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Family influence on one’s character
Family influence on one’s character
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Johnny’s ability to take responsibility for his own actions is the first characteristic that makes him a hero. People believe that parents are responsible for their children's mistakes, this is not the case for Johnny with his actions. No matter what Johnny does his parents would not do anything about it. He could go to jail for life and they would still not care. For example when Johnny killed Bob to help protect his best friend Ponyboy, his parents did not care. He ran away and they never went looking for him. Johnny could have blamed his abusive parents for him killing another person, but that thought never crossed his mind. Johnny accepts his fate for what he has done. When Ponyboy, Dally and Johnny were hiding out on Jay mountain
Johnny’s father, an alcoholic who had thrown a flat-iron at his head, was clearly unsafe for Johnny to live with. As a result, Johnny had run away. After a brief stint living on a farm, Johnny returned to New York City (it is suggested that Johnny still loved his father, despite his abusive nature, prompting his return). Johnny had even tried attending school, but found it too difficult to balance homelessness with the demands school places on a person. This condemned Johnny to a life in the streets, boot blacking. However, from the way Dick speaks to Johnny, repeatedly calling him lazy either to his face or as an aside to the reader, one would think he had chosen this life.
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
...t like the rest of the Greasers he wouldn’t kill or nothing no matter what. They could of said Johnny not no killer but don’t push him because he will go off but instead they made it seem like he was a kid that lived in a household that didn’t care about him and that he was a punk and never stood up for himself.
He is smart, and gets good grades in school. This is purposefully mentioned several times within the story, and people tend to be surprised to learn that he is a Greaser. In addition, some Greasers are nicer than people tend to think. When the church burned down, Ponyboy and Johnny run in to save the children without a second thought. They acted with selflessness, putting the safety of the children above their own. In the ambulance on the way to the hospital, Ponyboy is asked if he and Johnny are "professional heroes". He responds by telling the entire story of how they're Greasers and Johnny is wanted for murder, shocking the man in the ambulance. It is difficult for him to believe that a group of Greasers would do something so heroic. Johnny dies as a direct result of their actions, but neither Ponyboy nor Johnny regretted what they
In Hinton’s novel Johnny’s death impacts Dally heavily. He virtually becomes a ticking time bomb. Pony describes Johnny as the only thing Dally loved and regarded. His reaction to cope with his grief was to commit suicide. Winston pointed an unloaded gun at the police after robbing a convenience store. His action was responded to with fired shots that give him imminent death. After the incident, seeing Dally lain on the hard pavement, Pony states: “And now he was a dead juvenile delinquent and there wouldn’t be any editorials in his favor. Dally didn’t die a hero”(154). Pony communicates how there wouldn’t be any editorials in the newspaper articulating his heroism, this means that in the eyes of the public Dally Winston died a delinquent. Conversely, Johnny Cade dies a commemorated hero for his gallantry at the church in Windrixville. While in Windrixville Johnny suffers severe burns from a fire that cause him to lose his life. To show he is proud of Johnny before his death Dally says: “‘They’re still writing editorials in the paper. For being a hero and all’”(156). After hearing Dally’s commendation and briefly speaking to Ponyboy, Johnny peacefully dies. He was praised for his bold and courageous actions regarding him risking his life to save some children from a church fire. The headline on the newspaper: “Juvenile Delinquents Turn Heroes” is also evidence of
Johnny and dally both have one very significant Similarity which is, That they both have abusive parents that do not care about them. Dally’s parents are the reason why he is what he is today ,because they never disciplined him and that’s why at age 10 dally was arrested running around with a gang . Well for one dally never did talk about his mom not even once, but talked about his dad once or twice when when him and pony were visiting johnny dally told johnny . “‘ ….My old man don’t give a hang whether i’m in jail or dead in a car wreck or dead in the gutter . that don’t bother me none”’ (p.88) . Plus Dally has no where he can call home pony says
