Johnny vs Dally: Hard vs Soft
‘“So he finally broke,’ Two-Bit spoke everyone’s feelings, ‘So even Dally has a breaking point.” (152). In the book The Outsiders, by S.E. Hinton, there are two unique characters. Johnny and Dally are two characters that are unique and also the same. The two of them are opposites. Dally is hard, Johnny is gold. Johnny sees good in the world, Dally does not. Yet the two are also have similar lifestyles, both Johnny and Dally have abusive parents. The two share a similar bond, they both care about each other more than anything. Johnny was smart enough to realize the good in his world, unfortunately Dally could not.
Johnny and Dally have both had hard lives. Both of their parents were abusive and uncaring. At Johnny’s
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Dally, on the other hand, felt he had lost everything and resorted to suicide. When Johnny died, he left a letter in his copy of Gone With The WInd by Margaret Mitchell. The letter asked Ponyboy (the main character and narrator of the book) to stay gold and to tell Dally “There’s still good in the world.” (179). Johnny was trying to look out for Dally and to try to convince him this fact he never believed. Johnny, however, believe it himself. Dally gave up on the world. He saw nothing that was good, Johnny was the last good thing in the world. Then Johnny died, Dally couldn’t take his life having nothing. Dally robbed a grocery store to get the cops attention, he called the Curtis brothers who had the gang there. They met at the lot, Dally stopped in the middle of it as the cops pulled into the lot. Dally pulled an empty gun out and pointed it at an officer. The officers shot and killed him. “He was dead before he hit the ground. But I know that was what he wanted.”(149) Dally saw nothing good in the world so he left it. It was all part of his plan. Johnny saw meaning in his life, but Dally …show more content…
Johnny, after he had been beaten and killed socs, never turned hard. He got scarred for life, but he didn’t turn hard. Dally was a hard guy, he broke the law all the time. “He had been arrested, he got drunk, he rode in rodeos, lied, cheated, stole, rolled drunks, jumped small kids,”(11). Dally turned into a hard criminal who hated everyone but Johnny. Dally didn’t care about anyone. He learned not to the hard way. Johnny, on the other hand, had an open heart. Johnny cared about the innocent. He believed in what was right. Johnny and Pony went into a burning church to save little children the had never met. Dally didn’t care enough to go in. Later, the church collapsed in Johnny and he broke his back. Johnny stayed soft and realized what good it did for him to save those children. “I don’t mind dying now. It’s worth it. It’s worth saving those kids.”(178). Johnny knew he had done the right thing. And after all he had gone through, he still could care after socs jumping him, and beatings from his parents. Johnny and Dally had different mindsets throughout their troubles. Johnny stayed soft, and Dally turned
Dally isn’t afraid to get into fights, get beaten up by other people, and he even wasn’t afraid of going to jail. Dally helps Ponyboy with things he needs to take care that are not related to school. Dally helps Ponyboy when he gets into a fight with the Socials and helps him take of things that Ponyboy can’t take care of by himself.
Dally is always getting into trouble and disregarding the law. He does not care if he gets caught because Dally believes he has nothing to live for. After losing Johnny, Dally pulls a gun on the police. Pony says, “I knew he would be dead, because Dally Winston wanted to be dead and he always got what he wanted” (154). Dally knew the police would shoot him after he pulled out the gun, but Dally does not see a point to living anymore. He committed suicide due to feeling his life was not worth living. Dally’s action shows he does not value his life. Likewise, Johnny does not find his life valuable either. With all of the abuse Johnny endured in his life, he feels so worthless to the point where he does not want to live anymore. In the letter he wrote to Ponyboy, it is clear he feels this way. Johnny writes, “Their lives are worth more than mine, they have more to live for” (178). Johnny is referring to the kids he saved in the church; he places more value on the kids’ lives than his own because Johnny feels he does not have a purpose for living. An additional example of Johnny placing little value on his life is when he and Ponyboy are in the lot. Johnny says, “‘I’ll kill myself or something’” (47). Only a person who considers their life unimportant would experience suicidal thoughts. Therefore, Johnny feels convinced his life has little significance. Neither Johnny nor Dally
Dally may have had a rough life, but in the end, he died a hero. Some people that because he committed suicide that he was a bad person and was just a coward but there is more to it. He risked going to jail himself when he helped out Pony boy and Johnny escape the law. He also saved Pony and Johnny when they were waiting for him in the church and it caught fire. He sacrificed himself for other people because he was a hero.
A very important comparison Dally and Johnny have is their parents. Johnny’s parents do not care about him. Johnny parents fight or just ignore each other. Ponyboy says,
...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.
Compared to regulated time of living, Pony and Johnny barely started to settle to life in at the church, when it was set ablaze. “It seemed to me that I had always lived in the church”. (Page 68) Ponyboy and Johnny had adjust to life at the old church, and it wasn’t too bad, it was alright for them. Around the time they started settling in, a terrible incident happened. The church was burned. But in the process, Johnny and Dally got hurt badly. “Dally suddenly slammed on the brakes and stared. ‘Oh, glory!’ he whispered. The church was on fire!” ... “I started at a dead run for the church, and the man caught my arm. ‘I’ll get them. You kids stay out!!” … “Then I heard Johnny scream, and as I turned to go back for him, Dally swore at me and clubbed me across the back as he could, and I went down into peaceful darkness.” (page number ?) Their life at the church, and the church was set ablaze, as well as Ponyboy and his friends getting hurt. Just as Ponyboy and Johnny adjust to life after being called criminals, all goes down when the church burns and Johnny and Dally get hurt. Dally was a big part of the gang, who helped out, and was part of the family.
