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Character Analysis Of Johnny In S. E. Hinton's The Outsiders

532 Words3 Pages

Certain circumstances often lead to change in a person. Johnny’s character has changed dramatically from the beginning of the book to chapter 6 of the Outsiders, written by S.E. Hinton. Johnny, at the beginning of the book, was described as very paranoid, nervous, and timid and described as a little lost puppy that has been kicked too many times by Ponyboy. “If you can picture a little dark puppy that has been kicked too many times and lost in a crowd of strangers, you’ll have Johnny” (Hinton 19). “He had a nervous, suspicious look in his eyes…” (Hinton 20). With this, it is evident that Johnny has been through something which led to his constant nervousness and his lacking of trust in people. Hinton’s word choices and the overall mood projected …show more content…

He is now a completely different person, almost the opposite of his old self. When Johnny and Pony realize that the church they were hiding in caught on fire while they were out, they immediately take action after being informed of the presence of children inside of the burning building. As the pair of boys ran into the church, “Johnny yelled, ‘Shut up! We’re goin’ to get you out” (Hinton 100). “I caught one quick look at his face; it was red-marked from falling embers and sweat-streaked, but he grinned at me. He wasn’t scared either”’ (Hinton 101). This shows the drastic change in Johnny as a person, becoming brave, courageous, and fearless when in an extreme situation with the means to save other people. Despite the deadly circumstances, he still stayed both optimistic and valiant, making sure to tell the children stuck inside of the burning church that they would get out safe. The fire was also presumably started by either Johnny or Pony, so it shows that Johnny is no longer afraid of taking accountability. He did the right thing in said situation by not sitting there and waiting while people are in danger at his fault, even with the possibility of dire consequences haunting him. By this point, it is easy to tell that Johnny has majorly changed as a person, his character traits from the start of the book becoming almost exactly the opposite of what they are by Chapter 6. This proves that major events, or even sometimes minor events, can lead to intense change in a

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