What is a hero? According to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, a hero is “a mythological or legendary figure often of divine descent endowed with great strength or ability” This definition of a hero, though, is on the larger scale and not at all realistic. A hero doesn’t always have ‘divine abilities.’ A hero could very well be someone who is simply kind and helpful, and someone who gives for the wellness of others. Someone like Johnny Cade. Johnny is a character from the novel, The Outsiders. He is a great example of what really makes a hero, and can be used to prove Merriam-Webster’s definition wrong.
The hero of The Outsiders is Johnny Cade. The reason for this is his heroic trait of being helpful. Someone doesn’t have to be big and
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Darry did drop out of school to get a job and give his brothers a future, and that is certainly a heroic thing to do. Ponyboy didn’t realize how Darry gave up his future to support him, which definitely adds to the altruism aspect. Soda told Pony, “... you don’t realize all Darry’s giving up just to give you a chance he missed out on.” While this is a very compelling argument, some things Darry has done aren’t so heroic. For example, Darry went to the extent of hitting Ponyboy for not listening to him. “Darry wheeled around and slapped me so hard that it knocked me against the door.” A good and helpful hero would take into consideration what might be bothering Pony before outright slapping him. People might say that Darry has a hard time controlling his feelings and that was just a one-off bad act, which is valid. Heroes don’t have to be perfect. It’s just that Johnny’s good deeds outweigh …show more content…
Kendra Cherry said, in her article “The Psychology Of Heroism”, being self-sacrificing is being able to give, even when it puts you in danger. It’s putting your life and future on the line for people you don’t know. This part of being a hero is on the larger scale, as opposed to being helpful. The church fire is a prime example of this in Johnny. He, along with Ponyboy, puts his life on the line to save kids from a burning building. Johnny and Pony were viewed publicly as heroes, especially Johnny who ended up dying. There was even a news headline posted about them that read, “Juvenile Delinquents Turn Heroes”. While an act like this could be considered legendary, it is nowhere near the scale of Merriam-Webster’s definition. Yet somehow still, we see Johnny as a