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What does Cherry Valance do in The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton?

Cherry Valance is a Soc who talks to Pony at the movies. 


Cherry becomes friendly with Pony when they meet at the movies. Pony does not interact with many Soc girls, but Cherry is different. She complains about Dally because he is crude to her and her friends, but she thinks Johnny is nice and Soda is handsome. She also likes to talk to Pony. She believes he is deeper and more sensitive than...

Cherry Valance is a Soc who talks to Pony at the movies. 


Cherry becomes friendly with Pony when they meet at the movies. Pony does not interact with many Soc girls, but Cherry is different. She complains about Dally because he is crude to her and her friends, but she thinks Johnny is nice and Soda is handsome. She also likes to talk to Pony. She believes he is deeper and more sensitive than the other greasers. 


Cherry explains to Pony that things are tough for Socs, too. She makes him look at things from a Soc perspective. Not all Socs want to start fights or look down on greasers. Cherry may not want to hang out with Pony at school, but she is a nice person. 



It seemed funny to me that the sunset she saw from her patio and the one I saw from the back steps was the same one. Maybe the two different worlds we lived in weren't so different. We saw the same sunset (Chapter 3). 



Cherry is level-headed. When her boyfriend Bob shows up drunk at the movies, she refuses to go with him. He comes back, and she knows if he sees her with the greasers a fight could start. Cherry and her friend Marcia agree to get in the car.


A fight does start, and Johnny kills Bob. Cherry is upset, but she understands. She tells the police Bob was drunk and it was not their fault. Even though she loved Bob, she testifies for Johnny. Dally calls Cherry a spy because she tries to warn the greasers ahead of the rumble. 



She said she felt that the whole mess was her fault, which it is, and that she'd keep up with what was comin' off with the Socs in the rumble and would testify that the Socs were drunk and looking for a fight and that you fought back in self-defense (Chapter 6).



Cherry is still a Soc. She doesn’t hang out with Johnny at school. She knows that they can’t be friends. Nonetheless, she is a good person. She treats the greasers with respect. She doesn’t hold Bob’s death against them. She also testifies for them and tries to protect them. She is a genuine and good person.

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