Theme Of Fear In The Outsiders

Fear is a unique emotion and it is displayed differently in each individual, but the one thing that is the same is that fear will always be an unpleasant emotion. Fear is the outcome of being in a dangerous situation, and of being aware of a threat to your wellbeing. In the novels ‘The Outsiders’ by S. E Hinton and ‘Brighton Rock’ by Graham Greene, the characters each have their own distinct idea of fear, and this varies as the novel's progress. In ‘The Outsiders’, fear is depicted as a bad thing, and it's the feeling you get when everything goes wrong, but in ‘Brighton Rock’, fear is shown as something that pushes you towards your goal and keeps you going. Fear produces different reactions from each character, and this leads to an onset of actions and events that in hindsight, could have …show more content…
When Ponyboy introduces the other characters, he even comments on the way that they’re family to him and that they’ve all grown up together. The fear that they have is the fear of losing each other rather than being scared of each other. This causes them to protect one another, we can compare this view to the way Dally reacts when Johnny dies on page 180 and Ponyboy says that “Johnny was the only thing that Dally has ever loved.” This quote shows the love that each boy has for each other and the fact that Dally kills himself for Johnny references the idea that Dally’s worst fear came true. This presentation of fear is abnormal to the one we see in modern society where usually the man gets revenge, but Dally realises that he can’t go on living with Johnny and so he sees death as his only option. This view of fear is opposite to the way Pinkie and his gang sees fear and it’s different to show this side of fear - the side that makes you strive to protect your loved ones and care about other people rather than only caring for