Gallantry In The Outsider

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Gallantry, according to the Oxford dictionary is: brave or heroic. Robert E. Lee once said, "My heart bleeds at the death of every one of our gallant men." Gallant men often die sacrificing themselves which is tragic. Fighting for your country and standing up for what you believe in are just two examples of what gallantry could be. While an abundance of characters in SE Hinton's The Outsiders (1967) shows gallant traits, Darrel Curtis has portrayed gallantry frequently throughout the novel. Darry Curtis was undeniably loyal, which is gallant. Loyalty is when you stand by someone no matter the consequence. Darry left the door open for any Greaser to walk through if they needed to because he knew that Greasers had it tough. Darry was also …show more content…

Courage is an act of sacrifice that allows you to face danger without showing fear. A time he showed courage was when he threw the first punch at the rumble between the Greasers and Socs. He threw the first punch for pride, he threw it for loyalty, but he was courageous while doing so. As Ponyboy stated on page 142, "... He was ashamed to be on our side..." It took a lot of courage to throw the first punch being on a side you were ashamed of being on. He was ashamed because the person he punched was what he could've been and that crushed Darry. It would take a lot of courage to look after two adolescent boys while they are growing up. Darry could've gone to college, become a national football player and have a better life than what he had. Darry instead sacrificed that to keep his brothers together after the death of their parents. If Sodapop and Ponyboy could stay together, Darry would've gone to college. Darry was incredibly courageous to give that up for his brothers. In conclusion, The Outsiders (SE Hinton) all demonstrated heroic and gallant traits. In my opinion, the gallantry shown be Darrel Curtis was superior compared to the rest of the characters, despite not performing great triumphs of courageous sacrifice and appearing cold. As a reviewer once said about this novel, "They grew up on the outside of society. They weren't looking for a fight. They were looking to belong." Darry could've "belonged" but instead he sacrificed his future for his brothers, which is an incredibly gallant

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