How Does Johnny Mature In The Outsiders

In the novel The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, Ponyboy tells the story about his life being a greaser and the conflicts he has had to face with the Socs. His parents had died in a car crash when he was young so he lives with his two brothers. He and another greaser, Johnny, save a few kids in a fire which changes their lives forever. The three major themes addressed in this outstanding book are the journey from youth to adulthood, the fight between rich and poor, and the power of friendship.

First, the author uses the journey from youth to adulthood to show how Ponyboy matures throughout the course of the story, such as when Johnny dies. “Dally had taken the car and I started the long walk home in stupor. Johnny was dead. But he wasn’t” (150). This shows that Ponyboy had a hard time believing that Johnny had died. This is important because this shows that he experienced a feeling that he may not have felt since

Hinton uses the power of friendship to show how the greasers were like family although they all had different backgrounds. “He meant it when he said he didn’t care about his parents. But he and the rest of the gang knew Johnny cared and did everything they could to make it up to him” (88). This is the power of friendship because the gang is basically Johnny’s second family and they try hard to fill in the holes that his parents make. This is important because if it was not for the gang, Johnny definitely would not have been the person that he was and he would be a totally different person. “Our gang had chased the Socs to their car had heaved rocks at them” (9). This is an example of the power of friendship because if the greasers had not chased the Socs away, no one else would have cared about Ponyboy and he would have just been left there. This is important because the reader can infer after reading this that the whole gang truly cares for Ponyboy. This shows that Hinton uses the power of friendship to show how the greasers were all like