Character Analysis: The Outsiders By S. E. Hinton

In the novel The Outsiders ,by S.E. Hinton, Johnny is not justified in what he did and is guilty because he clearly targeted his previous attacker; moslikley in an act of revenge. Two He ran off with guilt knowing that he killed Bob, and finally just the fact of saying and preparing to kill the next greaser he saw.

“Then I saw Johnny. ‘I killed him,’ he said slowly. ‘I killed that boy.’ Bob, the handsome Soc, was lying there in the moonlight, doubled up and still.”(PDF 49). This quote supports the opinion that this is wrong because Johnny is admitting that he killed Bob the soc, without saying it is out of self defence or any other reason. He is admitting to a crime he was said to have committed. This quote proves that he is guilty for murdering Bob the soc. However, though this may be true, Johnny is innocent from the crime of murdering Bob because he was protecting his 3rd party. “I fought again desperately but only sucked in water. I'm drowning, I thought, they've gone too far... A red haze filled my mind and I slowly relaxed. The next thing I knew I was lying on the pavement beside the fountain…‘I had to. They were drowning you, Pony. They might have killed you.’ ”(PDF 49+50). This provides support that Johnny is innocent because it shows how Ponyboy was drowning and was in the moment of dying. It didn’t leave Johnny an option but to help Ponyboy. If he hadn’t helped him, Ponyboy would have died and Johnny would have to fight against all of the socs attacking

Finally, Johnny is not justified in what he did and is guilty because Johnny killed Bob, who didn’t cause any physical harm in the fight. Johnny stated that “‘I killed that boy.’ Bob, the handsome Soc, was lying there in the moonlight, doubled up and still” (56). This states that Johnny killed Bob instead of David, who was the one harming Ponyboy. This means that Johnny must have wanted to harm Bob for what he has done in the past.

Ponyboy tells Sherry Valance on page 31, “He would kill the next person who jumped him. Nobody was ever going to beat him like that again. Not over his dead body.” This supports how Johnny is guilty by saying he would kill Bob, so he wanted to when the socs jumped him and Ponyboy. On page 49, the book states “He was clutching his switchblade, and it was dark to the hilt.” This explains that Johnny stabbed him all the way down to the hilt, which is so deep it would obviously kill him.” If he attacked him somewhere else, or did not stab so deep, it would not have been fatal. Conclusively, Johnny should be convicted of murder because he wanted to kill Bob and he could have attacked him some other way that would not have proven

My argument is that Johnny is innocent. My argument are going to be strong. My argument is going to talk about how Johnny had to kill Bob to order to save pony boy.

You would think that if someone killed someone they wouldn’t want to look at them or see them the same way but it wasn’t that way for Johnny and Ponyboy they stayed with each other the whole time. Also Johnny killed the Soc to save Ponyboys life. “ You really killed him, huh, Johnny?” “Yeah.” His voice quavered slightly.

Firstly, Johnny is innocent because he was using self defense. For example, Johnny tells Ponyboy after Ponyboy notices Bob’s body, “I had to. They were drowning you. And they had a blade...they were gonna beat me up….” (Hinton 57). This shows that Johnny only acted the way he did because he was trying to protect his friend and himself from being beat up again. The second reason that Johnny is innocent is because Johnny was mentally unstable because he was scared from the last time Bob beat him up with his rings. For instance, Johnny’s description after he killed Bob was “He was a strange greenish-white, and his eyes were huger than I’d ever seen them.” (Hinton 49). This shows that Johnny was scared after he killed Bob and uncomfortable with his actions. For these reasons, Johnny is not guilty of murder.

First and foremost, Ponyboy is innocent because he did not plan on or participate in murdering Bob.

The killing of Bob had many different sides but from the side of the Greasers, it was what they had to do. One example of this was that Johnny was justified in killing Bob. In the text it states, ‘They were drowning you, Pony. They might have killed you’ (pg. 50 pdf). This shows that Johnny killed the Bob in self defense and that if they hadn’t been drowning Pony, he probably wouldn’t have done it. The text explains, “Johnny getting

To further explain, Johnny was very injured in the fire. He might even die, as he is suffering a broken back and 3rd degree burns. As a final point, when Johnny saves the kids, Ponyboy is very scared and upset as a

‘I had to. They were drowning you Pony. They might have killed you.’” (The Outsiders pg 57) While it is true that Johnny did kill someone, which is seen as a bad thing to do, he did it in his own self-defense and to save Ponyboy’s life.

Have you ever wondered how you might think it the Greasers fault but it is not and that it is the Socs fault because all the problems that have happened have been due to the actions of the Socs. The Outsiders is about two groups of teenagers, the Greasers and the Socs and how they hate each other. It involves challenges that the two groups face as well as life and death situations between the two groups. The novel is told from the perspective of Ponyboy who is a part of the Greasers gang. In the novel, The Outsiders, much of the turmoil and conflict in the community is caused by the Socials.

In the novel, The Outsiders, by S.E Hinton, Johnny made a choice that ultimately drove the plot. Johnny made a big choice when he decided to kill one of the Socs to protect ponyboy. There are some reasons Johnny made that choice as shown in the text when he says “ I had to, they were drowning you pony”[Hinton 56]. Ponyboy was extremely grateful that Johnny did that but he was also very nervous because people were going to find out that one of the gang members from Socs has been killed. If Johnny didn’t make that sacrifice then Ponyboy would have probably not have made it as Johnny explains in the text when he says, “They might have killed you”[Hinton 56]. Ponyboy was more focused on what they were gonna do to cover everything up instead of

Johnny’s first reason of prosecution is that he murdered Robert for reasons other than self defense. Evidence shows that Johnny explicitly said, “I didn’t mean to… but they were drowning you,…” (pg. 74). This quote shows that Johnny killed Robert only because they were drowning Ponyboy, not because they were hurting him. Johnny’s second reason for prosecution is that he used a weapon. Evidence shows that Ponyboy tells us, “Johnny’s hand went to his back pocket and I remembered his switchblade.” (pg.54). This quote shows that Johnny used his switchblade when he shouldn’t have. He shouldn’t have used it because violence is never the answer and because he shouldn’t have been carrying the weapon in his pocket anyways. The last reason Johnny should

Besides Johnny and Ponyboy ‘s point of view of what happened, I also interviewed one of the Socs that was at the event of the crime scene. The Soc confessed to me on what happened at the scene from their point of view. The only reason why the Soc confessed to me was because they did not want to get a longer jail sentence. The Soc explained to me on what they were going to do to Johnny and Ponyboy. The Soc said that they were planning to beat up Ponyboy and Johnny but then Bob took it too far that he started to drown Ponyboy. While that was happening the rest of the Socs were going to beat up Johnny. Also, the Socs had a weapon (knife) that they were going to use to hurt Johnny. That gives you evidence that the Socs were not innocent at the