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.