Friendship in S.E. Hinton´s The Outsiders

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“Friendship is a single soul dwelling in two bodies” (Aristotle). How can this happen when two characters are so different? How can they be similar? Dallas Winston and Johnny Cade from S.E. Hinton’s novel The Outsiders have a connection deemed unlikely because of their extensive differences. While each being divergent from one another, their similarities come into play as to why they care so much for one another. Their differences stretch amongst a wide variety, but along with those differences comes their similarities. Differences among Dally and Johnny are not hard to come by. To begin, Johnny is the most law abiding of the group. He always follows the law. This continues until the day he kills Bob. When he kills Bob he knew that he broke the law. Out of nervousness he runs off to a church with Ponyboy that Dally sends them to. They camp out there for days not knowing whether or not to turn themselves into the police. Dally arrives at the church to stay with them and Johnny announces “We’re goin back and turn ourselves in”(87). He figures that since he currently has no record, he will get off easier; and he knows that it is the right thing to do. Unlike Johnny, Dally constantly breaks the laws. Dallas’s record makes him proud. He gets into a lot of fights and involves himself in many robberies. Going to jail has stopped effecting him and whenever crime occurs in the town the police question Dally early on. Dallas has a bad record, but that does not bother him because “he liked to show that he didn’t care whether there was a law or not” (20). Clearly it does not bother Dally when he gets in trouble with the police, or the fact he has a mile long record. Besides their record with the fuzz, both of them have diver... ... middle of paper ... ...d about was ripped from his hands. Johnny’s death broke him to the point where his life became even more worthless then he though. Johnny and Dally both face problems that go hand in hand. While being so different, it would be thought that similarities would be hard to come by. In this case Johnny and Dallas both have vast differences, and affinity towards each other. Opposite personalities that would not be thought to get along actually do. One who tries to break the law, and one law abiding. Although that separates them, their neglectful parents draw them together. They both put a very low value on their life. Perhaps it happens because neither one of them have parental influences. They do not have parents that love them and care about them, which may cause their life to be worthless in their eyes. The relationship they have is what keeps them going.

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