Heroes are an important part of our society. A hero is a person that puts other before themselves. In the outsiders by S.E Hinton, there are many characters that play important roles in the theme of the story. The theme shows that not everything is the way it appears. This is the case when identifying heroes in this story. Some characters are so strong, they become the heroes of the story. In the outsiders, Johnny, Dally, and Ponyboy are heroes, they all risk their lives for others than themselves.
To begin with, Johnny proves he is a hero throughout the story. First, he acts like a hero during the fire. Anyone who will risk themselves to save others is a hero at that moment. "In the back, I guess," I hollered, and we started stumbling through the church." (pg. 92) This proves that Johnny is a hero in the novel The Outsiders because Johnny sacrificed themselves to save the kids stuck in the church on fire. Johnny grew as a hero from this experience. Second, I think you can argue that Johnny is a hero as he dies. Instead of thinking only of himself and feeling sorry for himself, he is clearly focused on others. It is his note to Pony that helps motivate Ponyboy to "stay gold." During the novel, Johnny states, “Johnny’s eyes glowed. Dally was proud of him. That was all Johnny had ever wanted. 'Ponyboy. Stay gold, Ponyboy. Stay gold . . . …show more content…
He saved Ponyboy’s life. Dally gave Pony the jacket that prevented his back from catching on fire. After Pony was knocked unconscious Dally ran inside the building and saved Johnny from being burnt to death. The newspaper even called him a hero. In the novel, Ponyboy exclaims, “For once, there weren't any charges against Dally, and I knew he'd be mad because the paper made him out a hero for saving Johnny” (pg. 107) This part of the novel shows that Dally is a hero, because he thought about his friends' health and safety instead of his