Essay on Dally from ‘The Outsiders’

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S.E. Hinton wrote the novel The Outsiders, which is realistic fiction. It shows key events demonstrating the respect Dally deserves. Some might think that Dally doesn’t deserve respect for the way he treats people, but he acts this way because he came from a neglectful family and wasn’t shown love.

One place this is seen is when Johnny and Ponyboy killed Bob and they were on the run. They went to Buck Merril’s place and found Dally, they explained to him what happened, and, “Dally appeared after a minute…”Here”-he handed us a gun and a roll of bills-…”Here’s fifty bucks. That’s all I could get out of Merril tonight” (Hinton 60). Respect is shown here for Dally because not everyone can come up with those things, on short notice, without arousing suspicion. Granted he has past experiences to help them out.

Another key event is revealed while Ponyboy and Johnny are hiding out at the church. They were talking about old southern gentlemen and Johnny said that they remind him of Dally, “…one night I saw Dally gettin’ picked up by the fuzz…They were gettin’ him for breakin’ out the windows in the school building, and it was Two-Bit who did that. And Dally knew it” (Hinton 75-76). Most people wouldn’t expect Dally to take the blame for something he didn’t do and he knew that Two-Bit did it. This is another example where Dally should be highly regarded.

One last important event that shows a reason to respect Dally is when Ponyboy and Johnny are saving the kids from the church. After the kids were saved Ponyboy was the first out but then he heard Johnny scream and was about to head back in but his back was on fire. So Dally knocked him unconscious and went to save Johnny. A piece of timber fell on Johnny’s back so Dally was dragging him out the window risking his life to save Johnny’s. An ambulance arrived and on the way to the hospital Ponyboy woke up and started talking to Jerry the school teacher because he was riding along, “I swear, you three are the bravest kids I’ve seen in a long time. First you and that black-haired kid climbing in that window, and then the tough looking kid going back in to save him” (Hinton 93-95). Dally should be shown respect because he went into the burning church, that was falling apart without hesitation, risking his own life to save Johnny.

All of these events show that Dally is a heroic and admirable character. He saves Ponyboy and Johnny by getting them a gun, some money, and a plan. Also, Dally chose to take the blame for something Two-Bit did and risked his life to save Johnny and Ponyboy. For these reasons, Dally proves that he is worthy of respect. He isn’t the perfect role model but he is a decent mentor.

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