“I was a 'young adult' when I wrote 'The Outsiders,' although it was not a genre at the time. It's an interesting time of life to write about, when your ideals get slammed up against reality, and you must compromise.” -S. E. Hinton. The Outsiders was a big deal back in the ‘60s because it started teen-realistic fiction. This book demonstrated heaps of true heroism in many of the characters. A hero, in my opinion, shows responsibility, bravery, and sacrifice. Johnny Cade most suits my definition of a hero. Early in the book, Johnny reveals his heroism, but he shows even stronger heroism during the middle of the book. Ponyboy, Johnny, and Dallas were eating at a Dairy Queen for the first time since Johnny and Ponyboy fled, and then Dally tells the others that Cherry is their spy and that she explained Johnny was innocent. After all, killing Bob, who nearly drowned Ponyboy, was self-defense. “We’re goin’ back and turn ourselves in,” Johnny stated [Hinton 87]. Johnny chose to do the right thing, even though he knows he might have to sacrifice the rest of his life. Johnny’s first act consists of heroism/sacrifice because he longs for what’s right, even at the cost of his future. In the next scene, Johnny further performs his heroism by being incredibly brave. He and Ponyboy ran into a burning church …show more content…
This view, however, ignores that Johnny is gold, and he, unlike other things, stayed gold. He was a fearful hoodlum that killed someone, but he is so much more. He was possibly the most brave character in any book I’ve ever read, while he also showed responsibility and sacrifice. Johnny is atop the most heroic characters in The Outsiders. To live as a hero, you don’t need to have the most money in the world. Johnny didn’t, but he lived as a hero. You just have to at least try to be better the next time you make a mistake. Now that, we can all