Short Story : Chapter 1

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

The boys had asked me to write a eulogy in memory of him, so here I was, standing in front of the small group of people that Johnny called his friends. His parents weren’t there, of course they weren’t. They didn’t care about him. I hadn’t wanted them there anyway. I looked around me. Standing at the front were the boys, Sodapop, Darry, Two-Bit and Steve, and behind them were a few other familiar faces, that I couldn’t put names to, probably just some of his classmates.

The next second I lean against Burt, applying pressure to his chest as I was taught and whispering, “I’m not here for you. You’re going to be alright.” In the background I hear Nick and dad arguing, see Durham pressing palms against his head in front of me. Then I see Burt's vision going black as he passes out. The truth is I shouldn't have been there. None of us should've been there.

I kept writing. It was hard, but I could get everything off of my chest. I could explain to people what had happened to me. I could tell my English teacher. It was a little hard, but I didn’t cry. I couldn’t cry. Greasers didn’t cry.

My best friend, Marcia, and I had met Johnny and Ponyboy minutes ago when their buddy was trying to pick me up. He might have been successful too, if it wasn’t for them. Dally seemed a lot like my boyfriend, Bob, only the greaser version. Just like Bob, he seemed like the type that doesn’t fear anything, a free spirit, yet underneath that, he was thriving for something greater that would finally satisfy him. I could tell he’d been through a lot.

The description befitting Johnny gives out sympathy and empathy, “If you can picture a little dark puppy that has been kicked too many times and is lost in a crowd of strangers, you’ll have Johnny…he had a nervous, suspicious look in his eyes…” (11). On the other hand, Dally om the book just makes him seem scarier. “His eyes were blue, blazing ice, cold with the hatred in the whole world…he was tougher than the rest of us (them) tougher, colder, meaner.” (10). It shows the indignant, confident look on Dally’s face. Dally could be compared to a tiger, when Johnny is like a puppy.

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

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

When Ponyboy, Johnny, and Dally were at the drive in, Dally was teasing Cherry. Johnny says, “Leave her alone, Dally.” (24). Johnny stood up to Dally to make him stop annoying Cherry. This surprises the reader because Johnny is traditionally quiet, and Johnny idolizes Dally. However, Johnny did not hesitate to tell Dally to stop. To defend someone he hardly knew, Johnny breaks character and stands up

Johnny and Dally have a lot in common, and one of them is that they do not really have people to call their family, so they call their gang their family. When Darry hits Ponyboy, Pony runs to Johnny, who is sleeping in the lot, and tells him they are running away because of what Darry did to him. Johnny then explains to Ponyboy that he does not have family and Pony yells at him saying, “‘Shoot, you got the whole gang. Dally didn’t slug you tonight ‘cause you’re the pet. I mean, golly Johnny, you got the whole gang’” (51). Even though Johnny’s parents do not treat him nicely, he still needs to understand that he has people that care for him, and that he is not alone. Later on in the story, Johnny is dying. While he is still alive his mother comes to see him, but he does not want to see her because she will give him grief. When Johnny dies, Dally is devastated. He is so angry that he goes and robs a grocery store. As the police chase him, he goes to a phonebooth and calls the Curtis home. Darry

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

Johnny and Dally come from the same type of household and both are neglected and misbegotten by their parents. Dally is always committing crimes and doing wrong things and has no sense of right or wrong. His

I held back the tears that threatened to flow as I gave the sheets back to Mary to be filed forever in my portfolio. Immediately after, I had to head back downstairs and take a Aural Skills sight-reading final. As if I would be able to focus on anything with this bombshell dropped on me. I didn't allow myself to cry until I had finally gotten back to my dorm.

I cried my eyes out. I could not stop crying, and I had not anticipated for Noora, my saving grace, to give me the lollipop she had just received from her dad and hugged me until the tears stopped.

I cried. Oh how I cried. How much I hated the fact that I will have to go to the place that I never wanted to go to and had sworn I wouldn’t. But I still got up dusted off and walked. But this stupid human tendency to want something which is never good for you, it wasn’t done with me. Oh no not yet it said and dragged me back.