he was super smart and just got his surroundings. He seemed to have a sixth sense to him, something uncanny about him.  As it turns out he talked to and was friends with exploding stars, so that explains a lot.  Still, it was like he was born to save worlds and talk with beings that shouldn’t exist.  He was mature and even though he wasn't able to maintain total strength throughout the book, he was able to be turned good again by Meg.  It seemed like he was older than he was, almost like he was an adult which I think was supposed to be the way the reader was to perceive him.

Why Was This Book Banned???--Another Wrinkle in Time Post

Molly Walsh

Post 6 (Post 2 for A Wrinkle in Time)

January 16, 2012

            I couldn’t figure out why this book was banned schools, parents, or teachers.  There was no violence or inappropriateness in the book, so it is puzzling why it was challenged.  Unlike The Outsiders I could imagine this book being read by young children.  There are multiple meanings that a person could get as a child and as an adult.  As I did some research I found out that it was challenged in some schools because it supposedly sent an anti-Christian message, but I actually disagree with that.  A Wrinkle in Time shows strong themes of love and being one’s self.  It was also challenged because the story endorses witchcraft and crystal balls.  That was just a weird, strange reason for it to be banned because it is an obviously fictional book and it presents itself as nothing else but fantasy.

            A theme I found is living life and staying true to one’s self.  Meg, at the beginning of the book was stuck in her life.  Her father was missing and everyone was telling her he left his family for someone else.  She was failing her classes because she didn’t apply herself and her teachers weren’t much of a help, actually, they probably should have gotten fired for some of what they said.  For example, Mr. Jenkins telling Meg about her father running away with his secretary.  That was totally weird and it was definitely not his place to be telling her or asking her about that. 

            To make it all worse, her peers were bashing her little brother because of his intelligence.  Meg tried to carry on as best she could, but things go a little too heavy for her to handle.  Through her journey in space and finding her father, Meg was able to truly liver her life.  She also came to the conclusion that not being herself and selling out to other people wouldn’t grant her happiness in life.  This book teaches people that there is nothing wrong with being different from everyone else.  It’s important to have unique qualities from everyone else, otherwise one would end up like the people on Camazots. 

Being Yourself--A Wrinkle in Time Post

Molly Walsh

Post 5 (Post 1 for A Wrinkle in Time)

January 16, 2012

            A Wrinkle in Time was a delightful book filled with a magical plot, really compelling characters, and a creepy evil brain bad guy.  This book was really meaningful and it had a lot of deeper layers that could be read into.  While reading this book, I found it was a coming of age story for Meg, who was in a really tough spot in her life.  Nothing was going right because her father was gone and everyone was giving her a rough time at school.  She didn’t really have anyone to rely one other than her brother, Charles Wallace.  As she traveled through space to the different planets, she seemed to grow stronger and more capable.  It was like she realized her strengths and that there was more to life than her jerky principal.  She grew as a character throughout the book and as she went through her crazy adventure, she became more confident to be her own person even if no one else approves.

            Being one’s self was a strong theme in the book.  We soon found out that Meg, and the Murray family as a whole was always a little different and their small New England town did not always appreciate their differences.  The children always made fun of Meg and her little brother Charles Wallace, and then Meg beat up the bullies.  That would send her to the principal’s office, where he was unsympathetic and even took part in the spreading of the rumors that were going around town about Meg’s father.  Even though there was so much pressure to be normal, Meg stayed herself and liked her family for what they were. 

            As the book progressed, there was a time when Meg, Charles Wallace, and Calvin traveled to the planet, Camazots, where everyone was exactly the same and no one could step out of the role that they were given.  This part illustrated a world where no one was an individual and how tragic that would be.  Meg realized that being herself was far better than living in fear of being different.

Johnny's Redemption

Molly Walsh

Post 4 (for The Outsiders)

January 15, 2012

            Redemption is something that stroke a strong chord with me in chapters 5-8 of The Outsiders.  When the boys skipped town after the altercation with the Socs, they sought refuge in an abandoned church in the country.  They camped out there for a while hoping no one would find them.  In that church, we got to know Ponyboy and Johnny better.  They talked about Pony’s family, and as that happened, it was obvious that Johnny wanted what Pony had with his brothers.  As Pony recited the Robert Frost poem, Nothing Gold Can Stay, we were able to see how relevant that poem was.  Pony never knew what that poem meant, but it talked about being innocent and how nothing can be innocent forever.  Even though Johnny killed someone and was on the run with Ponyboy, they were still kids and I definitely believe that there was still good inside of them.  I was reassured of my belief when the church was on fire and Johnny, Pony, and Dally went to go save the children who were trapped.    

