'Johnny The Hero In S. E. Hinton's The Outsiders'

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S.E. Hinton’s The Outsiders started out as a high school girl’s imagination with a broad point of view and a rough plot. In 1967, it transformed into a book with heroic characters and a variety of strong events. Ponyboy and his gang live in the minds of children and their heroic actions inspire our lives. One of the most fearless characters is Johnny. He is there for everyone in the gang; from being selfless to just someone they can depend on. A hero possesses loyalty, courage, and the willingness to sacrifice his own life for others. Johnny Cade fits my personal definition of a hero perfectly.

Johnny’s heroism shows early in the book, from the moment we meet him. Ponyboy, Johnny, and Dally are sitting at a drive-in. Cherry Valance and Marcia are sitting in front of them when Dally starts intimidating Cherry, despite Johnny being afraid of him he stood up to him and told Dally to knock it off. Their interaction went like this, “‘Fiery, huh? Well, that’s how I like ‘em.’ He started to put his arm around her but Johnny reached over and stopped him ‘Leave her alone, Dally’” (Hinton 24). Clearly, Dally is harassing Cherry with his abusive language and Johnny told him to back off. To me, a hero must have courage and Johnny standing up to Dally to defend Cherry is brave of him. …show more content…
That however, ignores the many heroic deeds that Johnny had accomplished through harsh times. Sure, he might look nothing more than a dirty greaser that sleeps alone in a vacant lot and yes, he has made multiple mistakes, but he also reveals great acts of courage, is loyal to his friend, and would risk his own life for others. Johnny Cade, deserves to be called a hero amongst all the inspirational characters in The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. A hero doesn’t have to be perfect and doesn’t have to run into a fiery inferno, but a ture hero is someone that fixes their own mistakes and makes someone's else life special. Something we all can
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