Misjudgment Characters In The Outsiders

Danny Miller

Mrs. Baiden

English 1 Honors

12 February 2023

The Effects of Misjudgment (Work on this)

In many novels, characters are misjudged. These characters can be misjudged in different ways, and the reader can learn valuable lessons from each misjudgment. Misjudgment can look like a false persona or racism. Two books that have these examples of misjudgment are The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian and The Outsiders, each having a different version of misjudgment. In the first novel, Arnold, the main character, is misjudged by his Indian race. In the ladder, Dally, a “tough guy”, is misjudged by his persona. In both of these novels, characters are misjudged and it directly affects their lives. In the novels The Absolutely True

Dally is a key character in The Outsiders and he plays a huge role in the story. He is seen as a “tough guy” and helps Johnny and Ponyboy throughout their adventures. Dally is misjudged in a more passive way, but it certainly plays a huge role in his eventual suicide. Dally is misjudged throughout the novel when the other characters forget to check up on his mental health, take the time to support him, or even ask how he is doing. He is known as tough and emotionless. However, the opposite is true; Dally cares a lot for Johnny. His true emotions about Johnny are revealed when Johnny goes to save children from a fire. Dally’s response is, ”’For Pete’s sake, get outa there! That roof’s gonna cave in any minute. Forget those blasted kids’” (Hinton 93). Dally would rather have children die than Johnny have the same fate. Later in the novel, Johnny dies and Dally chose to commit suicide. When people choose to be ignorant about others, it can have disastrous consequences. On the contrary, when people choose to brighten someone’s day, it could save a life. Dally’s suicide could have been prevented if they did not misjudge his inner thoughts based on a fake, outer appearance. In the real world, if people choose to misjudge others based on their outward appearance, it could have similar consequences. It is important to have empathy for others, no matter how they seem to appear. In The Outsiders, Dally is misjudged based on his outward emotions and the reader can learn the importance of kindness from the