            The boys could have just kept driving by, but they knew they were the cause of the fire.  That is a part of what made them decide to take responsibility for their actions and go back into the church to save the children, even if that meant risking their lives.  That was a very important and powerful moment in the book.  It just showed how even if someone made a mistake and did something wrong, it is never too late for someone to redeem themselves.  Sadly, though, Johnny did not get out of the chapel unscathed.  But that was because he sacrificed himself to save Pony.  That was a selfless move on Johnny’s part.  It showed that just because he made some sucky mistakes, he could help make right what he did wrong.   Even though he was in the hospital for a while, he sadly did not survive.  I heard that in older and classical books and movies, the person who did bad things usually died after redeeming themselves to pay for their actions.  It seemed that it was the case for Johnny.  He saved the children and Ponyboy, but in the end he sacrificed himself.  But in a way it was better for him to save people and go out doing good, rather than just sitting in a jail cell his whole life.  At least he was able to face his sins and gain in a way gained just a little bit of absolution for what he did.

4th post for The Outsiders-Relationship between characters and theme

I think the relationship between Darry and Ponyboy has gotten stronger towards the end of the book compared in the beginning of the book. Their relationship in the beginning weren’t as close as they are now. Darry was really harsh on Ponyboy, pushing him to get good grades and do well in school. That is why Darry want Ponyboy to do well so Ponyboy will have a good future and won’t end up like him and Soda. But Ponyboy thinks that Darry is really harsh on him because he yells at Ponyboy a lot. Darry is really strict and Ponyboy in a mean way, he thinks that Darry doesn’t care for him and doesn’t love him. Since the death of Johnny and Dally, Darry has been a little easy on Ponyboy and start to really care and support Ponyboy. Darry is trying to be more gentle and nice of how he treats Ponyboy. I think the tragic event of Johnny and Dallas has pulled them together to because they realize that they both need each other and that Soda needs them to and act more like family. Even while Ponyboy was very sick, Darry called him “little buddy” (166) which he never called Ponyboy before. I think overall that Darry realizes that that being nicer then yelling at Ponyboy is better way to encourage Ponyboy to do well and get a good education. And I also think that Ponyboy realizes that Darry really care and loves him and he is only trying to make sure he will have the best future possible and Ponyboy now realizes that Darry is trying to do everything he can to give Ponyboy the best life possible since their parents aren’t them to guide the way.

I think another theme for this book is family. Throughout the book, you see that the Greasers stick together, help each other out, and support each other no matter what. Without the Greaser gang, Ponyboy, Soda, and Darry wouldn’t feel as much of family without their gang. They are the only family they had since Ponyboy, Soda, and Darry lost their parents.

3rd Post of The Outsiders-Theme and analyzing quote

I agree that it isn’t right to censor this book because it isn’t going to stop minors from being influence by underage drinking, smoking, and violence. Books aren’t the only ones to blame underage drinking, smoking, and violence but the people in our society. It is hard to try to prevent bad influence so kids won’t drink, smoke, or join gangs. There are even kids right now that do drink, smoke, and are gangs because they were influence or encourage by their people, possible their friends because they think it is cool to do so.

Another theme for the book that you see throughout the book is honor. People will do anything to show honor for their families or friends like the Greasers. The Greasers will stand up for each other and face their enemies like the Socs to show how tough they are especially trying to be tougher and better then the Socs, they would even define the laws or authority. Not only do the Greasers try to show how tough they are do something to show honor for their gang but they will also do honorable things to sacrifice on self for another for a good cause since they are consider like a family.

After the daring rescue by Johnny and Ponyboy, Ponyboy went back home. While stopping by the gas station before going to see Johnny and Dally in the hospital, Randy and his gang of Socs came by in the car to see Ponyboy. Only Randy wanted to talk to Ponyboy about him and Johnny saving those kids from the fire. Randy didn’t think that a greaser would do risk their lives to help someone else. Then he talks about how sick and tired he was of people getting hurt or even killed. He said that “you can’t win, even if you whip us. You’ll still be the lucky one with all the breaks. So it doesn’t do any good, the fighting and the killing. It doesn’t prove a thing. We forget it if you win, or if you don’t. Greasers will still be greasers and Socs will still be Socs. (117)” This a interesting point that Randy made and I think he realizes after the death of his best friend, who was killed by Johnny, that fighting or killing doesn’t solve anything. It will cost or damage more lives for no reason except for hatred and revenge, which isn’t right.

