How can two people with so many differences be somewhat similar? Johnny Cade and Dallas Winston from S.E. Hinton’s novel The Outsiders are as different as two people can be, like how Johnny follows every single rule but Dally breaks all of them. They both give Ponyboy opposite advice. They still have some similarities. They both have abusive and neglectful parents and put little value on their lives. Therefore, Dally and Johnny are different but still share some similarities. Both Dally and Johnny have parents that treat them badly and harmfully. In Windrixville, Dally was talking to Johnny and Ponyboy about his father, saying that he does not care about where he is and what he is doing. “‘Shoot, my old man don’t give a hang whether I’m in jail or dead in a car wreck or drunk in the gutter”’(88). It seems that Dally’s father does not care about him at all and the feeling is mutual. Johnny is in a similar situation with his relationship with his parents. They do not bother to talk to him unless they are hitting him. They think that he is trouble. “‘She’s probably come to tell me about all the trouble I’m causing her and about how glad her and the old man’ll be when I’m dead”’(122). Johnny was telling Ponyboy that he likes it better when his father is hitting because he knows that he recognizes him. “‘I think I like it better when the old man’s hittin’ me”’(51). Johnny’s parents treat him poorly and wrongfully. Both of their parents ignore and resent them. Another similarity
Another similarity that makes Johnny and Dally similar is through their value of life. Dally has never really cared about what happens to him. He goes around trying to break laws and getting caught, going to jail, getting out, and then repeating. He never really cares about how he turns out and what will happen to him. He has never respected his life. He gets in fights all the time and is mean. When he kills himself just because Johnny died, he gave up on the world. Everyone knew he would die like this, “I knew he would be dead, because Dallas Winston wanted to be dead and he always got what he wanted” (154). His value of his life is very little and when Johnny dies he brakes. Similarly, Johnny’s value in life is limited. In the letter he wrote to Ponyboy, he talks about how
This idea is shown in the quote, “Blast it, Johnny, what do they matter? (Johnny’s parents). Shoot, my old man don’t give a hang whether I’m in jail or dead in a car wreck or drunk in the gutter. That don’t bother me none,” (88). It does not matter whether Dally is just exaggerating his father’s neglectance or not, as the quote indicates that Dally himself, acknowledges the fact that he has no family to turn to. One may argue that his fellow Greasers are his real “family”, but that is false as “family” members are supposed to genuinely like each other and be comfortable with one another. Despite the fact that Dally’s fellow Greasers see him as their unofficial leader, it is only because he is physically strong. They are scared to make him even the slightest bit annoyed, as shown even when Dally’s supposed “pet”, Johnny became very apprehensive after Dally got surprised at him for telling him to not bother Cherry (24). Due to the absence of a real friend nor a “family” to be supported by, Dally would never be considered “gallant”. Every gallant person must start with a good foundation of love and support before he could be capable of doing anything “gallant” himself, and this especially goes for
Dally’s weakness stems from the fact he doesn’t like who he is as a person. He’s seen so many bad things, and it makes him upset. This explains why he is so attached to Johnny, who while has seen bad things, he remains kind and strong. His entire relationship with Johnny is desperate. He depends on Johnny so much that when Johnny died, he doesn’t even feel like living without him. While Dally won’t ever admit it, he cares a lot about people more than he lets on. When Johnny tells Dally that he wants to turn himself in, Ponyboy says, “the whole idea was a jolt to Dallas.” (87) Dally is so dependent on Johnny and the idea of Johnny going to jail and becoming like him shakes him up. He even starts chewing on his fake ID. The dependency on Johnny really shows how weak he is when it comes to managing
Doe Zantamata once says, “Differences and similarities are equally as easy to see, it mostly depends on which ones you are seeking to find.” In The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton two of the main characters, Johnny Cade and Dallas Winston or Dally, have many similarities and many differences. Johnny and Dally both have bad and abusive parents, and they think of the gang like their family. The differences are, Johnny is not a fighter and does not enjoy fighting like Dally does. Johnny dies a hero and Dally dies a violent hoodlum. If Johnny and Dally are exactly the same or very different, the story would be very different and a lot of key parts in the story would not be the same and as meaningful.
Although Dally and Johnny have a lot of similarities, they also have many differences. One of their many differences is that Johnny is law abiding and Dally is the complete opposite. Dally got in trouble with the police when he is ten years old. He likes to break laws and do things the illegal way. As Ponyboy says of Dally, “Dally hated to do things the legal way. He liked to show that he didn’t care whether there was a law or not” (20). Dally never follows the law. Conversely, Johnny is extremely law abiding and has absolutely no record with the police. When Johnny, Ponyboy, and Dally are all in Windrixville, Johnny decides he wants to turn himself in. He says to Dally, “‘I ain’t got no record with the fuzz and it was self-defense’”(87). He never gets in trouble with the police, and he feels that if he turns himself in, then he will receive a light sentence. This shows that Johnny has never had a complication with the police, on the other hand, Dally first got arrested at the age of ten and keeps getting arrested.
