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

When one is to think of what a hero is, many different definitions may come to mind. It may be someone who saves people, someone who uses courage and bravery, or maybe something completely different. In the novel “The Outsiders” by S.E. Hinton, one character really seems to stick out and do an excellent job fulfilling this role. This character is Johnny. Johnny not only uses courage and fearlessness to care for those he is passionate about, but he is also very responsible for his actions. Due to the difficult situations that Johnny faced, he was able to expose many traits that would encourage many people to call him a hero.

One reason why Johnny is able to be seen as the hero from The Outsiders is because of his ability to use bravery in difficult

One night, Johnny and Ponyboy were hanging around in the park. After being there for a while, they received some unexpected visitors, the Socs. When the Socs began to attack, they quickly pinned Johnny down and started to drown Ponyboy. Knowing that Ponyboy would probably die if he didn’t receive some assistance, Johnny decided to take some action. His following actions are shown with “You really killed him, huh Johnny? I had to. They were drowning you Pony. They might have killed you. And they had a blade” (Hinton,57). This quote describes how Johnny saved Ponyboy’s life by attacking and killing a Soc with a blade. Johnny may be described as a hero for doing this because he exposed inner courage and strength to protect his friend, even though the Socs could’ve easily hurt him. This shows that Johnny cares more about Ponyboy than himself, and is willing to do anything and everything to protect him from harm. Johnny could’ve easily let Ponyboy drown, but he didn’t. He risked his own life to save Ponyboy, and that makes him a

After Johnny killed Bob, he and Ponyboy went into hiding in an abandoned church in the countryside. One day while driving along the road with Ponyboy and Dally, Johnny admitted something that he would like to do. Johnny states “I said we’re going back and turning ourselves in, Johnny said in a quiet voice. I got a good chance of being let off easy. I ain’t got no record with the fuzz and it was self-defense” (Hinton 87). This quote describes how Johnny was willing to turn himself into the police for the crime he has committed. Although there were many consequences of doing this, such as going to jail and everybody knowing he killed Bob, Johnny still wanted to turn himself in and make things right with the law. This shows Johnny as a hero because he is showing his inner strength to have the courage to want to turn himself in. He doesn’t have to go to the police. If he wanted to, Johnny could just let them search for him. Instead, he wanted to hold responsibility and use courage to do what was right. Johnny is able to be seen as a very responsible and selfless person because he not only wanted to turn himself in so he wouldn’t suffer from the consequences of hiding anymore, but also so Ponyboy wouldn’t suffer, as seen with the quote “I’m sure. It ain’t fair for Ponyboy to have to stay up in that church worrying about me all the time” (Hinton 87). This shows