Out of all of the members of the gang Johnny and Ponyboy were the closest, because they were the youngest and also they were not as tough as the other boys. After Ponyboy got in a fight with Darry about being late at getting home, Ponyboy ran to the lot and told Johnny that they were running away. Without hesitation the two boys took off running. Johnny needed no explanation. He had a rough life at home and without the support from the gang he may have already killed himself. Johnny just wanted to be there and support his friend like they had been supporting him through everything. At many points throughout the novel Ponyboy teaches or shows Johnny something new. “You know Johnny said slowly “I never noticed colors and clouds and stuff until you kept, reminding me about them. It seems like they were never there before” (Hinton,78). When Johnny says that to Ponyboy is gives readers a glimpse of how Johnny having Ponyboy in his life makes it better. Another key point of their friendship in the novel is after Johnny kills the Soc. This is a key point because they run off to Jay Mountain to hide from the police and while they are there they discover more about each other and themselves. The boys are at that church for about a week before Dally came to check in on them and while they were inside that church they read Gone with the Wind. As they read Gone with the Wind they started to make connections
I understand that I am going to attempt to keep Johnny out of jail because what he had done in my perspective was self defense. This happened in The Outsiders book. Hinton, S. E. The Outsiders. New York: Viking, 1967. Print. I feel that you may think that Johnny is guilty of homicide because he had killed Bob during the evening by the park. He had not attempted to kill him, he was using self defence, as the novel had stated in chapter 4, Johnny warns the socs that showed up that they were in a part of town that they were not supposed to be in but the socs ignored the warning and still provoked the fight. Later in chapter 4 it also informs us that the socs were starting to drown Ponyboy so Johnny had used his switchblade without really meaning to kill anyone. Johnny has informed me that he and Ponyboy Curtis were walking in the park in the evening and that a vehicle had shown up and some boys had gotten out and threatened them. These boys had pulled out a knife and threatened to use it against them. One of the boys then started to assault Johnny and another attacked Ponyboy. The one attacking Ponyboy then decided to move him to a fountain and tried to drown him. When Johnny realized what they were doing he had turned to them and pulled out a knife and flung at them without meaning to kill Bob. But keep in mind that Bob was drowning Ponyboy so this act was used in defense. I feel that Johnny is innocent because he was using self defense, but he should not have ran from the crime scene. Another thing in chapter 4 was that a little while later when Ponyboy came conscious again Johnny said, "I had to. They were drowning you, Pony. “They might have killed you. And they had a blade... they were gonna beat me up...." I found this informat...
If Ponyboy is a hero with sympathy in mind than his friend Johnny is a hero with sympathy in action. The first time Johnny showed his sympathy is when Dally harass the Socs girls, Cherry and Marcia. Johnny bravely stand up to Dally to everyone’s surprise. In the novel, the dialogue of Johnny and Dally showed Johnny’s
If Johnny would’ve never killed Bob, Ponyboy would’ve died from drowning. Johnny will put others before him. “Johnny shoved me toward the window ‘Get out!’ “ (pg. 93) Johnny could’ve taken that time to get himself out instead of telling Ponyboy to get out. What resulted from this was Johnny got third-degree burns and his back was broken from the piece of timber that fell upon him. He could’ve let Ponyboy get severely hurt and saved himself, but no he didn’t he let himself get hurt which shows he will put others before him. Johnny will risk his life to save friends or people he doesn’t even know. “It was a wonder I didn’t cut myself to death, now that I think about it. ‘Hey Ponyboy.’ I looked around, startled. I hadn’t realized Johnny had been right behind me all the way.” (pg 91) Johnny followed Ponyboy inside the burning church just to save a couple of children. He risked his life to save children he didn’t even know and after the saving the children he got injured which followed up to death. This shows that Johnny will put his life at risk and will save
When Johnny and Pony killed Bob, Dally covered for them and had them go hide out in the church until the cops were gone. Also, when Pony and Johnny went into the burning church to save the kids, Dally put out the fire that was on Pony’s back and he attempted to save Johnny. Johnny was heroic because he killed Bob when he was trying to kill him and Pony. Also, he was heroic because he went into the burning church to save the kids. Without Johnny doing that, the kids would’ve been burned to death or gotten seriously hurt. In conclusion, Dall is heroic because he helped Johnny out in the police situation, and Johnny is heroic because he saved the
In The Outsiders it is given that through faith and devotion to one another Ponyboy and the gang use their close friendship in troublesome situations for instance when Johnny tells Ponyboy “i had to” he does this as an act of loyalty to Ponyboy to show him that he can trust him no matter what situation they are in. Most of the story is told from first person or Ponies perspective which shows us without exception every aspect of the story. When Johnny dies at the end of the book Ponyboy only then realizes the importance of him, and the gangs need for someone like Johnny to give them a sense of purpose after mentioning “we couldn't get along without him . We needed Johnny as much as he needed the gang.” Throughout all of Ponyboys hardships Johnny was always there to support him even when Ponyboy wanted to run away after darry slapped him, he never asked any questions.
