Outsiders Theme Essay

Through his many struggles, Ponyboy ultimately becomes a hero. His heroism helped him to decide right over wrong. His heroic decisions helped him stand by his friend’s side and help save kids from a burning church. Ponyboy shows extreme loyalty by sticking by his friend Johnny’s side when he killed Bob. He defies the law by going to Windrixville with Johnny to hide out from the cops instead of turning themselves in, but they eventually make the right decision to turn themselves in (pg. 56-87). Ponyboy had to make another important decision when some kids were stuck in the burning church. He had two choices he could make; one he could risk his life by saving the kids or two he could just let the kids die in the church. In the end Ponyboy made the right decision to risk his life to save the kids (pg. 90-93). At the end of the book Ponyboy chooses to help his friends fight in the rumble even though he is not feeling very well and is not in very good shape (pg.131-145). It could have been easy for Ponyboy to change any of the decisions he made, but he did not. So in the end the decisions Ponyboy ultimately made define him as the hero that he is.
In The Outsiders Ponyboy overcomes social boundaries. Ponyboy comes to the realization that everybody is not so different. Even though somebody might appear different we are all alike were just human. Ponyboy’s relationship with Cherry Valance proves that even though there is have different social groups and people have different backgrounds we are not that different than other people. When Ponyboy met Cherry at the movie house they started talking and she told him I bet you watch the sunset too. This got Ponyboy to thinking that he and Cherry’s world were not so different because they saw the same sunset (pg. 22-46). When Randy talked to Ponyboy it made him think that everybody should not have labels because we are all the same were all just people (pg. 115-118). Cherry and Randy’s action got Ponyboy believing that he