Topic > Character Analysis Ponyboy, Soda Pop, and Darry in The Outsiders

“They grew up outside of society. They weren't looking for a fight. They were trying to belong." this is written on the poster of the film Outsider. In The Outsiders by SE Hinton, a fiction book, three brothers, Dally, Sodapop and Ponyboy struggle more through the path of Outsiderness in their society. They are brothers whose parents are dead and all three are part of a gang. Their gang is made up of lusty young boys who went through brutal situations growing up. Later in the story, three plague spreaders show bravery and save children in a life-threatening situation, which completely sets them apart. The three characters who obviously prove to be outsiders in this story are Dally, Johnny, and Ponyboy. The novel is set in the eastern part of a small town, the three brothers Ponyboy, Soda pop and Darry live together in an old dilapidated house. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The first character, Dally, resembles an outsider, living a lonely and almost useless life. His life appears mostly desolate and sad mainly due to his difficult childhood. At the beginning of the story, Ponyboy is attacked by the Socs, his gang finds him and chases the Socs away. This is when the author begins to describe the gang. The author writes, “Dally had spent three years in the wilds of New York and had been arrested at the age of ten.” Ponyboy tells readers about Dally's childhood as he had a great effect on Dally when he was young. This can be seen since Dally definitely proves more of an outsider than the other members of the gang due to his childhood. The second reason why he is an outsider is that he has no one to love and therefore lives a desolate life. In the middle of the story, Dally takes Ponyboy and Johnny to a restaurant after visiting them in Windrixville. After getting the food, Johnny asked Dally if his parents cared about him running away. Ponyboy received a letter from his brothers showing him that they cared about his escape and Johnny got nothing. Johnny was disappointed even though he knew his parents wouldn't care. He asked Dally if he had heard anything about his parents, then Dally told him that his parents obviously didn't care. Dally ended up telling Johnny about how his parents never cared about him either, and how he didn't care at all. The author wrote: “shoot, my old man doesn't care if I'm in prison or dead in a car crash or drunk in the gutter. This doesn't bother me." Dally has no parents who love him, he lives a solitary life, unlike the other gang members which makes him an outsider. The final reason Dally clearly proves himself to be an outsider in his gang is that he doesn't care about his own life. Towards the end of the story, Johnny dies, which gets into Dally's head and forces him to rob a store. When the gang finds out, they rush to the park to help Dally cover up the store robbery. The author writes: "Dally had reached the circle of light under the streetlamp and, braking, he turned and snatched a black object from his belt... And just as the policemen's gun spat fire into the night, I knew that was what Dally wanted.” In this situation, Dally does not care much about life, unlike his gang, which makes him stand out. In conclusion, all the events that happened to Dally show that he is mostly like an outsider stranger to his selfless, emotional and loyal self. At the beginning of the story, soon after Ponyboy was attacked by the Socs, his gang rescued him.