Johnny Cade en The Outsiders: Por qué es el verdadero héroe de la novela

Introducción a The Outsiders y sus personajes

Not all heroes use capes.

The Outsiders is a book written by S. E. Hinton and published on April 24, 1967. This book is set in Tulsa, Oklahoma, located in the 1960s. S. E. Hinton reflects the differences between two gangs: the lower-level society called "Greasers" and the higher-class group introduced as "Socs".

These two gangs have a big rivalry; they could fight up to the death.

S. E. Hinton portrays Johnny as a hero through plenty of events shown in the book.

Johnny Cade: El heroísmo en el capítulo 6

After reading The Outsiders, we can see how Johnny is portrayed as the hero of the book.

One of the points is demonstrated in chapter 6, when Johnny and Ponyboy escape from town and hide inside a church where they stay for a week, until Johnny shocks Dally by telling him he wants to go back home and confess the crime. So, when Dally begins to drive Johnny and Ponyboy back home, they pass through the church where Ponyboy and Johnny have been staying and saw it on fire. Ponyboy and Johnny think they must have started the fire with a cigarette, so the boys run to the church and hear some little school children shouting for help. There, Johnny jumped into the church through a window and rescued the two little terrified kids.

Here there's a quote from Johnny which shows the big hero he has inside:

“Listen, I don't mind dying now. It's worth saving the kids. Their lives are worth more than mine, they have more to live for.”

Here we can admire how Johnny risks his life for those two little kids and took responsibility for them because he felt guilty for being the reason for the fire. This was a big act of courage and kindness, because not everyone has the courage to save another life by putting their own in big danger. Only a hero with a big heart can do it.

El sacrificio final y el mensaje de stay gold

Furthermore, another way in which Johnny Cade is portrayed as the hero of this novel is the fact that on his deathbed he tells Ponyboy that fighting is useless. This is shown in the quote: “Stay gold, Ponyboy, stay gold.”

In this quote, there is a metaphor which is the act of "staying gold"; it means to remain innocent, and we can understand that it is directed to Ponyboy in a way of showing him how he is better than the other hoodlums and that he should stay out of trouble. Johnny is a hero because he stops the fighting and puts an end to the rivalry between The Greasers and The Socials.

El instinto protector y la defensa de los seres queridos

Last but not least, the main event where Johnny is shown like a hero begins with the big fight of the two gangs that took place at the park. When Bob tries to harm him and Ponyboy, Johnny gets courage from the past and stabs Bob. Although Bob is killed by Johnny, this shows the reader the protector side of Johnny.

Although Johnny committed a big crime by killing the Soc, his love for Ponyboy and how he cares about the people he loves is very demonstrated in this novel, as well as how he was willing to lose his life in order to save several people. This encourages the reader to think of Johnny Cade as a true hero.

Conclusión

To conclude, you can realize that Johnny is the real hero that everyone dreams of having.

He has great courage and also a big soul, open to defending the most important people in his life, protecting them up to the death.