How Is The Outsiders A Sympathetic Character

In chapters 1-3 of 'the Outsiders' by S.E Hinton, Darry Curtis seems like a rough and apathetic character. Although by looking closer at the ideas in the text and imagining the story from his point of view, we see that Darry is just misunderstood. We view him as being harsh and overprotective because, as the reader, we witness the story from the point of view of Ponyboy Curtis, Darry’s youngest brother. Darry seems to take it upon himself to ensure the well-being of himself and his brothers. His situation as caretaker of his brothers and their primary source of income as a household has had many effects on his life, with him seeming to lose emotions and the idea that he cares less about Ponyboy. Although by looking through evidence in the

We can tell with instances such as when he rushed to check on Ponyboy near the beginning of the book when he was jumped by some Socs. Despite seeming so concerned, Darry appeared to have few emotions when talking to him. He is very strict with Ponyboy, giving him early curfews to ensure he stays safe, although sometimes he goes too far. Such as when Darry slapped Ponyboy for coming in too late, causing him to run away with Johnny. However, even though he was angry enough to hit Ponyboy you could tell how much he immediately regretted it. Darry gave up everything to support his brothers, stated in the text ‘Darry didn't deserve to work like an old man when he was only twenty. He had been a real popular guy in school; he was captain of the football team and he had been voted Boy of the Year. But we just didn't have the money for him to go to college, even with the athletic scholarship he won. And now he didn't have time between jobs to even think about college.’. Darry gave up college to raise money for his family, particularly for Ponyboy’s school, which shows how much he cares about his

He's forced to work all the time to support his brothers, and as a result, he has lost part of his personality. Darry took over the tasks that should have been performed by their parents, causing him to age mentally. In addition to the fact that this was a task of which he had never been educated. In Ponyboy's words, “He didn't use to be like that... we used to get along okay... before Mom and Dad died.” Darry wants to be able to keep Ponyboy safe, but his precautions manifest themselves as treating Ponyboy like a child. Darry's expected to juggle all these duties at only twenty years old, abandoning his opportunities at a successful life for the sake of