Johnny as The Most Heroic Character in The Outsiders

What is a hero? Some people say heroes are people that rescue people from monsters or supervillains, or a person with super-strength or speed. But heroes can be anybody. For example, Johnny from S.E. Hinton’s The Outsiders, or Ponyboy. There are anti-heroes such as Bob. Anti-heroes are complete opposites of heroes, they lack traditional heroic qualities such as courage, or moral goodness. Most heroes are brave, selfless, and compassionate. A person with all of these qualities is Johnny Cade. Since Johnny is brave, selfless, and compassionate, he is the most heroic character in The Outsiders.

One heroic quality of Johnny is bravery. Johnny is brave because when Johnny was talking to Dally and Ponyboy in Dally’s car, he said, “I’m sure. It ain’t fair for Ponyboy to have to stay up in that church with Darry and Soda worryin’ about him all the time…”(Hinton 75). Johnny said that he will turn himself in because it is not fair for Ponyboy to stay in the church, and make Darry and Sodapop worry about him for running away with Johnny. This matters because it shows that Johnny is brave enough to go to the police to turn himself in, and it also shows how thoughtful he is to care about how Ponyboy’s brothers, Darry and Soda’s feelings would be. Johnny does not want anyone to worry. Also, another character that shows bravery is Dallas Winston. A teacher of one of the children that Johnny saved describes Dally saving Johnny like this, “He burned his arm pretty badly… trying to drag the other kid out of the window,” (Hinton 81). When Johnny needed help in the burning church, Dally rushed in and saved Johnny, risking his life in the process. This is special to Dally because Dally usually gets in trouble, but now Dally became a hero by saving Johnny. There are usually two sides to every conflict, and Greasers and Socs are no different. One Soc that demonstrates bravery is Cherry Valance. At the drive-in, Cherry explains why Cherry and Marcia had no car, “It’s not my idea of a good time to sit in a drive-in and watch people get drunk,” (Hinton 25). She means that she wants to keep alcohol out of her life, even if it means defying her boyfriend. She is brave enough to stand up to her lawless boyfriend, and brave enough to evade the dangers of alcohol. However, there are more qualities to a hero than just bravery.

Another heroic quality of Johnny is selflessness. When Ponyboy rushed into the church, he said, “I hadn’t realized Johnny was right behind me all the way,” (Hinton 78). Johnny wants to save the kids, and he does so by following Ponyboy into the roaring, fiery church. Johnny sacrificed and risked his life by saving all the kids, putting the children’s lives over his own. Furthermore, Darrel Curtis shows selflessness when he decides to become a Greaser, and not be a Soc. When Two-Bit and Ponyboy were talking at the bus stop, Two-Bit says, “You know, the only thing that keeps Darry from bein' a Soc is us'. Darry is too smart to be a Greaser, he is strong, athletic, and Darry even cuts his hair. But, Darry wants to take care of his brothers, so he stays on the Greasers in order to take care of his loved ones. He ignores the possibility of a brighter future in order to care for family. Also, Cherry Valance is selfless because she spied for the Greasers on the Socs because she felt bad about Johnny in the hospital. “She said she felt that the whole mess was her fault… and that she’d keep up with what was comin’ off with the Socs in the rumble…”. Cherry felt bad about how Johnny turned up after the fire, and she knew that Bob caused it all, so she spied for the Greasers for information about the rumble. This shows how selfless she is by doing something that is right. There is another important quality in being a hero though.

Lastly, the final heroic quality is compassion. Johnny demonstrates this by comforting Ponyboy after he was hit by Darry. “Easy, Ponyboy. We’ll be okay.” Johnny sits beside Ponyboy and pats him while Ponboy weeps. During this moment, Johnny shows a sensitive, caring side and shows the loyalty and friendship he gives to Ponyboy. Ponyboy demonstrates compassion in this quote “It seemed funny to me that the sunset she saw from her patio and, the one I saw from the back steps was the same one. Maybe the two different worlds we lived in weren't so different. We saw the same sunset,” (Hinton 35). This shows Ponyboy’s empathy as he realizes that the words, Greasers and Socs, were just labels, and that Greasers and Socs were not that different after all. Cherry Valance expresses compassion by showing grief and love for Bob. “I know I’m too young to be in love and all that, but Bob was something special”. Cherry Valance cared deeply for Bob, and like Dally, she is struck with emotion when Bob died. Even though Bob was a jerk and an overall bad person, Cherry saw the good side to him.

Being a hero can mean many things. Some show bravery, and courage wills them to do good. Selflessness, where heroes put other people's needs and lives over their own. Finally, compassion, to feel sympathy and concern for others’ misfortunes. One character demonstrates these qualities clearly, Johnny Cade. What can you do to become heroic? What can make you a hero?