...nny passed away a piece of each Greasers heart passed away as well. Ponyboy who usually aced his classes was lucky to get a C on assignments after Johnny deceased. He dazed off during classes and thought about the gang, mainly Johnny. While Dallas completely lost his mind when Johnny died. Dallas robbed a store to make sure the police followed him. He had made the bold decision to pull out his unloaded gun when he was surrounded by police officers. Dally new that once he pulled out his gun, his life was going to end. Dally had no reasons to stay alive since the only person he actually cared about passed away. Johnny spiritually gave Dally the courage and determination he needed to get through everyday when he was still alive. In other words, the loss and grief their group of Greasers underwent was what made all the boys make illogical decisions.
“Here”, he said and handed Pony and Johnny a gun and a roll of bills--- "the gun's loaded. For Pete's sake, Johnny, don't point the thing at me. Here's fifty bucks. That's all I could get out of Merril tonight He's blowin' his loot from that last race.” Dally was relied on by two of his gang members when they were trying to run away. Dally helped them by giving them some supplies and told them where to go.
Throughout a person’s life, he will go through many experiences that may change him from the person he used to be. Johnny has been abused and mistreated throughout his life. After the beating he got from the socs, Johnny was more anxious and frightened than ever. He would never get over that horrible experience. When describing Johnny, Ponyboy says, “If you can picture a little dark puppy that has been kicked too many times and is lost in a crowd of strangers, you’ll have Johnny” (page 11). Nobody would ever expect a shy and nervous greasers to become a hero. Nevertheless, Johnny proved that to be wrong. When the church caught fire, Johnny and Ponyboy abruptly ran inside to rescue the little kids who were trapped. As Johnny was helping a kid to get out, a piece of timber fell on him. As a result, Johnny was in critical condition. At the hospital he told Ponyboy he didn’t want to die because he hadn’t lived yet. Johnny was terrified of dying. After the rumble, Ponyboy and Dally came back to the hospital, and Johnny died. A few weeks later, Ponyboy reads a letter that Johnny wrote him. In the letter Johnny explains how it was worth dying because the little kids were saved. They could live their lives. Johnny wrote, “Listen, I don’t mind dying now. It’s worth it. It’s worth saving those kids. Their lives are worth more than mine, they have more to live for” (page 178). Johnny was known as a hero. He went from being a shy, quiet boy who was mistreated to a hero who risked his life to save others. Although Johnny died, he was okay with the way he did. The theme of change is certainly shown in
Throughout the novel, The Outsiders by S.E Hinton we see how Ponyboy opinion of Johnny, Darry, Johnny changes when he stopped judging by the cover. Ponyboy realizes that Johnny is wrong when he proves through his actions that he is strong. Dally turns from this heartless thug into a caring friend. Darry was seen as a stubborn father to a loving brother. People judge others based on looks, stereotypes, and the image on the outside, others that see in the inside can see how people can be different they are inside. People will judge others based on other people’s opinions. People will have this image of others and see them of an image that they have a person. People will always judge others and the people who see the good in people on the inside
Dally and Johnny are similar in a way of knowing what it is like to have abusive and neglectful parents. There is no love coming from Dally’s home, which is why he does some reckless things. The neglect he faces at home affects his ability to love others. His parents do not interact with him and Dally states, “‘my old man don’t give a hang whether I’m in jail or dead in a car wreck or drunk in the gutter’” (88). Dally’s
One good scene was when Johnny and Ponyboy came to Dally for help after the murder of Bob. They go to Bucks to find Dally and Dally’s help was "Here"--- he handed us a gun and a roll of bills--- "the gun's loaded. For Pete's sake, Johnny, don't point the thing at me. Here's fifty bucks. That's all I could get out of Merril tonight He's blowin' his loot from that last race." ( (Pg53)Another good scene was when the timber was falling on Johnny when he was saving the children, Dally ran in without any hesitation that the building was going to fall and he ran in
It shows that he does not only care about himself, so he takes the sentence and does not complain about it. Another reason that Dally is gallantly is on page 89, “ ‘ Johnny I ain't mad at you. I just don't want you to get hurt…’ ” This shows that he is gallant because he is caring enough about someone else to tell them that a tuff boy like Dally does not want Johnny to get hurt. Dally usually does not feel much but this shows that he does. Finally, on page 95, “ ‘ First you and the black haired kid climbing in that window, and then the tough-looking kid going back to save him...’ ” this shows that he is gallant because he risked his life to go back to the church and save Johnny who was hit on the back by a falling piece of timber. This shows that even the tuffist guys can be another person
Before reading The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton I didn’t expect it to be anything special, but now that I have, I am thoroughly impressed and have learned different lessons from it. One of the things I find most interesting about this novel are the relationships that are formed between characters. The relationship that I find to be the most interesting is the one we quickly see form between Cherry Valance and Ponyboy. With Pony being a greaser and Cherry being a Soc, these two finding a friend in one another is something not even they expected; for example, “ “ (Hinton ). I like this relationship in this novel because it goes against the social boxes the greasers and the Socs are confined to, with each tending not to mingle
...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.