Oh Censorship...

Molly Walsh

Post 3 (for the Outsiders)

January 10, 2012

            There are many reasons why The Outsiders could have been banned.  There was a lot of drinking, smoking, and mention of dirty talk in it.  There were also vast amounts of violence that dripped off of every page.  It was a book that I could see restrictive parents not allowing because they would want to shelter their kid.  I’m not saying that this book should be read to kindergarteners on their first day of school, but if a middle school, or high school student wished to read it, it would be a bit ridiculous if the book was banned.  Sure there are violent scenes, mention of weapons and underage drinking.  I guess people may have been so caught up in the bad parts that frankly weren’t even that bad.  They failed to see an underlying theme of how those actions in the book were not shown positively. 

            The Outsiders talks about violence, drinking, and people with a lack of education but it for sure doesn’t endorse any of those things.  Instead, the book portrays the negative effects on violence and the harsh realities that could result.   For some reason a parents like to censor certain things to keep their kids from experiencing the real world.  It would be important for the students to see how drinking, and violent behaviors could result in serious consequences.  Through this book, children and young adults could learn many lessons about how violence, revenge, underage drinking, and being a part of a gang are not things to be desired.  Johnny’s life was ruined by his violent actions, and so was Dally’s.  Some of the boys did not really have an education, but in the book it was disappointing to see someone a dropout.  It was not something that was encouraged or shown in a positive light. 

            Though it is clear why this book could have been censored, but it is a bit ridiculous that it actually was because students could gain much more from reading it than they could be sheltered from it.

2nd post for the Outsider-Banned Book

I agree that one of the themes of the book is innocence or lost if innocence since they realize after the death of one of Socs, the dark side of the humans. Both Johnny and Ponyboy were innocence kids until the tragic night when their innocence was lost. They didn’t want anyone to get killed and now they are fill with guilt.

Some people in the United States would consider The Outsiders a banned book because of the gang violence, strong language, and underage drinking and smoking. Some adults think that this book should be banned because they don’t want the children to be influence to do what are bad things to do at their age since in the book, where some underage characters like Ponyboy drinks and smokes. Minors aren’t even allowed to drink till 21 years of age and smoke till 18 years of age. Including that the book contains gang violence which also is a bad influence for minors because it might seem cool to join a gang like in the book but in today’s world, it’s not a good idea to join a gang since they cause a lot of trouble. Like on 54, Johnny and Ponyboy were alone in their territory at night when the Socs drove up and want to pick on Johnny and Ponyboy since they were greasers. But at this time the Socs were a little drunk, so they wanted to give payback. They took Ponyboy and started drowning him in a fountain, then Johnny stabbed a Socs with his switchblade to save Ponyboy from drowning. This event all started because the Socs were under the influence of drinking and knowing that Greasers for their enemies became more violent with Johnny and Ponyboy. This show how minor got drunk and can result in behavior that is violent. Overall, the adult think it isn’t appropriate for minors since it can be a bad influence with all the gang violence, swearing, drinking, and smoking involving minors in the book.

That Ironic Twist

Molly Walsh

Post 2 (for the Outsiders)

January 9, 2012

            It was made clear in The Outsiders that the cycle of violence had continued and it brought more than a bloody nose and a Band-Aid to the boys involved.  The fight between Ponyboy, Johnny, and the Socs was so tragic because it ended really horribly and it caused many lives to be ruined for no good reason. 

            The Socs leaped on the chance to attack greasers and when Johnny realized the Soc who was standing in front of him was the same one who beat him up in the past, he had no mercy towards the guy.  Sadly, the animosity and the fighting went too far and Johnny ended up killing his former assailant with a switch blade.  Johnny made it clear that he wasn’t going to be attacked anymore.  Talk about irony.  Johnny taking down the person who did pretty much the same to him some time before.  That was a real turning point where the hatred between the Greasers and the Socs went way too far.  Johnny pushed the cycle of violence to the extreme and it ended up blowing his life into pieces.

            That fight scene showed how much hatred, violence, and retaliation can do so much damage to people’s lives and how it can even end them.  Johnny and Ponyboy’s lives would never be the same after the fight, but not in a good way.  Johnny has so much guilt for what he did, and it was unclear about how he was going to deal with what he done and how his life would go.  After the disastrous fight, Johnny would never have a normal life.  Assuming he didn’t go to jail, he would be stuck in the poverty cycle and would never really have a chance to get above his unfortunate childhood and abusive home.  And as for the person who was killed, he would have no future at all. 

