The Outsiders

The Outsiders by S. E Hinton, the author argues that heroism defines a person by their actions not by their background, history, or looks. The events at the church, the incidents that happened before the church and the aftermath all show the changes that happened over time that would eventually negate Ponyboys history and background and regard him as a hero.There are different points of heroism in the story and different forms of eroism in the story but for now we are going to look at the most important three, Cherry acting as a spy, Ponyboy rescuing the kids and what he was defined by before he was a hero. Ponyboy is very much defined as a hero after the events that happened at the church in which he rescued all those kids from death by grabbing them out of the burning church. He did out of courage and kindness and was praised as a hero for it. â€Å"Mrs.O'briant and I think you were sent straight from heaven. Or are you Just professional heroes or something? Sent from heaven? Had he gotten a good look at Dallas? â€Å"No were greasers† I said. I was too worried and scared to appreciate the fact that he was trying to be funny. mfou're what? † â€Å"Greasers you know like hoods, ID's. Johnny is wanted for murder, and Dallas has a record with the fuzz a mile long. â€Å"(95). The quote present here relates to the theme and explains the ambulance driver overlooking his past and still appreciating him as a hero.The author is putting emphasis on the heroism in the quote and that no matter what background heroes ome from, they are looked upon for their actions and the same applied for Ponyboy and what he did for those kids. The reason that he was looked upon as a hero was because of his actions, but what was he defined as before the church? He was a greaser, Just your average every day greaser who was looked upon as a hood, a thief, and Juvenile delinquent to society. â€Å"It was my pride. It was long and silky, Just like sodas only a little bit re dder.Our hair was tuff – we didn't have to use much grease on it. Our hair labeled us greasers too – it was our trademark. The one thing we were proud of. Maybe we couldn't corvairs or madras shirts, but we could have hair. † Ponyboys pride was his hair and that's what he considered himself to be defined by. It was a painful change for him to make when he had to cut it off. When Johnny told ponyboy that he is going to cut their hair ponyboy replied by stating the previous quote. Ponyboy could have been defined as a hero before the events at the church in a different way and from a different perspective.He could be a hero in Johnnys eyes or sticking with him ever since he killed the Socs Bob to him lying in his death bed. He is a hero for standing by his friends through the good and the bad. Although Ponyboy is the most notable hero in the story there are others who did other things such as Cherry acting as a spy for the Greases and giving them info. In the end al l of the different stories of heroism in the story all relate back to the main theme heroism is defined by your actions not by your background, history, or looks. The Outsiders By Pancakewaffe The Outsiders Search for Self Conflict arises between two incomparable social groups, resulting in tragic deaths. In the novel The Outsiders by S. E Hint, two separate gangs, the Soc and Greasers, are at constant contention. The Outsiders takes place In Oklahoma, the sass's. Hint uses the character, Pony Curtis to explain why It doesn't matter what social position you are In. The message she Is trying to get across to the readers Is you are your own person, and you don't have to be classified as anyone else but yourself.Throughout the novel Pony becomes more sophisticated, by learning to reaffirm is own values and sense of self. He progressively matures through the course of the novel in many different ways by experiencing things he would have never imagined going through. Pony never admired the girls that were Greasers but one night he found the girl of his dreams. Unfortunately, she was a Soc and she had different standards for her romantic companion. Pony knows his position in society but that never held him back from falling for the delectable Cherry Valance.Heartbreaking for him, she was more of the girl to fall for â€Å"bad-boys† unlike Pony. It wasn't Johnny's fault Bob was a booze-hound and Cherry went for boys bound for By the end of the novel, Pony finally comes to the realization of thinking of Cherry as more of a friend, rather than having romantic affections for her. He shows sensitivity and understanding by appreciating their differences and accepting her feelings towards him. A second way Pony has changed is by learning the consequences of his own mistakes and wrong doings.After Running away was always Pony supreme speculation on finding a place he felt acknowledgment, â€Å"Come on, Johnny, we're running )After coming home late, his older protective brother Dairy, who has taken over responsibility of Pony and Soda after their parents passed away, is very furious with him. As a result of his outrage, he ends up hitting Pony. Devastated, Pony runs away , and relies on one of the gang members to keep him up to date on what Is going on. He Is then stuck In an abandoned church starving for news to come from his confidant.As a result of his actions, Pony learns how big of an Impact his family and friends have n him. The biggest impact that changed Pony throughout the novel was the realization of his brother's feelings towards him. In the beginning of the novel, Pony is rebellious against his oldest brother Dairy, â€Å"Me and Dairy just didn't dig each other. â€Å"(p. 13)He felt like Dairy was only out to get after him, and that Pony was never exceptional enough. Even though Dairy is stricter than their parents, he was only trying to make the best of Pony, which he came to realize at the end. Dairy did care about me, maybe as much as he cared about Soda, and because he eared he was trying too hard to make something of me. â€Å"(p. 98)After trying to block Dairy out, Pony finally figured it out for himself after seeing the agony h e has put Dairy through.