Question

Why doesn't ponyboy like referring to sodapop as a dropout?

Answer 1

When Pony tells her that Soda works there, she smiles and calls him a "doll." Cherry then asks Ponyboy why she never sees Soda at school. ... Ponyboy mentions that he hates calling Sodapop a dropout. The term dropout makes Ponyboy think of a "dumb-looking hoodlum" which doesn't fit Sodapop's personal.