Johnny As A Hero In The Outsiders By S. E. Hinton

Heroes are characterized as ordinary people who act for the greater good, just like some of the characters in S.E. Hinton’s realistic fiction book, the Outsiders. In the Outsiders, Ponyboy searches for his place in the world and seeks the social class difference between Socs and greasers with the gang including Dally, Darry, Johnny, Sodapop, Two-Bit, and others. Johnny, the gang’s pet and peacekeeper, is an example of a hero, as he is selfless and willing to put himself at risk for the safety of others. Secondly, he is compassionate, which is a dominant trait of many heroes. Though he may have done some heroic things, Johnny cowardly ran away with Ponyboy after he killed Bob, instead of explaining himself to court and facing the possible consequences. Facing many challenges along the way, Johnny is a hero from risking his life to save kids from a fire to being ready to run away for a friend.

After coming back from a meal at Dairy Queen, Johnny, Ponyboy, and Dally find the church burning. In an attempt to save the kids, Johnny is injured which eventually leads to his death. “He [Johnny] looked over his shoulder and tossed out the nearest kid… Johnny shoved me toward the window… Then I heard Johnny scream.” (page 92-93) When reaching the church, Johnny immediately runs toward danger, instead of running away, Johnny had always been sympathetic, so when Ponyboy needed comforting, Johnny was there for him. After Darry hit Ponyboy, Ponyboy went back to Johnny planning to run away. Johnny didn’t ask Ponyboy any questions and calmed him down. “‘Come on, Johnny, we’re running away.’ Johnny asked no questions. We ran for several blocks until we were out of breath… ‘Easy Ponyboy,’ he said softly, ‘we’ll be okay.’” (page __) *Insert concluding sentence