The Outsiders: Character Examination- Johnny Cade

Johnny Cade In The Outsiders, a fictional novel about fights and gangs, the author SE Hinton reveals lessons of life through Johnny Cade, an innocent boy in the middle of a hateful, hostile environment. Johnny is often described as an innocent puppy, but by the end of his life, he comes out of his shell due to certain events that take place around him. Throughout Johnny’s life he reveals three strong aspects that are part of his personality; he is timid, good-hearted, and a follower. Johnny Cade is a prime example of a timid gangster. He is one who follows everyone else, especially the ones he looks up to. Ponyboy could describe Johnny using examples of his actions in the beginning of the novel. Yet for the sake of brevity, he sums everything up, claiming, “Johnny Cade was last and least. 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 (always) has a nervous, suspicious look in his eyes… he is the gang’s pet, everyone’s kid brother”(Hinton 13-14). This example

Instead he states, "Some of their parents came by to thank me and I knew it was worth it" Their lives are worth more than mine, they have more to live for. Due to Johnny"tms parents being so cruel to him, and since he is very small, Johnny was always attempting to watch his back. This shows he was still growing to be the person he would grow up to be. While at a drive in movie with Ponyboy, "A strong hand came down on Johnny"tms shoulder and another on mine and a deep voice said, "Okay greasers, you"tmve had it"tm"I looked at Johnny, his eyes were shut and he was white as a ghost. Another of Johnny"tms good-hearted traits is his moral standars. Another of Johnny"tms most distinctive traits is that he is a follower. alone reveals Johnny"tms quiet, timid personality. Another example if how Johnny acted with girls, "Once, while Dallas was in reform school, Sylvia had started hanging onto Johnny and sweet-talking him" Then (Steve) gave him a lecture on girls and how a snaking little broad like Sylvia would get him into a lot of trouble" (Hinton 33-34) This shows that Johnny tried to follow in the ways of his gang and listened to their advice. Another part of Johnny"tms being timid is his nervousness. "Leave her alone, Dally"tm"(Hinton 21, 24) The final example of Johnny"tms being good-hearted is that after saving the kids and knowing he would die, he didn"tmt regret it saying that his life was worth more. I guess he"tmd forgotten"(Hinton 27). Johnny overall learned very much through his life and he had grown much before his death. One example of this is when "He (Dallas) put his feet up on the back of the red head"tms chair, winked at me, and beat his own record for saying something dirty" he started to put his around around her, but Johnny reached over and stopped him. One example of Johnny being a follower is at the church after Johnny stated "Hey Ponyboy, "I (Ponyboy) looked around, startled.