Fear In S. E. Hinton's The Outsiders

239 Words1 Pages
Fear is a natural response to danger that prevents personal innovation, but there is beauty in it. Though fearing the loss of something fleeting—an established reputation, for example—may not be justifiable, to fear for the well-beings of another can be. In her bestselling novel The Outsiders, S.E. Hinton describes various cases of people demonstrating the sort of justifiable fear mentioned. Character Ponyboy Curtis, for instance, is afraid of what may become of his good friend Johnny Cade when Cade unintentionally causes the death of a rival gang member and high school student. “‘What are we gonna do? They put you in the electric chair for killing people!’” Cries Ponyboy, trembling, “‘I’m scared Johnny, what are we gonna do (57)?’” This climactic