“They grew to be outsiders. They didn’t want to fight. They were looking for belonging.” This is the message on the poster for the Outsider movie. The Outsiders is a fictional book by S.E Hinton. Three brothers, Ponyboy (Dally), Sodapop and Sodapop struggle the most to achieve Outsiderness within their society. All three brothers are the children of deceased parents and they all join a gang. The gang is composed of energetic young boys who were raised in difficult circumstances. Three greasers, who show courage and rescue children from life-threatening situations, make the story stand out. Ponyboy and Johnny are three of the main characters in the story who show outsiderness. The novel is set in small-town east. Ponyboy’s, Sodapop’s, and Darry are all found together in an old house.
Dally is the first character. His outsiderness makes him seem lonely. His life is desolated, mournful and influenced by his difficult childhood. Ponyboy is jumped on by Socs. Ponyboy’s gang discovers Ponyboy and chases them away. The author then begins to describe his gang. Dally spent three years in New York’s wild side and was arrested when he was ten. Ponyboy shares the story of Dally’s childhood, as it had a significant impact on Dally when he grew up. Dally’s childhood has clearly influenced his outsider behavior. The second reason Dally is an outcast is the lack of love in his life. Dally takes Ponyboy to dinner with Johnny after they have visited Windrixville. Johnny asked Dally after he had finished his meal if he was worried about Dally running away. Ponyboy was sent a letter by his brothers, indicating their concern about Johnny running away. Johnny did not receive any. Johnny was disappointed even though his parents didn’t care. Dally asked him about his parents and Dally responded that he hadn’t heard any. Dally told Johnny how his parents didn’t care about him and how that made it all okay. “Shoot. My old man don’t care if I’m dead in an automobile wreck or drunk and in the gutter. I don’t care about it. Dally does not have any parents who love him. He lives alone, which makes him an outsider. Dally is an outsider in his gang. He doesn’t care about himself. Dally begins to feel irritated when Johnny passes away. He then robs a store. Dally’s robbery is discovered by the gang, and they race to the park in search of him. The author says that Dally reached the circle light under the streetlamp, and skidded to an halt. He then turned around and pulled out a black object. I was certain that Dally wanted it, even though the policemen’s gun lit up the night. This situation shows that Dally does not care as much about his life as his gang. Dally is an outsider, as all of his events have shown. Johnny is an outsider because of his loyalty, compassion, and selflessness. His gang saved Ponyboy right after he was jumped by Socs at the beginning. He began to identify the members of his gang. According to the author, Johnny wouldn’t have known love and affection if it wasn’t for his gang. This quote analysis shows that Johnny is dependent on his gang for his happiness. Although he could have fled because of his abusive parents, he did not leave the gang. Ponyboy and Dally meet Johnny at the drive-in and Johnny has the courage to express his opinion. Johnny shared with Dally that Johnny was the only one of their gang members who would dare to do such a thing. S.E Hinton explains that “Dallas scowled at him for a second.” Dally would have removed Johnny from his body if it had not been me, Twobit, Soda, Steve or Steve. Johnny was also the gang member’s pet. Dally could not hit him. Dally was also his pet. This is a clear indication that Johnny was Dally’s pet and nobody else was. Ponyboy and Johnny walk to their house from their drive-in movies. They hear Johnny’s voice when they reach the front door.
They decide to spend the night outside, despite their arguments and shouting. Ponyboy decided he should stay with him, until he fell asleep. “I can no longer take it.”Johnny said his own feelings. This is a significant quote because it implies that Johnny’s parents are in Johnny’s head and make him feel like he has no purpose in life. He feels lonely because his parents are a negative influence.
Ponyboy, the last character in the story, is a strong outsider because of his intelligence and age difference. He also has a high level of sensitive. Dally took Ponyboy (and Johnny) to a restaurant. There, they discussed Ponyboy’s past duck hunting experiences with his father, his brothers and themselves, prior to his parents’ death. Dally couldn’t believe that I didn’t hate shooting things. He’d be surprised to learn that I was so soft. The author intended to communicate how sensitive he was with this quote. Because he doesn’t enjoy violence, he is considered an outsider. The rest of his gang don’t mind violence. Randy stops by Ponyboy’s home at the end. After some time, Randy shared something about his parents. S.E Hinton explains that his parents have died. Darry, Soda and I live together. This quote makes it clear that Ponyboy no longer has parents. He lives alone with his brothers. He is an outsider not only in his gang, but also in school because he lives alone in a dangerous neighborhood. Ponyboy, Towbit and the rest of his gang head to the shop at the end. Ponyboy stays high above the car while a group Socs confront him about Bob’s murder. Ponyboy immediately demands that they return to their cars. He shattered the glass bottle he was holding, then pointed it at them. Then he jumped from his car. Two-Bit was shocked when he saw everything leave the store. The author said, “Ponyboy! Listen, don’t be tough!” Two-Bit broke into my thoughts. I turned to him. I took the glass from him and looked up at him. This quote clearly shows Ponyboy’s intelligence, sensibility, and awareness.
Dally and Johnny are clearly the characters that appeal to outsiders in S.E Hinton’s tale. You can take being an outsider in one of two ways: positive or negative. Although slow growth might make a difference in the world and society, Johnny advises that you “Stay Gold” and will not change anything.