In Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, we are introduced to the five levels of needs that must be met to reach self-fulfillment. In order for a person to understand why people behave the way they do, it is useful to consider how many physiological, safety, and love needs, are being met or not. In S.E Hinton’s book, The Outsiders, the character Johnny Cade has several basic needs unmet; such as food, water, warmth and rest, and has no possible way to achieve self-achievement, love or safety needs. He also has most physiological needs unmet such as esteem and love needs. Johnny lacks esteem, another physiological need. Esteem needs are the needs for a human to feel a strong sense of self-worth, importance, or pride for oneself. This is represented …show more content…
Johnny is wounded psychologically as his mother has always denied him love, now that she finds him a hero she wants to see him and visit him. Johnny won't have it and he doesn't allow her to see him. “‘I said I don't want to see her.’ His voice was rising. ‘She's probably come to tell me about all the trouble I'm causing her and about how glad her and the old man'll be when I'm dead. Well, tell her to leave me alone. For once’ ---his voice broke--- ‘for once just to leave me alone.’’ (122) As you can see, Johnny has no love for his mother and what she has done to him has influenced his actions with …show more content…
I hadn't realized Johnny had been right behind me all the way.” (90) When Ponyboy runs inside of the barn trying to save the kids, Johnny comes running after him and they devise a plan to get the kids out of the fire “...although pieces of the old roof were crashing down too close for comfort. I snatched up another kid, hoping he didn't bite, and dropped him without waiting to see if he landed okay or not. I was coughing so hard I could hardly stand up, and I wished I had time to take off Dally's jacket. It was hot. We dropped the last of the kids out as the front of the church started to crumble.”(93) Finally, Johnny reached the state of self-actualization, which is when all other needs are met and you reach the pinnacle of fulfillment. Johnny reached this when he wrote back to Ponyboy after he died “...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. Some of their parents came by to thank me and I know it was worth it...” (178) This means Johnny has accepted himself and realizes what his meaning in life was. He is happy with the way his life ended and wants everyone to move on. Johnny Cade led his life fully and was happy and knew his life was worth saving those kids in the
Although Susanna Kaysen’s rebellious and self-harming actions of coping with her psychosis are viewed by some critics as pushing the boundary of sanity, many people have a form of a “borderline personality” that they must accept and individually work towards understanding in order to release themselves from the confines of their disorder. Kaysen commits to a journey of self-discovery, which ultimately allows her to accept and understand herself and her psychosis.
There are a lot of synonyms for the word best friend. Some of the many include soulmate, companion, ride-or-die, sister/brother, husband/wife, and that does not even begin to cover it. The term is so broad with a vague definition, but has a strong meaning to almost everyone. Most people that are asked have someone they consider to be their best friend in some form, either a friend or a spouse. Often times these two people have gone through so much with each other, the good and the bad. These people are so important to everyday life because they help to reach important needs, they help people to discover themselves, and they help to maintain healthy aging.
He wants to get revenge against the Confederate soldiers and this motivates him to join the Union army. He is inspired when he sees a military parade and a friend of his brother, or so he believe in the power of the mind. That would be a perfect solution to his problems. at home and a way to punish those responsible for his brother’s death. He had admired Johnny greatly and felt the only answer was to sneak into the army.
A juvenile delinquent, Dally was put in jail when he was only ten years old. This probably is the outcome of him having a lack of a guardian when he was a youth. In addition, while on Jay Mountain, Johnny asks Dally whether his parents wanted to know about him. Dally replies saying “‘... They didn’t. Blast it Johnny, what do they matter? Shoot my old man don’t give a hang whether I’m in jail or dead in a car wreck or drunk in the gutter. That don’t bother me none’”(88). This is the only time Dally mentions his father in the novel and his tone suggests his disdain. Dally’s insolent behavior has to be because of his inadequate parents. Likewise, Johnny is also a victim of bad parenting due to his abusive mother and father. In The Outsiders the narrator, Ponyboy, describes Johnny’s personality and family atmosphere in the exposition. Ponyboy states about Johnny: “His father was always beating him up, and his mother ignored him, except when she was hacked off at something, and then you could hear her yelling at him clear down at our house”(12). Pony’s statement shows how Johnny Cade has a difficult life at him and so he relies on the Greasers for family. This evidence leads to the conclusion that Johnny and Dally both have neglectful parents causing them to rely on their gang for family
Johnny and Ponyboy are good friends and this friendship really shined when Johnny saved Ponyboy by killing Bob. They were jumped by 5 Socs and Ponyboy spat in Bob’s face and one of the Socs stuck his face in the fountain. He would’ve drowned if Johnny had not done what he did. Before all this happened, we must talk about when Johnny agreed to run away with Pony without hesitation. Darry had slapped Pony for coming home late and the pair ran away shortly after. Johnny and Ponyboy ran away with the help of Dally, which we will get into later, and got to an abandoned church that caught fire by one of their cigarettes. There were kids inside the church and they jumped inside to save them. Johnny told Pony to jump out before him and in the process Johnny broke his back and got severally burned. To cut things short I think Johnny is a real hero and I hope he does not die from his injuries from the
The reasoning to this, may lay somewhere in authority and protection. Johnny is the one who everyone feels needs to protect, and
Boom! Johnny drops to the floor. Kids are screaming. This is when Johnny is a hero for the second time in the story, The Outsiders. Johnny is a hero because he saved kids from a fire and Johnny saved Pony from dying.
