Dynamic Johnny

Authors Note: This a Character analysis of Johnny showing the affects he had in the story The Outsiders a dynamic character.

               

               A dynamic character is a person in a story whose characteristics change from the beginning to the end.  Johnny from The Outsiders is an example of a dynamic character because he changed throughout the book as a person and also affected many people throughout the book as a dynamic character does.  Johnny is a dynamic character because of his actions towards others and himself, and the ways he changed mentally.

             

               First, he changed Ponyboy from his friend into his accomplice when Johnny killed Bob for trying to drown Ponyboy.  Ponyboy and Johnny had gotten orders from Dally to hide out in the church and keep safe from the fuzz.  Ponyboy had said while they were hiding, “I was glad to have Johnny because he thought of things that would be useful to us that none of the rest would have.”   He said that because Johnny had bought only the things they needed for survival, when the others would have bought weed or nonsense stuff that they didn’t need.   

               

               Secondly, Johnny saved the kids from the burning church when none of the other Greasers would have.  He was severely injured and kept in the hospital for days.  During that time, the greasers were worried about Johnny’s health and whether he was going to live or not.   When he eventually died, Dally went insane and could not live without Johnny because he was the only one he could call family. Dally called Ponyboy to tell him that he robbed a store and the police were after him. The police eventually caught up to him and Dally pulled out his heater, which only Ponyboy knew wasn’t loaded.  The police fired and Dally was dead.   Johnny changed Dally because Dally could not live with the fact that Johnny was gone.  He wanted to be with Johnny, so he basically attempted suicide with someone killing him so he could reacquaint with Johnny spiritually.

            

               Therefore, Johnny could be compared to other characters in stories because of the affects he had on others and himself as a dynamic character. Johnny could be compared to Fonzie from Happy Days because of their characteristics and the way they affect others.  They both are tough looking on the outside and people think that they are nothing but trouble because of the way they act in public and the way they dress.  What people don’t see is that they are good on the inside.  So, both of their personalities are overshadowed by their appearance.   Also, both affect people around them dramatically;  Fonzie in a more humorous way and Johnny in a serious way.

                

                Johnny is a dynamic character because of the role he played with the death of Bob and Dally.  He also affected the people around him when he died.  He was the only thing that was family to Dally and the others.   He was overlooked because of his outside appearance as a hoodlum and was really a good person on the inside.  He lost his innocence, though, when he killed Bob.   Johnny affected the way the story changed from good to bad, and also changed how people saw him and the greasers as people. 

Stereo Typical Outsiders

Authors Note: This is the response for the outsider on the stereo types that are in the book about the greasers’ lifestyle.

The greasers’ in the book The Outsiders are judged by the way the dress the styles they have and the way they talk to people. In this book the outsiders or greasers are seen to the public as no good criminals and stupid people. Some characters defy that stereotype things and belong to a normal society but are the family to the greasers that fit right in with the stereotype. In this book I think the author is trying to show that not every greaser is like each other.

First the greasers are known for having a bad home life and not having real connection with their parents. It the book Ponyboy said “We leave our door open so when any one gets hacked off at their parents they can come over and blow off steam.” Johnny and his parents are a good example of a stereotype because his parents didn’t care for him and beat him. But Ponyboy, Darry and Sodapop got along very well with their parents they and they are some of the characters that don’t fit the stereotypes found in the book.    

Lastly the greasers are known for the way dress and the characteristics that they present in school. The greasers compared to the soc’s dress very poorly, they wear their hair slicked back jeans and short sleeve shirt, and the soc’s have no hair slicked back rings on their fingers and very nice jackets. As for school the greasers are notoriously known for dropping out of school and failing classes the Curtis brothers are different they each were very smart especially Ponyboy and Darry. Pomyboy loved to read but Darry was forced to drop out of school so h could take care of was brothers.

Though the book is filled with different themes I thought that stereotypes were the main theme to the whole story. The main character of the story Ponyboy I think was immune to all of the stereotypes although he is a greaser he is still very far from what the others are like. Ponyboy and the other greasers are misunderstood with the soc’s that are the rich and popular and the greasers who are poor and hated.         

Outsiders Fight Night

Authors Note: This is a rewrite of the fight scene in the outsiders when Ponyboy and Johnny ran away.

     A shimmering blue Mustang pulls up next to Johnny and Ponyboy.  Right away they knew who it was, the Soc’s grandmaster Bob.  Johnny got a shiver down his neck as he could see the rings on his fingers as Bob got out of his car. “That was the Soc that beat me,” Johnny said.   Ponyboy told Johnny that they should leave because he didn’t think they would get out alive if they saw them.  As Bob and the other Soc’s approached Johnny and Ponyboy, Ponyboy started to speak with his greaser twang, “Why don’t ya’ll Soc’s turn around and go back.” Bob and the other Soc’s started to laugh.  “What little greaser kid is gonna tell us what to do?” said Bob as he and the Soc’s approached Ponyboy.  Johnny, without warning, jumped at Bob tackling him to the ground.  He hit him in the face knocking him out cold.   Johnny grabbed all the rings off of Bob’s hands and put them in his pocket and ran away. The Soc’s went up to see if Bob was okay, while Ponyboy ran in the same direction following Johnny.

        

     After awhile, Ponyboy caught up with Johnny in the alley next to his house. Ponyboy cursed, “What was that for? Are you crazy?” Johnny explained, “The reason why my parents don’t care for me is because they are not my real parents. They are my aunt and uncle who despised my parents.   They were my only family in the city.  A gang of Soc’s mugged my mom and dad and they both died. The Soc’s stole both of their wedding rings.” Ponyboy said, “Wait can I see those two rings?” Johnny handed off the two rings and Ponyboy inspected them closely in the light.  “These two rings, these were my parents’ wedding rings.  They wore them the day of the crash and they were never found,” Ponyboy said.  Johnny and Ponyboy went back home to Darry and Sodapop and told them both what they knew. They both knew that Bob’s dad was once the head of the Soc’s.  He really hated the Greasers who back then were Johnny’s and Ponyboy’s parents. They all had a rage in their eyes.   They knew who had made their lives miserable and what they had to do.

       

      They all had traveled to the eastside of town, Soc territory.  They brought along Dally, the mastermind behind getting revenge. Dally told all of them to stay put to see if anyone was out.  He shared an equal amount of rage at the Soc’s. About 15 minutes later, Dally came back in a full sprint out from behind Bob’s house. There was a thick cloud of smoke because he had lit a cigarette, dropped it and it started Bob’s house on fire.   Johnny and Ponyboy couldn’t stand what Dally did, so they ran into Bob’s house and tried to save the Soc’s.  There were no Soc’s to be seen.  Once they turned around to get out, the doorway had collapsed in and it was covered in flames.  Ponyboy could hear Darry and Sodapop outside yelling for him.  Ponyboy closed his eyes and he woke up in his bed with Darry shaking him and yelling his name.  It was then that he realized it had only been a dream.