“Opposites attract?” Have you ever heard that saying? In the novel The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, two characters show many similarities, but also difference. Dally is a hoodlum, that breaks every law and Johnny is afraid of his own shadow, how could they even have one common thing?
In the letter that Johnny left for Ponyboy,“‘There's still a lot of good in the world. Tell Dally. I don’t think he knows’” (179). The note Johnny left for Ponyboy to tell Dally, but it was too late for that. Ponyboy says, “Johnny worshipped the ground Dallas walked on”(25). This shows that Johnny is just Dally’s pet. Johnny knows that Dally cares about him but he does not show it because is a tough person. All in all, Both characters care for each other.
Johnny and Dally are basically polar opposites with respect to their personalities. At the beginning of the story, Johnny’s personality is described. The author writes, “Johnny couldn’t say “boo” to a goose… I had never heard Johnny talk back to anyone” (35). It is shown that Johnny is a very shy and sensitive boy. Since Johnny
• Johnny’s parents hated him, beat and cursed at him, didn’t care where he was or what happened to him
Both Johnny and Dally are similar in the way that they both have a terrible home life. Johnny and Ponyboy are resting in the park when they accidentally fall asleep. Johnny wakes up Ponyboy at two in the morning and tells him to run home fast because Ponyboy’s brothers do care about him unlike Johnny’s parents. “‘I think I’ll stay all night out here.’ Johnny’s parents didn’t care if he came home
Even the younger boys like Soda and Pony are much more sensitive in nature but still eager to prove themselves in the “rumble” towards the end of the novel. Physical combat seems to carry weight similar to ancient rites of passage, you were only considered a man if you could best another in a trial by arms or “lick” someone as the boys of the 1960’s would say. This is an important distinction to notice and deserves further inspection. Even with the loss of their biological parents to death, alcoholism, marital strife or pure apathy, these boys take care of one another with each older generation raising the younger, Dally even comments to Johnny about the nature of their relationship when he inquires about whether his parents cared about his well-being, “’My parents… did they ask about me?’ ‘No,’ snapped Dally, they didn’t. Blast it, Johnny, what do they matter? Shoot, my old man don’t give a hang whether I’m in jail or dead in a car wreck or drunk in the gutter. That don’t bother me none.’” (Outsiders 88). Whether Dally is completely aware of the role he plays in Johnny’s life is unclear but it adds all the more weight to the revelation of Johnny’s death; for Dally, this is losing a son. There is a solid argument to make that, in spite of their personal hardships, these boys are far more adjusted to masculinity than their counterparts the “Socs” who seem to be aimless in their pursuit of
Johnny hates fighting most of them all. He will always do the right thing never getting into fights except for when he was jumped. Johnny said to Dally and Pony that fighting is “‘Useless... fighting's no good....”’(148). Johnny was disappointed in them for fighting the soc’s he disagrees with all fighting. Unlike Johnny, Dally loves to fight.Dally is a tough greaser who does not waste anytime creating a problem if he has the opportunity. Dally is always looking to start a problem with the police and other people. The matter of facts, even his friends try their hardest to stay on his friendly side. Ponyboy says of Dallas, “One time, in a dime store, a guy told him to move over at the candy counter. Dally had turned around and belted him so hard it knocked a tooth loose. A complete stranger, too” (24). Dally has a bad temper, and he is not afraid to fight with anyone. Most of the time he will find ways to break laws randomly. Looking up to what I have stated you can tell they are two completely different people at
How can two people be so different in their life styles yet be so alike? How can a kid with a record with the fuzz a mile long be so alike to a person has never broke a law in his life? However in the novel The Outsider by S.E. Hinton, there are to characters like this. Johnny and Dallas Winston are similar for they both have parents who don’t truly care for them and for they only care for each other. Yet even with these similarities these two still have their differences like how they treat the law or there advice to other people. Therefore, Dally and Johnny have many differences through their lives, yet also have very similar lives as well.
This fact is further reinforced when Johnny later says he wants to turn himself into the cops, so Pony can go home and be with his brother, and Dally protests against this idea saying he doesn't want Johnny to “get hardened in jail” and become like him (pg 89-90). This shows that he quite strongly cares about these boys and wants them to have a better
One thing that is different in their physical trait is Johnny has jet black hair and Dally has almost white hair and has blue ice cold eyes. Also, Dally has a