The Outsiders Hero
In the eyes of many, a hero is the embodiment of good; honest, giving, and humble. For two criminal teenagers to be considered heroic is strange, but for Dally Winston and Johnny Cade, sacrificing everything for their closest friends and community is a daily ordeal. Throughout H.E. Hinton’s fiction novel, The Outsiders, Dally and Johnny are constantly portrayed as dangerous and tough kids involved in illegal activity spouting from their street gang. Although this is true to an extent, they are simply trying to protect their family of other traumatized kids. Their capability to look past the social class system of Socs and Greasers allows them and the people around them to have a better quality of life, making them heroes. John Barth once
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He dreams of “‘...someplace without greasers or Socs, with just people’”(42). He can see beyond social ranking and sabotage, instead preferring a world without labels. He can even tell that the abuse he suffers isn’t permanent, and chooses to live away from his parents. Johnny is one of the younger members of Ponyboy’s gang, but he is smart enough to see that his misfortune was never caused by the Socs. Johnny learns that he doesn’t need the acceptance of his family or of his fellow greasers, and decides to make a leap of faith that will give him the freedom he has always desired. Johnny killed Bob not out of hate for Socs, but in order to save Ponyboy’s life. This showed incredible awareness and sincerity for his friends, which is very heroic. Later in the novel Johnny saved multiple kids’ lives by pulling them out of a burning building. He was “...red marked from falling embers and sweat streaked, but he grinned…” showing he wasn’t afraid of doing the right thing (79). If he never went into the building, he wouldn’t have died and nobody would have forced him to help. The reason he ran back in was to try to compensate for killing Bob and forcing Ponyboy to be on the run with him. This was a sign that Johnny was mature enough to sacrifice his life in order to protect other innocent ones. His complete and utter respect and selflessness earned him a title in the newspaper as a hero, and on his deathbed he wasn’t afraid to leave. Johnny’s love for his closest friends caused him to die peacefully and with a cleared name, which he earned even when he didn’t think he
He dreams of “‘...someplace without greasers or Socs, with just people’”(42). He can see beyond social ranking and sabotage, instead preferring a world without labels. He can even tell that the abuse he suffers isn’t permanent, and chooses to live away from his parents. Johnny is one of the younger members of Ponyboy’s gang, but he is smart enough to see that his misfortune was never caused by the Socs. Johnny learns that he doesn’t need the acceptance of his family or of his fellow greasers, and decides to make a leap of faith that will give him the freedom he has always desired. Johnny killed Bob not out of hate for Socs, but in order to save Ponyboy’s life. This showed incredible awareness and sincerity for his friends, which is very heroic. Later in the novel Johnny saved multiple kids’ lives by pulling them out of a burning building. He was “...red marked from falling embers and sweat streaked, but he grinned…” showing he wasn’t afraid of doing the right thing (79). If he never went into the building, he wouldn’t have died and nobody would have forced him to help. The reason he ran back in was to try to compensate for killing Bob and forcing Ponyboy to be on the run with him. This was a sign that Johnny was mature enough to sacrifice his life in order to protect other innocent ones. His complete and utter respect and selflessness earned him a title in the newspaper as a hero, and on his deathbed he wasn’t afraid to leave. Johnny’s love for his closest friends caused him to die peacefully and with a cleared name, which he earned even when he didn’t think he