Dally In The Outsiders

But once he sees Johnny it gives him something to love and care about. He made sure that Johnny didn’t become violent. He says in the book multiple times he cares about Johnny he said “Johnny…I just don’t want you to get hurt.” A quote also says that “Johnny was the only thing that Dally loved. And now Johnny was gone.” Later in the book Johnny dies and it is too much for Dally and he gets himself killed. Dally was so distraught, he wanted to be dead.

A very important comparison Dally and Johnny have is their parents. Johnny’s parents do not care about him. They either beat him or ignore him completely. “His father was always beating him up, and his mother ignored him” (12). His parents are alcoholics and do not care if he comes home or not. Likewise, Dally parents also do not care about him. If he was put in jail by age ten, then his parents clearly do not care enough to discipline him. He rarely talks about his parents, but when he does, he has nothing nice to say. “‘Shoot, my old man don’t give a hang whether I’m dead in jail or dead in a car wreck or drunk in the gutter’” (88). Dally talks about his father with disgust, like he never did anything for him, which may be true. The way Dally’s parents and Johnny’s parents both do not care about them makes these two characters very similar.

He lacks decent behavior as shown when he smokes (pg. 12), stays up unreasonably late (pg. 58), and even harasses Cherry Valance as his way of “flirting” (pg. 24). His lack of any sense in general even goes as far as not knowing how valuable friendship is. Regardless of whether Dally is indeed a lovable caring person deep down inside, it really does not matter as he does not know how to express it properly towards the people he cares for; especially towards Johnny. Dally could not comprehend how critical Johnny’s condition was and that sometimes, the most important thing in life was actually near him. In Dally’s case it would have been Johnny’s friendship but he missed the opportunity to tell him how much he matters to him and instead says, “We beat the Socs. We stomped them-outta our territory” (pg.148). After Johnny’s death, Dally finally became aware of how meaningless his life has been this whole time after losing his friend, so he commits suicide by his own will by raising an unloaded gun tricking the police into thinking it was actually loaded after chasing him down for robbing a grocery store (pg.154). This fatal end for Dally just proves what a impulsive and thoughtless person he is as he simply just wasted his life. He could have been considered “gallant” if he gained courage and motivation to start his life over after Johnny’s death, but instead blew the

The way in which Dally reacts to problems he’s given is weak and reckless. How he reacts to Johnny’s death is perfect example of how Dally can’t deal with any problem headed his way. When Johnny dies, Dally can’t handle his grief, so he attempts to rob a store, leading to his eventual demise. If Dally was strong enough to handle Johnny dying, he never would’ve done something so reckless and get himself killed. Pony boy says that he “knew that was what Dally wanted.” (154) Dally is used to life of a criminal, and he knows better than to do what he did. He made the police believe that he had a loaded gun on purpose, not as a heat of the moment

The author writes, “Johnny’s eyes glowed. Dally was proud of him. That was all Johnny had ever wanted” (148). Johnny’s reaction is priceless. Out of the entire greaser gang, Johnny and Dally’s relationship is the strongest and most significant. When Johnny needs Dally the most, he is his staunchest supporter. In return, Johnny gives back the same, if not more, amount of affection to Dally. When Dally and Johnny die, Ponyboy makes a list of realizations. Ponyboy thinks, “But I remembered Dally pulling Johnny through the window of the burning church; Dally giving us his gun, although it could mean jail for him; Dally risking his life for us, trying to keep Johnny out of trouble.” (154). It is clearly proven that ‘tough’ Dallas Winston makes a substantial effort to make Johnny’s life better. If Dally would not make the effort for Johnny, then Johnny would have to experience life worse than it already is. Since Dally thinks of Johnny almost like a little brother, it would hurt Dally to see Johnny experience that kind of pain. Dally and Johnny are bonded by these similarities, but they are also bonded through their differences.

Although Dally and Johnny share some alike traits, they also have many differences. For example, Dally is a tenacious, villainous, and a greaser while Johnny is a polite, perceptive, and craven greaser.

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.

Another difference between Johnny and Dally is that Johnny sees good in the world while Dally does not. Dally thinks that there is no good in the world and if you are a greaser, then you are a hoodlum. In Johnny’s letter, it states, “There’s still lots of good in the world. Tell Dally. I don’t think he knows” (152). Johnny is trying to say that Dally should see

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

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

This is evident as he has a reputation for mischief and getting in trouble. When Dally went to see Ponyboy and Johnny after they ran away, he explained what was happening in their home town. He tells them that the police brought him into answer a few questions about what he knew. Ponyboy asks why he got called in and Dally responds saying, "them boys at the station know me by now." (Hinton 82). Therefore, it is clear Dally is rebellious because if the cops know who he is and bring him in for questioning about a murder then he must have been in trouble more than once. Before that happens, Dally seperates from Johnny and Pony at the movies. Later Two-Bit asks where he went and Ponyboy replies with, “He went hunting some action-booze or dames or fight. I hope he don't get jailed again. He just got out." (Hinton 29) This demonstrates that Dally is rebellious because he is always in trouble and his friends say he is mostly in jail. Even though Dally is rebellious and is usually getting himself into mischief, everyone in their gang respects him and need him to complete their group of

Dally can not take it in. Losing Johnny is not just losing a friend, it's losing family, the

Although Johnny and Dally have multiple differences, they are similar because they both care about each other. When Johnny tells Dally he wants to turn himself in, Dally pleads for Johnny not to turn himself in. Dally talks to Johnny in a tone he never uses and says “‘You get hardened in jail. I don’t want that to happen to you. Like it happened to me . . .’” (90). Dally cares about Johnny because he sees Johnny as the person he would be if he would be like if he is not cold and

Especially Dally looks after Johnny because he loves Johnny. Dally understands the struggle Johnny is going through with his parents, making him connected to Johnny. Dallas is tough and hard, however he takes care of Johnny like he’s his younger brother. When Johnny passes away, Pony realizes, “Johnny was the only thing Dally loved” (152). Pony is surprised that Dally can’t handle Johnny’s death because Dally has been through a lot of hardship and poverty in his life. Dallas is older, wiser, and tougher than Ponyboy, who is fourteen however, Dally only loves Johnny and he can’t accept his death. Likewise, Johnny cares about Dally more than anyone in the group. When they are at the drive in movie, Johnny stands up to Dally while he is harassing Cherry and Marcia. Dally doesn’t hit Johnny, proving he loves him very much. Surprisingly, Johnny talked back to Dally even though Johnny is timid and Dally is his idol. Pony watches in shock and thinks, “Johnny worshiped the ground Dally walked on, and I had never heard Johnny talk back to anyone, much less his hero” (25). Johnny only wants the best for Dally and it is hard for him to see his role model make bad decisions. The two greasers wouldn’t be able to live without each other because they are so attached to each

In the beginning of the story, Dally was known as being “tough” but when Johnny died, Dally “hit his breaking point”. When Johnny died, Dally was super sad and hurt that he ran out of the hospital because Johnny was the only person that Dally loved. The text says “Johnny was the only thing that Dally loved.” (Hinton 152).