Identity In The Outsiders

Identity has always been an important topic throughout literature and real life, for, without identity, you wouldn’t be yourself. Furthermore, identity is a process that is ongoing and is constantly influenced by our environment, the people we choose to hang around with, and our experiences. On the other hand, identity is rarely discussed in society, leaving kids confused on what identity is. Luckily, we have literature to teach us about identity, and it’s important for authors to reveal identity effectively. For instance, effective writers use other’s reactions to the character, their experiences, and their environment to reveal who a character is. S.E. Hinton is an amazing example of an author that reveals identity effectively, for she wrote the characters Johnny and Dally in The Outsiders very well. Identity is an important process that will never be complete. Johnny Cade is a sixteen-year-old boy who lives with an abusive father and mother. On the other hand, he has a group of greaser, poor or low-class, friends that are very close to him, and is considered the “pet” or the …show more content…
For example, Johnny was being fearless when he ran into the burning church to save the children trapped inside. Similarly, Dally was being fearless when he took risks such as showing an unloaded gun to armed policemen. In addition to this, Johnny was being bold when he pushed his friend Ponyboy out the way of falling debris while staying inside the burning building to help the kids. Likewise, Dally was being bold when he committed so many crimes, that he managed to get himself arrested at age ten. Lastly, Johnny was being resilient when he was saving the children from the burning building and having tons of fun while doing so. Similarly, Dally is resilient because he managed to endure doing to jail and being wanted in the paper since age ten. Despite their differences, Johnny and Dally end up being very similar characters at the end of the