           

Here’s a theme that I found:

Innocence:  Johnny and Ponyboy lost something that night that they would never be able to get back:  their innocence.  Their soul got a bit heavier, and they were no longer had a carefree minds.  They got opened up to the harshness to the world and they crossed a point in their life from which they would never return.  They had more knowledge about the dark side of the world and hopefully they will be able to move on and that Johnny can somehow redeem himself for what he did.

To come next:  That old abandoned barn stuff

1st post for The Outsider--Socs and Greasers

I agree that the Pony is a very interesting character that makes the book so much interesting that you don’t want to put it down. I would personal wouldn’t want a life as a greaser because it is dangerous in way like you could jump by the socs for no reason just cause of being a Greaser. Then after being jump you have to watch your back every step you have to take. Even though a life of a Greaser can be scary because you could get jumped by the Socs and get beaten up pretty bad and take part in fight, but it can have be fun to be a Greaser too. As I see it in their shoes, it just seems complicated and a crazy life style.

The story takes place during a time where there these classes called the Socs and the Greasers that people especially teens in high school use to define who they are. The Greasers are the one from the east side of town that are “almost like the hook; we steal things and drive old souped-up cars and hold up gas station and have a gang fight once and a while” (3). They also appeared to have long hair and dress with blue jeans, T-shirts, leave shirttails out, leather jackets, tennis shoes, and/or boots. They were given the name Greasers because kids from the East-side aren’t has good compared to the kids on the rich side. Unlike the Socs, they live in the West-side of town where the rich kids live. They think they are better than everyone else and can do anything they want. They also judge people a lot especially kids from the east-side.

People will define themselves or people will define for you of who they are based on where they live and where they mostly hangout the most, like Ponyboy. He joined the Greasers because he wanted a family. People would think the greasers are the bad ones compared to the Socs since the Socs appear better compared to the Greasers. They are trying to discover were they belong in their society but during these times it was hard to choose where you belong in society. In these times it is most properly for teens to be Socs and Greasers. That’s why socs and greasers were created in this society, to provide a place of somewhere to belong and it was the thing to do during this time as well.

These different classes of Socs and Greasers collide with each other a lot causing a lot of trouble in their society. They are similar to gangs in our society today and during those times they were considers gangs because all the trouble they cause in the town.

Post 1--The Dysfunctional Cycle

Molly Walsh

Post 1 (for the Outsiders)

January 5, 2012

            Ponyboy is one of those characters who are just so relatable and so interesting, that it makes the book, The Outsiders, one that I don’t want to put down.  He makes it so easy to dive right into his world and live all of the events of the book as if I was standing next to him.  Not many books do that and that is why I love this one so much.

            While reading, I tried to imagine living the life that all of the Greasers lived.  There would always be threats of fights and craziness constantly.  I thought in some ways it would be interesting to be in their shoes, but it would also be really scary.  Life with the Greasers would always be adventurous and there would never be a dull moment.  But, their lives are not just fun and games, not by any stretch of the imagination.  The boys in the story always had to be concerned for their safety, or else they could get beaten up like Johnny was.  On page 11 Ponyboy describes Johnny being beaten up by a group of Socs.  It seemed that Johnny never got over the attack and that is actually kind of tragic.  I would not want to live a life where I had to constantly watch my back to make sure a Soc wasn’t going to stab me with a switch blade.  The sometimes violent life of the boys seems it would get very tough and not a healthy situation to be in.  The boys seem to be thick skinned and they can handle the mean streets of whatever town they live in.

            Here is a theme I found in the book, there are many more to follow:

Revenge:  From pages 55-56 there was a dramatic and dreadful fight that involved Johnny, Ponyboy and two socs.  Johnny quickly realized that one of the soc boys was the one who almost killed him the last time they met.  Johnny went on to be ruthless towards the soc.  Johnny had a desire to put all the pain he felt from his previous attack into this outburst toward the assailant.  It seemed he had so much rage and so much sadness in him that he needed to get it out and in his desire to get even, Johnny ended up killing his attacker.

            Johnny’s compulsion to get revenge was prevalent and because of his revenge, led to most of the later events of the book.  It also seems that Johnny wasn’t the only one who had feelings of animosity to the socs.  There was a sort of dysfunctional cycle between the two groups that fueled the fire.  Because the socs and greasers hated one another, one group attacked another.  When the attacked group saw the attacking group again, they decided to retaliate and the cycle repeated itself.