Manipulation In Johnny Tremain By Esther Forbes

While at a movie theater, Dally is antagonizing and annoying several Soc girls. Johnny stands up to Dally, his hero, and states, “‘Leave her alone, Dally.’ ‘Huh?’ Dally was taken off guard. He stared at Johnny in disbelief. Johnny couldn't say ‘Boo’ to a goose. Johnny gulped and got a little pale, but he said, ‘You heard me. Leave her alone’” (24). It took all of Johnny’s bravery to stand up to his absolute idol. He was willing to stand up to a dangerous boy that could easily defeat him in a fight, to save others. Not only this, but when a church is burning down with children inside, Ponyboy states, ”Johnny wasn't behaving at all like his old self. ... he grinned at me. He wasn't scared either. That was the only time I can think of when I saw him without that defeated, suspicious look in his eyes” (92). Johnny gives his own life for kids who have futures. He charges into the church at full speed when necessary. Johnny becomes brave in the middle of the

Johnny has a fear of Socs after getting jumped by them, which led him to kill Bob. He is regularly beaten by his father and emotionally abused by his mother. Ponyboy mentioned a quotation of Johnny   “ I had never been jumped, but I had seen Johnny after four Socs got hold of him, and it wasn’t pretty. Johnny was scared of his own shadow after that.” After Johnny killed Bob trying to protect Ponyboy from drowning he ran away with Ponyboy to an abandoned church in Windrixville. At the time he was afraid of anybody that he thought could hurt him. When the church went up in flames Johnny made the decision to run in with Ponyboy to save the children in the burning building. His gallant actions led to him being paralyzed, but he learned to overcome his fears of easily being frightened. Before that, he always used to think about killing himself because he was scared and hurt, but now knowing that he has something to live for he thought he was too young to die. He said this “you want to know something, Ponyboy? I’m scared stiff. I used to think about killing myself… ”, “ I don't want to die now. It ain’t long enough. Sixteen years ain’t long enough. I wouldn’t mind it so much if there wasn’t so much stuff I ain’t done yet --- and so many things I ain’t seen. It’s not fair. You know what? That time we were in Windrixville was the only time I’ve been away from our neighbourhood.” Thus, adversity can help to overcome the hardships and

To begin, Johnny is innocent for the murder of Bob concidering that Bob was killing Johnny’s third party Ponyboy, leaving Johnny to use self defence. “ ‘I had

11). Johnny was lost and alone, which was different from Dallas Winston. Dally had found where he wanted to go, downhill, while Jonny couldn’t even start to find a path. Even though he was encouraged by bad friends and habits, he refused to act anything like his mother or father. Johnny also wanted to change to be the best he could be while still on Earth. While they were waiting for Dallas to help them out of the abandoned church, he said, “‘I didn’t mean to,’ he finally blurted out, ‘but they were drowning’ you and I was so scared’”(Hinton, p. 74). Johnny only used his switchblade to protect others, not to fight and rumble like most of the gang. He saved Ponyboy, yet feels so bad for killing Bob; he was an innocent boy trying to find the right way out of the situation, and even risking his life for Pony. Nevertheless, some people disagree with some statements I have made.

Everyone has a courageous moment in their life, but Johnny has multiple moments where he shows a true act of courage. The first event that shows that Johnny is courageous is when he saved Ponyboy from the Socs. There has been this rivalry between the Socs and the Greasers (the rich and the poor) which has caused a lot of fights. When Johnny’s best friend Ponyboy and him were in the park they were jumped by Bob and his group of Socs. They were drowning Ponyboy in the fountain and Johnny decided to take a courageous action and stab Bob to save Ponyboy. If it was not for Johnny, Ponyboy would be dead. Johnny knew that stabbing Bob would get him in trouble with the police, but he took the chance. “ You really killed him, huh, Johnny ?...

