Ponyboy Curtis: Loss Of Innocence

Johnny Cade suffered a lifetime of feeling neglected and unwanted by his abusive parents. At the beginning of this story, Ponyboy Curtis, a fellow gang member, begins by introducing all of his close friends to the readers. Johnny’s backstory is given at this point which mentions Johnny’s rough home life. “His mother ignored him... you could hear her yelling clean down at our house.” ( Hinton, 12) Johnny takes his parent’s hatred towards him personally, causing him to change his view of the world. Where many people receive love and affection from their parents, he receives abuse and bitterness. Consequently this means Johnny has no one to look for when he feels alone, which is a leading factor in what made him grow up quickly, thus losing his innocence at a young age. However, this is just one way that caused Johnny to suffer a loss of innocence.
To begin to build up the story, Ponyboy informed Cherry Valance of the time when Johnny got attacked by a group of Socs. Ever since the day of the beating, Ponyboy tells the readers that Johnny personality changed. “Johnny was jumper than ever... Johnny, who was the most law-abiding of us, now carried in his back pocket a six-inch switchblade.” (Hinton, 34) This shows that ever since the incident, Jonny endured both physical and emotional pain, which caused him to be more wary of people surrounding him. Johnny now carries a switchblade around, feeling the need to know he is able to protect himself, mostly from the Socs. Ponyboy also states that Johnny is sure to use it on the best person who tries to hurt him showing he will now stand up for himself. Johnny’s loss of innocence can be directly linked to this