Honor In The Outsiders

Criminals are what they are because of their actions, but could there be honor and good intentions among the lawless? In the book The Outsiders,, by S.E. Hinton, the Greasers are considered by the society as a reckless gang of hoodlums, but they treat each other like family, which separates them from other gangs in the city. The Greasers’ most common problem is their rivalry with the rich kids on the other side of town, called the Socs. Although they commit crimes and make bad choices at times, events in the book showed that they have love and compassion in their hearts. Therefore, there is honor among the lawless because the Greasers love each other like family, stick up for each other, and sacrifice themselves to protect each other when in

This was shown when Johnny killed Bob the Soc in order to save Ponyboy from drowning. After killing him, Johnny says, “I had to. They were drowning you, Pony. They might’ve killed you. And they had a blade… they were gonna beat me up…” (52). This shows that Johnny believed that killing Bob was the only way to save Ponyboy and that he did not kill Bob out of anger and hatred. Also, Johnny risked going to jail and losing his freedom when he killed Bob in order to save Ponyboy from drowning. By risking his life and saving Ponyboy’s life, Johnny proved that when in danger, a Greaser would sacrifice himself to save another, which shows honor among the lawless. Hence, there is honor among the Greasers because risking their life for another shows great love and bravery, which are also honorable

In particular, the Ponyboy, Dally, and Johnny showed their love for stealing and making fun of others when they went to the store to hang out before watching the movie. Ponyboy states, “We bought Cokes and blew straws at the waitress and walked around eyeing things that were lying out in the open until the manager got wise to us and suggested we leave” (19). Somebody who believes that the Greasers are dishonorable would say that this proves how disrespectful the Greasers are to others excluding people among themselves. However, the Greasers actually are honorable because they do respect others outside of their gang. Specifically, they showed respect and care for other people when they chose to risk their own lives to save the kids in the church. After Ponyboy, Johnny, and Dally saved the kids from the church fire, Jerry the school teacher said, “Mrs. O’Briant and I think you were sent straight from heaven. Or are you just professional heroes or something” (95). This proves that even though they sometimes make bad choices, the Greasers actually do know when to do the right thing. Also, it shows that they care for and will protect others, and even the adults acknowledge that. So although somebody who disagrees with the statement that there is honor among the lawless would say the Greasers did not respect