The Outsiders, written by S.E. Hinton, is a story about a gang of friends known as Greasers and their rivals, the upper class Socials. Two of the Greasers get into a fight with a group of drunken Socs, and Johnny, one of the Greasers, ends up killing Bob the Soc in self defense. Most of the events of the story occur as a result of Johnny’s actions. There are many examples throughout the novel that prove how Johnny plays the role as the “sidekick” to the other Greasers throughout the story, though some elements of his character do not fit into that stereotype. Johnny is represented as the “sidekick” because he is more of a follower than a leader in his gang. The young Greaser looks up to the other older members because he is the second youngest
