Heros heros heros what does it mean to be a hero, what must be done in order to achieve the name of being a hero. In The Novel The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, there are two different gangs. There are the Socs and the Greasers. The Socs were the wealthier, better looking, and smarter. While on the other hand the Greasers are quite the opposite. Johnny, Ponyboy, and Dally are Greasers. For the first time, the Greasers received some praise. Imagine 3 people Johnny, Ponyboy, and Dally who are all low life greasers finally received some praise for saving a bunch of kids and putting their lives on the line. When Johnny and Ponyboy rescue the kids from the fire in the abandoned church where they were hanging out, Dally rescues Johnny. Later, the papers …show more content…
Hinton uses Johnny Cade's susceptible personality and broken home life in The Outsiders to advocate that heroes do not have to be perfect. Throughout the novel, Hinton distinguishes Johnny as coming from terrible circumstances like having an abusive father, a critical, non-caring mother, and living on the wrong side of the city. Ponyboy observes that Johnny was really impressed by those "gallant" (brave) Southern gentlemen because they reminded him of Dally, whom he also comprehended as being gallant. Johnny admired those men and Dally for their bravery, and when circumstances required his action, Johnny acted bravely as well. When the church building caught on fire, Johnny acted as bravely as those southern gentlemen who "rode into sure death because they were gallant." Despite his abusive background, Johhny still put others before himself even if that meant he needed to give up his life, going into the church to rescue trapped kids without a second thought to his own personal safety. He stayed there long enough to make sure all of the kids were evacuated safely, even though Ponyboy as well saw the roof falling in around him. Johnny's actions were extraordinarily heroic, shoving Ponyboy through the window at the last second, saving his friend, and in the process, sacrificed himself. Johnny acted selflessly when he was truly needed the most and saved the lives of his friend and other children that he haven’t even met before. I believe Hinton did this in order