1. They don't really describe the setting in the book.
2. The protagonist is Ponyboy Curtis. This is the first time we're told his name:
"... someone had me under the armpits and was hauling me to my feet. It was Darry.
'Are you alright, Ponyboy?'
He was shaking me and I wished he'd stop."
3. The main conflict: Ponyboy struggles to face adversity and grow up while also dealing with being a Greaser, a gang of poor outcasts which rivals with the Socs, a gang of wealthy boys.
They type of conflict this is, is Character vs. Society
Quote: “I've been thinking about it, and that poem, that guy that wrote it, he meant you're gold when you're a kid, like green. When you're a kid everything's new, dawn. It's just when you get used to everything that it's day. Like the way you dig sunsets, Pony. That's gold. Keep that way, it's a good way to be.” -Johnny Cade
In this quote, Johnny is telling Ponyboy that as kids we're gold because of our innocent, good, and pure qualities, but as we grow older we lose those qualities due to the cold experiences of the world.. He is telling Ponyboy not to lose those qualities.
Quote: “That's why people don't ever think to blame the Socs and are always ready to jump on us. We look hoody and they look decent. It could be just the other way around - half of the hoods I know are pretty decent guys underneath all that grease, and from what I've heard, a lot of Socs are just cold-blooded mean - but people usually go by looks.” -Ponyboy Curtis
In this quote Ponyboy is explaining that the reason the Socs are the ones who are favored in the rivalry and the Greasers are outcasts is class. They can afford decent clothes, cars, and live on the good side of town while the Greasers are poor, dress like thugs, and live in the hoods, so society looks down on them.
Extra quote in case you need it:
“Sixteen years on the streets and you can learn a lot. But all the wrong things, not the things you want to learn. Sixteen years on the streets and you see a lot. But all the wrong sights, not the things you want to see.” -Ponyboy Curtis
This explains that because society has cast him out as a greaser he has seen a lot on the streets over time
I really hope this helps. If you need more message me