Johnny In The Outsiders

A world where you are looked down upon by everyone, are constantly being harassed by others, and are seen as having no opportunity in life; this is what it is like to be a Greaser. Dally, Ponyboy, Johnny, and the others in the gang must endure these hardships in their everyday lives. In the novel The Outsiders, written by S.E. Hinton, Dallas Winston, more commonly known as Dally, emotionally suffers when Johnnycake dies. If Dally did not commit suicide by cop, one of 2 scenarios could occur; he could stop being a hood, or he would eventually die young and desperate as he was originally.

Dally was hard, but this incident would eventually change him for the better. The only thing Dally loved, Johnny, gave Ponyboy words of advice for Dally, “Listen,

I don't mind dying now. [...] Tell Dally it’s worth it. [...] There's still lots of good in the world. Tell Dally. I don't think he knows” (Hinton 178-179). Johnny sees that Dally still has a chance to make something of himself. To do one last favor for Johnny, Dally would try to become better than a Greaser. Caring so much for Johnny, Dally would do what he said. If Dally were still alive to receive this message, then he would have felt consolation in knowing Johnny didn’t mind dying. Another topic in Johnny’s note descried that, “I want you to tell Dally to look at one (a sunset)” (178). Once Dally would start to watch sunsets, he would realize how beautiful the world was and how much there is to live for. In addition, Dally could become better friends with Pony as they would have something to relate to. If Dally would not follow this path, he would die again in a similar fate.
Being a tough character, this event would not change Dally as he is already past return.

On the way to see Johnny in the hospital Dally vents to Ponyboy about being hard, “I was crazy for wanting Johnny to stay out of trouble, for not wanting him to get hard. If he’d been like me he’d never have been in this mess. [...] You’d better wise up, Pony . . . you get tough like me and you don’t get hurt. You look out for yourself and nothing can touch you” (147). In this quote, Dally thinks it is to his avail to be tough. He would not change after the experience because he would realize that it is more beneficial for him to stay hard. Another reason would be that he has been selfish his whole life and it would be very hard for him to change now. Once Dally becomes fatally shot Ponyboy reflects, “Dally Winston wanted to be dead, and he always got what he wanted. [...] Dally didn’t die a hero. He died young, violent, and desperate, just like we all knew he would die someday” (154). Crude and hard, Dally would not be affected by this incident. He would stay “too cool” for this to change his attitude towards life. As Ponyboy and others thought, he would die young and desperate later due to his reckless personality. If Dallas Winston did not die, the end of the novel would be much

different.

The ending of the novel would be drastically different than what it is currently. Many problems plague Pony as he returns back to school, “I wish I could say that everything went back to normal, but it didn’t. [...] I was lousing up my schoolwork. [...] I used to make As in English, mostly because my teacher made us do compositions all the time. [...] Now I was lucky to get a D on compositions” (169). After the court case, Pony becomes disinterested in English work and starts to become hard like Dallas once was. If Dallas were to be alive, Pony would have seen Dally as proof that it was better to “stay gold.” Ponyboy would want to make something of himself and not end up like Dally. Since Ponyboy would be getting better grades, he would not need to put as much effort as he put into the project which led into The Outsiders. Dally and Johnny’s deaths had a profound impact on Ponyboy, “Dallas and Johnny were dead. Don’t think of them, I thought. (Don’t remember how Johnny was your buddy, don’t remember that he didn’t want to die. Don’t think of Dally breaking up in the hospital, crumpling under the street light. Try to think that Johnny is better off now, try to remember that Dally would have ended up like that sooner or later” (156-157). Pony is going through tremendous mental anguish as he must comprehend that two of his closest friends died in a close time span. If Dally were to still be alive, Pony would not have had to think about his two losses, rather just one. Even though Pony would still be miserable, Dally still being with him could help him cope. Changing would be Pony’s struggling grades as they would rise from what they were, but still not be at the same level as previously. This would negate the need for the novel as Pony would have a B in English and still have an excellent math grade. With all of these possible outcomes, the novel would be drastically different.

Dally could choose to be successful or stay how he was. If he did not change his previous lifestyle he would end up dead in much the same scenario as in the book. The alternate option would be to heed Johnnycake’s advice and change his life for the better. In our lives, we may face many of the same obstacles Dally faced, but we must take it upon ourselves to do what is best for you and those you love.