As a result of people's dependence on things their personalities are brought down. In "A Separate Peace" by John Knowles and "The Outsiders" by S.E. Hinton Finny's and Dally's dependence is negative because it makes them both vulnerable, contrastingly Finny's dependence causes him to be in denial while Dally's dependence causes him to be aggressive and lash out.
             Both Finny and Dally seem to be pretty independent on the outside but they ultimately are very dependent on different characters and certain things. This dependence on different things hinders their normal maturing process and their personalities are weaker because they do not have the ability to live completely away from certain things and people. This creates loop- holes so that they are able to be hurt and it becomes very important in the novels.
             Finny's dependence on others and certain things causes him to become vulnerable. Finny shows that he is vulnerable when he is at the beach with Gene. "I hope you're having a good time here...but after all you can't come to the shore with just anybody and you can't come by yourself, and at this teen-age period in life the proper person to come with is your best pal ... 'which is what you are,' and there was a silence on his dune. (Knowles 40)" For Finny to confess his friendship with Gene was a big deal because at the Devon school there were not many genuine friendships and for Finny to actually put out a show of emotion shows that he has made himself vulnerable. He made himself this way because he depends on Gene because he needs him as a friend and puts himself in a vulnerable situation because he opens up to Gene, which leaves Gene the opportunity to reject this show of emotion and he does which hurts Finny. Finny's dependence on Gene causes him to open up to him because he does not want to lose such a good friend because Finny knows ...