When Johnny was maturing, he began to bear appreciation for certain things. One of the things he started to treasure was the smocks his mother had made for him. Before, Johnny had not recognized the love that had gone into their creation. When he was young, he would be too proud to even put those smocks on. However, now that he has grown, he saw the smocks in a whole new light. When getting a smock in the attic to give to Pumpkin, a British soldier who wants to desert the army, Johnny started to adore them for he finally was able to see that his mother’s love went into making these

Although Johnny retreats occasionally back in the present, Johnny’s life as a Canadian citizen shows a hint of ambiguity in terms of his emotional stability. His feelings of bitterness and hatred show signs of depression which ties into his hallucination of Owen in his grandmother’s basement. Johnny feels “a small, strong hand” pull him “forward from where” he stands and hears “Owen’s voice” say “DON’T BE AFRAID” because “NOTHING BAD IS GOING TO HAPPEN TO” him (517). His hallucination of Owen plays a role in his loss of doubt whereas he sees this also as a miracle. Losing a loved one can cause great signs of grief and takes effort for someone to overcome depression. Death has the capability of testing one’s faith, which in Johnny’s,

Johnny's personality changed throughout the book. At the beginning of the book, Johnny was immature. He was too full of himself and did not think before he spoke. By the end of the book, he was more mature. He became more humble and less easily angered. In chapter one, Johnny was overly proud and arrogant. Then, in chapter two, his hand got burnt and he lost his pride.

Finally, one of the most evident misconceptions Johnny has is the one of himself due to the knowledge no one shares with him. He does not know about his true identity, and no one in his life will give him any answers. In all, this misconception is the most impacting on Johnny's life as he wishes to know here he came from. The two people he holds closest to him can grant this wish but never do. Johnny doesn't find out about the truth of his father until his mom and Owen Meany have passed away. Owen says through Reverend Merrill and then Johnny narrates, "'LOOK IN THE THIRD DRAWER, RIGHT-HAND SIDE,' God said. And there was the ball that Owen Meany hit; and there was my wretched father, asking me to forgive him" (Irving 479). This

It has become his way of life; if he is not doubting his religion then he is doubting his students or his acquaintances, for he has no real friends. As the novel transitions between different time periods, Johnny’s habit of self-perpetuated doubt becomes more evident to the reader. He has become so consumed by doubt that he even questions the sole person he calls his closest friend; pondering, “I still tease Katherine about those days. What if she’d been headmistress when I applied for a job? Would she have hired me?” (Irving 284). Johnny also directly doubts his religion even after strongly affirming his devotion to the Anglican faith. He testifies, “I am an Anglican now, and I shall die an Anglican. But I skip a Sunday service now and then; I make no claims to be especially pious…” (Irving 3). Here he shows his doubt towards how involved with his religion he really is, compared with what he claims. This indicates an obvious inconsistency with how devoted Johnny really is to his proclaimed faith, and shows how he continues to inwardly question what he believes, while conforming to the idea of a confirmed faith.

(51) in the book Johnny says The only people there to even say good about him is the gang. But even then it is just a couple of kids. I feel bad for Johnny he has so many labels some are but most are bad. But I think the worst things that hit him is worthless, poor, and hopeless.

Johnny has little value in his life and he proves that in the hospital. Although they have many similarities, they also have their

In the book "The Outsiders" by S. E. Hinton, Johnny hardly ever saw the good things in life and his parents weren't much help. Johnny changed in his perspective of life and how he feels about his detrimental situation. His mother and father never payed attention to him except for those times when the would physically and verbally abuse him. The Socs. also did damage when they beat him up one night.

3. Johnny becomes aware of political matters by reading the newspaper, talking with Rab and Mr. Lorne, and talking to the people he delivers The Observer to.

Johnny’s internal issues are as equally grievous as his external issues. He practically raised his siblings since he was six years old, and started to work in factories when he was seven. Due to his early start transferring to adulthood, he never really had the chance to experience a jovial and enjoyable childhood. Johnny “had been robbed of a large part of that playtime by being compelled to take care of [his siblings] … he had fallen the part of little mother and father as well” (8). Johnny does not have any pleasurable memories to look back on and confirm that his upbringing readied him to steadily transition to adulthood. His mother is not a major help in his life, consequently making him uphold both roles of provider and supporter when it comes to his family. With no time for himself, it was evident in Johnny’s face that “there was no joyousness in him…