In The Outsiders - standard fare in many primary classrooms - readers are introduced to a battle of social classes between the poor greasers and the elite Socs. Despite their rough reputations, the greasers are the sympathetic characters of the story, particularly sensitive narrator Ponyboy, abused underdog Johnny, and dangerous hoodlum Dallas. When Ponyboy is attacked and Johnny must kill a Soc to save him, Dally give them protection from the law and sends them to safety. Unfortunately, the safety doesn't last too long, and Johnny dies from injuries sustained as he rescued children from a fire. Nevertheless, he spends his final moments with the two people who cared most about him in the world, secure in the knowledge that his heroism has not been overshadowed by his status as a greaser. It's awfully sad for readers, but really it's as good an ending as Johnnycake could have hoped for. He was at peace. The book was almost over; surely the carnage was complete, and the final pages would show the survivors following Johnny's example and coping with his death in a healthy and cohesive manner. Nope. Dally, in a grief-fuelled frenzy at the loss of "the only thing loved," robs a grocery store. As he finds himself surrounded by policemen, he brandishes the unloaded gun that he carries as a bluff and deliberately draws their fire. For most young readers, this was our first experience with the concept of suicide-by-cop, and at first it's difficult to believe that the tormented Dallas could have died so soon after Johnny...but as Ponyboy tells us, "I knew he would be dead, because Dally Winston wanted to be dead, and he always got what he wanted."
Fiction buff and writer. If it's on Netflix, it's probably in my queue. I've bought DVDs for the special features and usually claim that the book is better than the movie or show (and can provide examples). I've never met a TV show that I won't marathon. Follow on Twitter @lah9891 .
