Does the situation a person is in dictate that person’s behavior? Can two people experiencing the same problems become vastly different because of it? In S.E. Hinton’s novel The Outsiders, there are two characters that fit these conditions. Dally Winston and Johnny Cade both have extremely abusive parents and care about the other like they are their own brother. Yet, at the same time, Dally has grown up to become a tough criminal while Johnny has grown up to become weak and timid. Dally also believes that being tough like him is the best way to be, whereas Johnny believes being sensitive like him is the best way to be. Therefore, Dally Winston and Johnny Cade have significant similarities and vast differences. Johnny and Dally have very significant …show more content…
Dally believes that if you become hard and tough like he has, then you will be your best self. Dally has known hardships all his life, and he responds to them by being cold and only looking out for himself. He believes that if Johnny was more like him, then he wouldn’t have injured and effectively killed himself. Dally expresses this to Ponyboy while driving to the hospital, saying, “‘You’d better wise up, Pony… you get tough like me and you don’t get hurt. You look out for yourself and nothing can touch you’” (147). Dally believes that being weak leads to pain and suffering. Conversely, Johnny believes that being young, emotional, and innocent is a good way to be. Johnny has experienced similar problems to Dally in his life, but instead of becoming cold and mean, he has become timid and emotional. Johnny even sacrificed his life to save a handful of children because he puts kindness and morality before his own safety. He tells Ponyboy this in a letter he wrote, saying, “I don’t mind dying… It’s worth it. It’s worth saving those kids… That’s gold. Keep that way, it’s a good way to be” (178). Johnny believes that staying “gold” and innocent is the best way to be. Dally and Johnny’s conflicting philosophies show that they have clear
According to Chris Pine, “The only thing you sometimes have control over is perspective. You don’t have control over your situation. But you have a choice about how you view it.” This quote means you can choose how you view people and things.This relates to the Outsiders because the novel is about how you choose to view people. The Outsiders is about how people shouldn’t judge others based on stereotypes and they should get to know them first.
The death of Johnny is a noble death. He dies from saving children and also Ponyboy. His death means something. Near the end of the story, he is still looking out for Ponyboy, telling him to “‘stay gold’”(148) and writing him the letter. Ponyboy says “Johnny was right. He died gallantly” (154). He dies still thinking of other people, he dies a hero. Conversely, Dally dies selfishly and only looking out for himself. He dies under the street lamp, happy with how things turn out, while Johnny dies in a bed, scared and wishing he had done more. Ponyboy says ¨Dally didn't die a hero. He died violent and young and desperate¨ (154). He does not die peacefully like Johnny, he dies a harsh death, just because he breaks for not being a hero like Johnny. Ponyboy and the rest of the gang all know he would someday die like this. Ponyboy went on to saying ¨two friends of mine had died that night, one a hero, the other a hoodlum¨ (154). Their death shows a clear difference between Johnny and
Hinton shows two characters, Dally and Johnny, who are alike in significant ways, but they also have extreme differences. They both have abusive and neglectful parents, and know what it is like to feel unloved. Also, Dally and Johnny both care about each other in similar ways, and want the best for one another. One of the biggest differences Dally and Johnny face is following the law. Dally lives his life looking for trouble and purposely doing illegal things. Where as, Johnny follows rules and is the most law abiding in the gang. Another difference Dally and Johnny have is how they are viewed in death. Dally dies a criminal, with a brutal death from a gun. Contrary to Johnny, who dies as an honored savior and a hero. Two similar characters can have vast
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton Published 1967 Published by: Puffin Books Genre: fiction The book The Outsiders is the realistic story about this between two very different groups in a town in the United States: the poor Greasers from the east side, and the Socs, whitch is what the greasers call the socials, the richer boys from the other side of the town. Ponyboy Curtis is the narrator of the story, a 14-year-old boy who lives with his two older brothers, Darry and Soda. He is a pretty good athlete and student, but is not treated the same as the richer students at his school. Ponyboy uses to have long hair that he greases back, a symbol of being in the outsider gang. He is unhappy with his situation, because Darry is too protective of him
The Outsiders and The Wednesday Wars deal with misunderstandings among young people in the 1960’s and show how people can form friendships despite their differences. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton is about two rival gangs, the Greasers and Socs. Ponyboy Curtis and some Greasers befriend Cherry Valance, a Soc. She spies on the Socs and helps out the Greasers. Ponyboy and his friend, Johnny Cade, become involved with the killing of a Soc, so they run away to an abandoned church. When the church catches on fire, Ponyboy, Johnny, and their friend Dallas Winston, save a few children who were trapped in the burning building. Johnny gets injured during the process and later dies. The boys are mentioned in the newspaper as heroes. The
