Hook: Would you ever convict an innocent boy who acted out of defense of himself and his friend of murdering person who constantly attacks him? The answer should be no. Background information: Known as his “greaser gang’s” pet, Johnny Cade grew up in a household with no role models. Not only was he constantly bullied at home, he was attacked outside as well. Johnny was continuously being assaulted by Socs looking for trouble and he would never fully recover from the trauma in which he has been through. He has been “jumped” by several Socs on his way to and from his home, without a purpose. In addition, Johnny has been beaten and left half-conscious, bruised, and cut up. Claim: In the book The Outsiders, Johnny Cade is entirely innocent of murder, as the Soc’s are trouble makers, and he acted out in defense of himself and a friend. Topic Sentence using PQA: The Socs are always causing trouble. They regularly hurt the greasers, and have never meant good. CD #1: Following one of many times Johnny had been jumped by the Socs, the group of greasers found Johnny. After many minutes of calming down, “between sobs, Johnny managed to gasp out his story. He had been hunting our football to practice a few kicks when a blue mustang had pulled up beside the lot. There where four Socs in it. They had caught him and one of them had rings on his hand- that’s what had cut Johnny up so badly” (33). CM: The Socs always have the intent to hurt Johnny, proving that many things had