The Leader In S. E. Hinton's The Outsiders

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Leadership is the power or ability to lead other people. The leader will influence their “followers” in what direction they so choose. However, what happens when an individual does not possess a strong leader figure in their life? What kind of effect does this have on their mentality, emotions, and physical behaviour? The Outsiders (S. E. Hinton) shows a variety of different characters, all that have different backgrounds of where they come from. Several of the characters have poor leaders in their life, and this book shows a great example of what happens when you don't have a strong leader in your life experiences. Ultimately, an individual is influenced by the authority figures in their life, and without the strong guidance of another there …show more content…
Dallas Winston was seen as the ultimate bad boy in The Outsiders. He beat up people, he did what he wanted, and he didn’t care what anybody said about it. However, when Dallas (Dally) speaks to Johnny about his parents; a crack is seen in his tough exterior. It shows that Dally is bothered by the fact that his parents do not care for him. That he doesn’t have that leadership in his experiences to guide him and has had poor replacements for a good role model. He has suffered alone and hasn’t had the influence of another for a long time, figuring out life his own way. This loneliness and misdirection is unleashed when Johnny dies. Why? The reason being that before Johnny dies, Dally was a leader himself. It was a distraction for his mind, something that allowed him to function normally throughout his days. So as Johnny dies, Dally not only has to deal with the grief of losing him, but also the full weight of being alone. This drives him to almost pure insanity, where he ultimately commits suicide in front of the entire gang. His actions emotionally shatter this group of already broken people, and it is realized that he wasn’t just Johnny’s leader but also seen as a leader in the other’s eyes
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