For example, Johnny is physically the smallest of the group and Dally is always the one there to look out for him and help him with everything that is going on. Dally never has these parent/guardian like feelings for anyone else in the group, he clearly likes and cares for Johnny the most. Even Ponyboy realizes it when he says, “Dally is tougher than I am. Why can I take it and Dally can’t? And then I knew. Johnny was the only thing Dally loved. And now Johnny was gone”(152). Pony makes it crystal clear that Dallas cares for each other unconditionally. Similarly, Johnny has great affection and care for Dally. He realizes he can always look up to Dallas for anything and Dallas always has his back whenever Johnny is in need of some help or advice. When Ponyboy says, “Johnny worshiped the ground Dallas walked on, and I have never heard Johnny talk back to anyone, much less his hero ”(25). Like Dallas, Johnny looks up to Dally as his hero and care so greatly about him. Very much alike with each other, Dally and Johnny Both care for each other unconditionally. Therefore, Dally and Johnny are genuinely similar in many
Which is better: book or movie? The age-old debate. But which is better? S.E Hinton's, 'The Outsiders' book is far superior to Francis F. Coppola's motion-picture film portrayal of the book in 1983. You might remember it from the popular quote, "Stay Gold". Today it is mostly read in middle school classrooms. The Outsiders was published by S.E Hinton in 1967 when she was a teenager. The main focus throughout the story is the feud between two gangs: The Socials (Socs) and the Greasers. "We're poorer than the Socs and the middle class. I reckon we're wilder too". The whole book is written in Ponyboy Curtis's point of view. So, we are hearing the story through a Greaser's perspective. It is often difficult to make a connection with a character over the big screen. You miss out on scenes that did not make it into the movie, some that were are not emphasized like they should have been, and some characters were portrayed wrongly.
...inks he is more important than anything else and will not even think about going out of his way to do anything nice for anyone or anything. Both Johnny and Dally’s similarities and differences balance each other out.
”Because most people identify as separate from other people, they have what we call some "concept" of themselves. Self-concept refers to how people “think about, evaluate, or perceive” themselves.” Self-concept can be split into categories that make people who they are. Throughout “The Outsiders”, Ponyboy the protagonist, describes his brother and his friends in relation to him, giving insight on what makes each of them who they are. After reading an article on this topic “Self-Concept “by Saul McLeod (1), and reading chapters 1-3 of the novel “The Outsiders” (2). One can see the major reasons that make people who they are: self-image and self-esteem/self-worth.
West Side Story is a book about two gangs living in a large city. The Outsiders is a book with the same concept, two gangs that are archrivals. Even though two different authors wrote these books during two different time periods, they have the same story line. These books are realistic, because gang rivalry is still going on today. They are different, since they were written separately. Also, both these books have different problems between the main characters. Still, West Side Story and The Outsiders have many similarities.
I read the book The Outsiders and watched the movie the West Side Story, they had many similarities but they also had their differences. I enjoyed both the book and the movie they were very well written. I will tell compare and contrast the book and the movie.
At the end of the book there was a rumble and Dally showed up even though he was injured.”Don’t you know a rumble ain’t a rumble unless I’m in it?”(144) This means that no matter what Dally would like to be in a fight of some kind. Dally likes to fight because he feels that their is no got in the world. On the other hand, Johnny does not enjoy fighting.’”useless… fighting’s no good…”’(148). This means that Johnny would not like to be in a fight especially when he is injured. Johnny does not like fighting because the socs have beat him up multiple times badly. Dally and Johnny are different because Dally likes fighting and Johnny does
Whenever a great book is released, a movie is sure to follow. Some movies don’t capture the full image of the book, and the Outsiders movie, while close, is very different than the book. The book the Outsiders was released in 1967 by S.E. Hinton who was only seventeen. The book gained multiple rewards later on. The movie was made almost twenty years later in 1983. The movie shows fans a visual representation of the book, The Outsiders. The Outsiders book is different from the movie because the book shows Ponyboy’s thoughts, the movie doesn’t show much of what happens to Ponyboy after Dally’s death, and doesn’t show movie-watchers much of Johnny’s backstory.
...utside world, where you must learn to hate and neglect. Johnny enjoys reading, as he really enjoys reading “Gone with the wind.” Dally meanwhile, is described as not having the “shade of difference that separates a Greaser from a hood” on page fourteen. Dally is rough while Johnny is soft. Dally reflects hatred while Johnny reflects sensitivity. Therefore, when Dally and Johnny both die, Ponyboy feels like he has lost himself, because two major people who had such a big influence on him has left him.
The Outsiders is about the life of a 14-year-old boy. The book tells the story of Ponyboy “Curtis” and his struggles with right and wrong in a society in which he believes that he is an outsider. Ponyboy and his two brothers, Darrel (Darry), who is 20, and Sodapop, who is 16, have recently lost their parents in an automobile accident. Pony and Soda are allowed to stay under Darry's guardianship as long as they all behave themselves. The boys are greasers, a class term that refers to the young men on the East Side, the poor side of town. The greasers' rivals are the Socs, short for Socials, who are the "West-side rich kids."