4/09/22

Overview

If I were to choose one of the characters from The Outsiders to get along with, I would pick Dallas Winston. After everything he has gone through, you can understand why he acted and treated others the way he did. Through the course of the book, you see more into his character, and by reading through the lines, you can understand the majority of his character.

Dally is a greaser that is risky to hang around. He breaks the laws for fun and shows defiance toward societies' intention to straighten him out. Despite this, Dallas is still someone trustworthy and enjoyable to be around. He may be mean to the gang and the people he cares about, but he has tough love for them and will do anything to protect them. Dallas doesn't treat others how you would normally treat people because he did not have a good upbringing.

When Dallas is introduced in the book, Ponyboy explains that Dally is from New York. He grew up in street gangs and has been continuously in and out of jail since the age of 10. Dallas states in chapter 6 that his “old man”  doesn’t care if he was injured or dead, and that does not bother him. I think it does bother him, but he buries it under his tough, tuff, and cold demeanour.

As the book progresses, you see more of Dally’s caring qualities. After hearing about what transpired with Bob, he gives them some money, something to defend themselves with, a place to hide, and lies to the police about where they are heading. Dallas helped Ponyboy and Johnny because he cared for their safety and did not want them to be in jail at a young age. During the fire, he saved Ponyboy and Johnny from getting burnt alive.

When Johnny dies from his injuries in the hospital, it breaks Dallas completely. He slammed against the walls while he was guilt-stricken on his face. He begged and pleaded for Johnny not to be dead. He couldn’t live without Johnny. With Johnny gone, Dallas had no reason or motive to live. To Dally, his life was completely and utterly meaningless.

Dallas’ main priority was keeping Johnny safe from the dangers of this world, but he failed, and because of it, he was gone. Dallas had no motive to live anymore and no restraint left in him. He robbed a store and called the Curtis household, asking if they could hide him after realizing the police would be coming for him. While he ran, he realized that he would not be able to outrun them, so he used the police to take his own life.

After dealing with his family not caring for him, being in and out of jail, and having the one he cares most for die. It is understandable why he was at his breaking point. He felt useless like he would never find someone whom he could save and keep around. He felt like he failed everyone he has ever met. His actions in The Outsiders were justifiable, from his backstory, to what happens to him to his death.

Relationships

Going back to Johnny, it is a quality that Dallas watches over Johnny. He makes sure Johnny is okay and out of trouble. He's worried about Johnny facing the cruel, cold, dangerous outside world. When Johnny tells Dallas that he and Ponyboy are planning to turn themselves in, Dallas scolds them and tells them they are crazy. Johnny asks if his parents had asked about him, and Dallas snaps at him, telling him that they did not care about him. He expresses that his old man doesn’t care about him as well and would not care if he is dead.

He explains to Johnny and Ponyboy that they do not know what a few months in jail can do to them. Not only that, he did not want to see Johnny face life in jail and change into a completely different individual, as Dallas did during his time in prison. During his time in the hospital, when Two-Bit and Ponyboy come to visit him, he asks them how Johnny was doing. They explain what had happened when they visited him and Dallas is distressed. He is angry at the socs and wants to get even with them for what they did to Johnny, to prove that greasers are just as even as socs, that greasers are not scum that you can kick into the dirt because they are just as capable people in society as socs are.

When it comes to Ponyboy, he cares for him, but not as much as he does for Johnny. When he finds out about Johnny killing the soc, the first thing he does is get them a hideout place. He gives them instructions on where to go before expressing that everything will be all right. Later, after arriving at the church, Dallas gives Ponyboy a letter from Sodapop. Sodapop did not believe Dally when he said he did not know where Johnny and Ponyboy went.

He makes everyone think he is still a tough hood who can handle anything. He kept up the demeanour until Johnny's death Ponyboy finally realized Dallas has a separate side. A side he hid for his reputation and because of his past. Ponyboy only realized everything that happened to him after Dallas’ death when it was too late. Maybe if he connected the pieces sooner, Dallas would still be alive, or fate had put him in this position.

Connection

For me and others who connect, he would be a great friend. You can connect with him and understand his motives and his actions. Dallas does not hate the world and everything in it for no reason his actions represent his past. He acts as he learned how to survive during his days in New York. He learned from the environment he was thrown into at a young age.

Dallas is known as a hood. A tough, tuff, and wild greaser who did many things for the fun of it. He was cheated on before, which is noted in the first chapter. With the emotional deprivation and abandonment he has faced from family and his love life, he has not had an easy life. His actions in

In Chapter 9, Dallas says, “You'd better wise up, Pony... you get tough like me, and you don't get hurt. You look out for yourself and nothing can touch you, man,” this quote hit me hard due to the mere impact it had on me. Most people who have read this have heard a phrase close to it with almost the same meaning.

“You get tough like me and you don't get hurt,” to Dallas, it means if you stay hard-headed and do not let things phase you, you will not be affected and get hurt easily by the world’s efforts to throw you down.  “You look out for yourself and nothing can touch you, man.” It is a phrase put into my own words that say, “Only look out for yourself and no one else. When you put people before you, it makes you weak. If you look out for only yourself, you will not get hurt when people leave you behind.”

Dallas is the friend in the group that sometimes makes you think, “How did we find them again?” Due to the past they have and what they do. Regardless, you are still friends with them and enjoy their company. Due to their demeanour of being cool, calm, and collected you think they can handle anything. This is not the case.

As someone labelled into that category in their friend group, I relate to Dallas. My friends know my backstory and current events that occur in my life, but since I act so calm, obnoxious, and happy, they think I moved on immediately and handled it. I hold it all in because I do not want to lash out at any of my friends or let my emotions get the better of me.

My gang likes to talk rubbish to each other, so we insult each other all the time for fun. I laugh at these jokes despite taking offence to some of them. Sometimes, I want to walk away or yell at them, but I keep that smile on my face. It is difficult when you are known as the tough one in the group.

You are assigned this role of being capable to go through every situation without fail and can handle the toughest things easily. When you have this role, kids cling to you for support. You have to stay strong in this role because you do not want people to see you as weak-minded and incapable of being there for others.

Conclusion

Dallas Winston is a character who is charismatic, strong, hard, cold, and has a clear view of the world around him. Throughout his life, he was placed through a tough and miserable existence that gave him no chance of living happily. When he found people he could consider the closest thing to family, people took that away from him. All he wanted in his life was something he could keep close to keep himself at bay and stable.

He is a 17-year-old who lived life on the wrong side of cities and was thrown into a world to hate and despise. When he finally found a peaceful standpoint, it was destroyed again, which caused him to snap, and finally, give up everything. Dallas had nothing left in his life, so he left life by using the one thing that held him back, the one thing he hated. He killed himself by using the police, but that is what Dallas Winston wanted. Dallas Winston always gets what he wants.