Similarities Between Dally And Johnny In The Outsiders

Some people say that opposite personalities attract. This is true in S.E. Hinton’s novel The Outsiders, Johnny Cade and Dallas Winston have their differences. One is tough, cool, and likes to break laws. The other one is compliant, quiet, and would never think to even shoplift. Even though Dally and Johnny are the complete opposite of each other, they still have their similarities. They both care about each other, and they both happen to have neglectful parents that raised them. Even though they are different, they still manage to connect with each other.
Johnny and Dally do not have an abundance of similarities, but the ones they do share stand out. One of these similarities is the fact that they both have neglectful and/or abusive parents. Dally’s parents do not give a care in the world about him. “Shoot, my old man don’t give a hang whether I’m in jail or dead in a car wreck or drunk in the gutter.” (88) This quote shows that no matter where Dallas is or what he is doing, his parents would just sit back and relax. Dally can do the feats he does because he knows his parents will not be there to stop him from doing them. Similarly, Johnny’s parents are neglectful and abusive. “I think I like it better when the old man’s hittin’ me.”...”At least then I know he …show more content…
Dally doesn’t like laws. In fact, he tries to break them as much as possible. “He went around trying to break laws.” (20) Dally has nothing better to do because of his neglectful parents trying to avoid him. Because of this he spends his time robbing stores and slashing tires for fun. On the other hand, Johnny is extremely law-abiding. “Johnny never walked by himself after that. And Johnny who was the most law-abiding of us..”(34) Johnny does not break the laws because he does not want to go to jail because he is fragile. He also doesn’t want to have his parents beat him and yell at him. Dally and Johnny’s personalities also affect their