For instance, “It had taken more than nerve for him to say what he'd said to Dally—Johnny worshiped the ground Dallas walked on, and I had never heard Johnny talk back to anyone, much less his hero.” (pg. 24) This means that even though Johnny respected Dally because he was there for him when his parents weren’t, he took a risky step and stopped him from doing something wrong. By doing this, it shows that Johnny isn’t afraid to protect others like Cherry when the situation involved his friend Dally. More importantly, “I swear, you three are the bravest kids I’ve seen in a long time. First you and the blacked-haired kid climbing in that window, and then the tough-looking kid going back in to save him. Mrs. O'Briant and I think you were sent straight from heaven. Or are you just professional heroes or something?” (pg. 95) As shown, it is important to realize that Johnny, Ponyboy, and Dally wouldn’t only defend their gang members, but they would also endanger their own lives in order to save others. It proves that their act of heroism can be used in all situations. No matter what situation they are in, the Greasers use their heroic actions towards not only their gang members but other people
Johnny once was a teen who wasn't cowardly, and stood up for his gang. He was a good man in a rumble and kept his mouth shut around the police, but things changed when he was jumped by the Socs. The assault left him more anxious than ever, and ended up carrying a six-inch switchblade in his back pocket, despite that he was the most law-abiding of the gang. In addition, Johnny didn't do well in school, he had failed a year in school and never made good grades (Hinton 65). But even so, Johnny is more than a quiet, anxious kid who does poorly in school. Notably, when Ponyboy and Johnny were hiding in the church, the pair occasionally read a book called Gone with the Wind in order to pass the time. While they were reading, Ponyboy remarked, "It amazed me how Johnny could get more meaning out of some of the stuff in there than I could--- I was supposed to be the deep one... and I guess his teachers thought he was just plain dumb. But he wasn't. He was just a little slow to get things, and he liked to explore things once he did get them" (Hinton 65). This shows that he is able to comprehend the message and/or significance of a story or concept, albeit it takes him a long period of time. Although he was high-strung, quiet, and seemingly believed to be dumb by his teachers, Johnny is, in truth, quite reflective and
He has the desire to help people. Johnny is a pretty good example of heroism because of his kind acts towards others. An important example of why Johnny is a hero is because while Ponyboy was saving the children in the church, Johnny went to join him and he tried to help the kids too but, that's not all that happen when they were saving kids from the fire, he also saved Ponyboy by pushing him out of the church to save him from being crushed by the church's falling wood. This shows Johnnys bravery and how he sacrificed himself for Pony. Another act of heroism from Johnny happened earlier in the book when they were in the drive in. Johnny, Ponyboy, and Dally were all watching a movie at the drive in when they saw two soc girls there. Johnny stood up for the two girls when they were getting bullied by Dally when Johnny said “Leave her alone Dally” And of course Dally was in disbelief when Johnny said this because according to Ponyboy, “Johnny couldn't even say boo to a goose!” and then Johnny said again, “you heard me, Leave her alone.” This shows how Johnny didn't like how Dally was treating the girls and he wanted it to