Even though Johnny was faced with death, he faced death with courage. Johnny showed that, by keeping a positive attitude through this whole ordeal. Johnny’s hope, positive attitude, and courage kept his death at bay, even in the face of terrible pain and incurable illness. " But later that day he developed an excruciating headache, the only fierce and intense pain he suffered during the whole course of his illness-a small mercy, perhaps, but one to be devoutly grateful for"(p24) Johnny was faced with unimaginable pain throughout his illness; yet he maintained a level of hope and determination to live. At the young age that Johnny was at, and to face death, it must have took a lot of courage to stay positive. Johnny kept fighting, determined to recuperate, even if he had to do things himself. "I watched him give himself a hypodermic injection of liver extract on the side above the hip, an awkward place to reach. I could not possibly have done on anybody, let alone myself." (p77) Johnny, had to ta...
Would you ever consider seeing someone in the hospital, who killed your friend? Well in this book Cherry Valance didn’t want to visit Johnny in the hospital. She thought she would agree with Johnny that Bob should’ve died. So she stayed away from the hospital. Cherry was loyal to Bob’s death because they were good friends and he had been mean, but he was disloyal to the greasers. Johnny was loyal to ponyboy because the Socs were going to drown ponyboy so Johnny killed Bob who was trying to drown him.
His father never really cared for Johnny Cash. His father liked his brother Jack most of all. His brother Jack was right above Johnny in age. Johnny loved him and they were very close. One day Jack was going to go work in the shop class at school to help make extra money for the family. Jack used a large saw that the safety had been taken off. In an unfortunate accident the saw cut Jack right in the gut and ribs. A few days later Jack died and this made Johnny very sad and it would forever change Johnny’s life. Jack was always the one that JR’s father went after when he was drunk. Now it was up to Johnny to become the strong sibling. After his brother’s death Johnny’s father said that he wished that it would have been Johnny who had died that day. This was a tragedy that Johnny would never quite get over.
Even though he was a skilled worker, he was proud, and full of arrogance. But after his terrible tragedy, his rude character died in the birth and death room, and Johnny was reborn as a more patient and caring person. He still won't take pity from anyone, but on the inside he is probably crying out for help. Although he has no one to talk to, he does have special talents that help keep him going strong.
At least the father could realize that fact on his own. The only good thing that could possibly come out of this father-son relationship is that Johnny will learn a lesson from it, and will never treat his son this way, that is if he has a one. When the father finally realizes that he and his son’s bad relationship is all his fault it is too late. The damage had already been done. All his son wanted was to have a caring father and he realized this too late. At least Johnny had a good mother, who really cared about him. All though I think that Johnny’s mother should have confronted her husband about his actions. Johnny will be scarred for life from his childhood and will never be able to trust someone fully. This is all his dad’s fault, and I hope that Johnny’s father regrets and feels the pain of losing his son’s truth for the rest of his life. He deficiently deserves to after all of his careless actions,what he did was unforgivable. I cannot relate to Johnny and how he must have felt, but I can imagine it was horrible. His dad was selfish and reckless and Johnny deserved better. He deserved a dad who was
Johnny saw that Pony was unhappy because he missed his brothers that were back home. Johnny thought that the only reason Pony was still there in the church with him was because he was the one who wanted to run away in the first place . Johnny finally decided to turn himself in because Pony hadn’t committed a crime and Johnny would be let of easy for saving the kids . Johnny would do anything for his buddies but he has a limit and I think that limit is girls. I don’t think that Johnny would of yelled at Dally if he wouldn’t of disrespected those girls the way he did. Although he yelled at his buddy he was the hero of those two Socs that Dally was disrespecting and he got a complement from them and they let him and Pony sit with
Johnny and Dally are similar in the sense of a bad home life. Johnny lives with his mother and father, who constantly beat him and argue with each other. “His father was always beating him up, and his mother ignored him except when she was hacked off at something...”(12). It is awful for him with his cruel parents and their empty hearts that hold no love for him. If Johnny’s parents loved him, then he could still be alive. Johnny is not in a good household environment,
Johnny Gunther goes through countless surgeries, hospital visits, and painful illness. Yet, despite his troubles, Johnny is surprisingly upbeat and optimistic. It is not that he is naive, it is simply that he does not want to show his anguish to the people around him. His fortitude shines through him and surrounds every one he meets. Gunther uses light in various ways in his memoir. When Johnny is at home, with friends, or studying the light is always present. This symbolizes him getting to be him with out a single thought of the disease, in essence his happiness. When Johnny is getting worse, or more bad news is brought forward the room always seems dark or full of shadows. Even though it is dark there always seems to be a little light. For example a crack in the door with light beaming through, the moon hitting his face, the sun lighting up a corner of the room. This symbolizes even in the worst of times Johnny finds a shred of hope. Instead of using his energy for self-pity he uses it constructively. He is a very bright young man and when school was no longer an option he was crushed but instead of letting it get him down, he wrote all his teachers and pleaded for tutors. Despite concerns for his doctors he took test, studied, and constructed lengthy science experiments. Even though Johnny knows death is inevitable it does not stop him from learning as much as he can while he can. He even takes his college entrance exam and is accepted into Harvard University. Johnny shows bravery in the worst of circumstances.