Soc “Robert” Bob Sheldon was stabbed in the back last week in the park by a greaser, Johnny Cade, at 2:30 in the morning. Cade was charged for manslaughter. Cade and his friend Ponyboy Curtis, were jumped by Sheldon, Randy Adderson, and some other Socs, because they thought they were picking up their girls. They almost drowned Ponyboy in a fountain, Johnny, completely terrified, stabbed Bob in the back with his switchblade, killing him. The other Socs fled from the scene soon after. Randy claims that it was entirely their fault, and not Johnny’s, but still charged Johnny for manslaughter. Sherri “Cherry” Valance, Bob’s girlfriend, says that Bob was drunk at the time, and he and the boys were looking for a fight when they took her home. Johnny died a hero when he and Ponyboy ran into the flaming church that they had took refuge in to hide from the cops, and saved five kids inside.
Johnny Cade, 16, and Ponyboy Curtis, 14, are both members of the Greasers gang. They get into less trouble compared to the other members. Both were described to be good people, especially compared to the rest of the gang. Bob Sheldon was described by some to be a typical Soc, but Cherry Valance and Randy Adderson say otherwise. “He just wanted for someone to say ‘No’ to him. To have somebody lay down the law, set the limits, to give him something solid to stand on. But his parents spoiled him rotten,” Adderson says. Cherry says, “He wasn’t just any boy. He had something that made people follow him, something that marked him different, maybe a little better, than the crowd.”
After Bob’s death, the people who knew him learned more about life and people. Not all Socs are what people think. Not all greasers are what people think. Life is precious only because it ends.