Who Is Cherry In The Outsiders?

Cherry Valance is a female character in S.E. Hinton’s novel The Outsiders, who is a member of the wealthy social class and is described as being beautiful with long red hair and green eyes. She is dating Bob Sheldon, another Soc. She is also friends with Ponyboy Curtis, the novel’s protagonist, and helps him out on occasion by attending his school dance with him when Johnny Cade cannot go. She is also friends with Johnny Cade, a member of the rival gang, the Greasers. She goes to the rumble between the Socs and Greasers and tries to stop it; however, she can’t so she flees to safety at home afterwards. After that night, she breaks up her relationship with Bob Sheldon and goes out with Ponyboy instead until he moves away with his brothers Darry and Soda because Darry was transferred to another school district for his job as a parole officer for juvenile delinquents. At the end of the novel, Cherry attends Johnny’s funeral with Ponyboy and the other Greasers. Cherry Valance is an important character in this story because she represents hope for reconciliation between the Socs and Greasers despite their differences in social class and ethnicity.