How Does Violence Cause Conflict In The Outsiders

How The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton Conveys that Violence is Not the Answer to conflict Violence doesn't solve conflict, but instead creates more. This is the case in the book The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. This point is developed when Ponyboy runs away due to some violence that occured at his household, Johnny killing Bob, and Johnny dying. The first instance of when violence does not solve conflict comes up when Darry slaps ponyboy and causes him to run away: “Darry wheeled around and slapped me so hard that it knocked me against the door”. This quote may not seem like much at a glance but you quickly see why this is so important. When Ponyboy is slapped, it causes him to become really mad and run away with Johnny in the process,

This is essentially the death of the queen bee when it comes with the socs. When Johnny kills Bob the immediate reaction is to run because of the severity of the situation. In the quote, “I killed him Pony… we gotta run” (56-57). Johhny and Ponyboy ended up running away after the altercation for fear of getting arrested. Without telling their families leaving them worried and without answers and it also leaves Darry feeling guilty for slapping Ponyboy. The kids head to Dally’s to pick up some supplies before they run out of state to avoid being caught. They catch the 3 am train to Windrixville and hide in an abandoned church for a couple days. This turns out to be deadly because while they are about to leave the church waith Dally days later, it becomes ablaze with many little kids inside. Johnny and Pony do the heroic action of going in and saving the kids but in the end Johnny gets hit with a plank that falls and ultimately succumbs to his injuries adding to the countless examples of how violent actions will only deepen the hole of conflict and cause more