What does a knight in shining armor rescuing a maiden and a group of boys who save a friend have in common? They are heroes and show heroic qualities, A hero is a person who helps someone in times of need and puts that person’s needs before their own Heroes are courageous, caring, selfless, humble, and patient, In S. E. Hinton‘s novel, The Outsiders, characters like Ponyboy Curtis, Darrel Curtis, and Cherry Valance are heroic. However, Johnny Cade is the most heroic because he shows three of these qualities in many situations He is courageous, selfless, and caring in times of need and risks his life to save others. Johnny is the most heroic character S.E. Hinton‘s The Outsiders because he is caring. “I knew Johnny understood what I meant. We had always been close buddies and those lonely days in the church strengthened our friendship”.
This quote tells us about Johnny’s friendship with Ponyboy and how spending time in the church allows him to bond with Johnny. Johnny cares about Ponyboy and understands everything he had to say, making him one of Ponyboy’s most trusted and best friends. In addition to caring for his friends, Johnny is willing to sacrifice his life to help others. Johnny is also selfless because he rescued children from a burning church. “One kid was screaming his head off, and Johnny yelled ‘Shut up! We’re goin’ to get you outl‘ The kid looked surprised and quit hollering. I blinked myself—-Johnny wasn’t behaving at all like his old self.” .
This quote describes Johnny’s heroism and how he is willing to sacrifice his own life to save children, Johnny and Ponyboy do this to accept responsibility for burning the church with the cigarette butt. Furthermore, he is brave enough to kill a Soc who is about to drown Ponyboy. In order to save his friend Ponyboy, Johnny kills Bob Sheldon, a Soc who is drowning Ponyboy, which requires a lot of courage. “Johnny had killed someone. Quiet, softespoken little Johnny who wouldn’t hurt a living thing on purpose, had taken a human life” (Hinton 62). This quote describes the irony between Johnny’s normal personality and the heroic deed
he does to save his friend He is also willing to risk his own life to make sure Ponyboy didn’t get drowned Johnny displays many heroic virtues like selflessness, care for others, and courage Johnny Cade is the most heroic character in The Outsiders for various reasons, He is caring because he understands Ponyboy the most and has a connection with him. Johnny is courageous by killing a Soc almost drowns Ponyboyt He also shows selflessness by saving children from a burning churchi Many of the characters in The Outsiders show heroic virtues, but Johnny Cade is the true hero because of his courage, selflessness, and care for others.
