Responsible & Sacrificial: After his parents die in a car crash, Darry gives up a college athletic scholarship and his own personal dreams to work two labor-intensive jobs to keep his family together and prevent social services from separating his brothers.Stern & Authoritarian: He hides his vulnerability behind a tough, demanding exterior. Ponyboy initially perceives him as cold and unloving because Darry constantly pushes him to work harder, study more, and "use his head".Protective & Anxious: His strict rules stem from deep-seated fear—he is terrified of making a mistake that might cost him custody of Ponyboy and Sodapop.Intelligent & Athletic: Before his parents' death, Darry was a high school football captain, voted "Boy of the Year," and blessed with both brains and brawn. The gang jokingly nicknames him "Superman" or "Muscles".Proud & Intense: He takes pride in his physical strength and his role as a greaser guardian, but his immense stress can make him volatile or quick-tempered when pushed. Beneath his icy blue-green eyes and hard shell, he carries the emotional burnout of someone who had to grow up far too fast.

Although Steve acts rude and cocky at times, he cares for all his friends/gang members like when he told Johnny not to worry about the Socs coming into their neighborhood. Ponyboy said that if Sodapop were to be killed, Steve would kept on "fighting and hating".

Behind his sunny exterior lies a profound emotional depth. He is highly empathetic, understanding Ponyboy’s love for sunsets and poetry, and he cares intensely for everyone in the Greaser gang.Self-Sacrificing and Hardworking: Dropping out of high school at sixteen because of struggles with schoolwork, Soda went to work full-time at a local DX gas station fixing cars to help support his family after his parents died.The Peacemaker: As the middle brother caught between the strict, overburdened Darry and the sensitive, brooding Ponyboy, Soda acts as the emotional glue of the family. He tries to buffer their constant arguments and pleads for family harmony.Charismatic and Handsome: Described as "movie-star handsome" with dark golden hair and expressive brown eyes, Soda naturally attracts attention from both Socs and Greasers alike.

At the beginning of the story, he hates Socs because they hate him, but his perspective on them changes by the story's conclusion. Darry characterizes Ponyboy as lacking common sense. Ponyboy agrees with this assessment. He is smart at school, but sometimes he just doesn't think properly. These occasions get Ponyboy into trouble that he could avoid. This aspect of his character evolves throughout the story into maturity. He is fairly quiet (though not as much as Johnny), and only opens up to a few people, those being the other greasers and Cherry Valance. Cherry Valance describes Ponyboy as sweet and dreamy, much to Ponyboy's delight. He is more compassionate than some of the other greasers, pitying and even empathizing with the Socs several times in the novel and questioning the purpose of fighting between the two social classes. He is also willing to help others, as shown when he runs into the burning church to save the schoolchildren, or when he picks up broken glass bottle pieces off the ground so that a car doesn't get a flat tire. He is known to frequently sleep.

Dallas was hardened from a tough upbringing. He spent three years on the wild side of New York and was arrested at the young age of ten. Dallas was also treated poorly by his father which contributed to his toughness. The state of his mother is unknown. He says to Johnny at one point "My old man doesn't give a hang if I'm in jail dead in a car wreck or drunk in the gutter. That don't bother me none."

He treats life like one big joke and constantly makes smart remarks to police officers and the rival Socs.Loyal and Protective: Beneath his carefree, joking exterior, Two-Bit Mathews is deeply loyal and fiercely protective of his friends, especially Ponyboy and Johnny.Unambitious and Rebellious: He hates regular work, loves a good fight, and is notorious for shoplifting. His prized possession is a black-handled switchblade that he stole.Coping through Levity: Growing up with an absentee father and a mother who worked hard as a barmaid meant Two-Bit had little discipline. His humor acts as resilience and emotional survival in a tough, impoverished world.

Johnny is very quiet, not getting in the way of the gang very often. This is a result of constantly being neglected and verbally abused by his mother and beaten by his alcoholic father. He is able to hold his own at a rumble, but distances himself from the running and common conflict of being a greaser as often as he can manage, because of the stigma that follows the greasers. He was nearly killed by a group of Socs one night when he was jumped while walking alone. Since that day the gang always made sure that they kept an eye on Johnny, knowing that they would be less vulnerable if they were at least in a group of two. However, this proves not to be the case when Johnny and Ponyboy are jumped one night after they ran away from their neighborhood. While he was in the hospital he mentions to Dallas that he thought that rumbles were pointless and that they don't amount to anything.