Switchblades, jagged pipes, and busted pop bottles. Violence contained in the safeguarding walls of a house. Murder committed in the dead of night, beside the gentle spray of a fountain. All of this, and more, happens in the classic novel, The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton, where there are some pretty tough guys on the block. The toughest by far, is Dallas Winston. Despite his strong guy reputation, Dallas would do anything for his friends, and proves it again and again. The character Dallas, nicknamed Dally, is originally introduced as a tough, don’t-mess-with-me kind of guy but, throughout the story, Hinton exposes him to be much more empathetic than at first glance, even if Dally only shows it to those few he cares about.
Out of all the strong ‘greasers’ in the story, Dally is feared the most by rivals. One of his friends, Ponyboy who also narrates the story, describes him as having eyes that are, “…blue, blazing ice, cold with a hatred of the whole world” (Hinton 10). Dally is seen as tougher than nails, and not exactly hated, but full of hatred. Before meeting Ponyboy and his friends, “Dally had spent three years on the wild side of New York and had been arrested at the age of ten. He was tougher than the rest of us--- tougher, colder, meaner.” (Hinton 10) Dally used to have a pretty hard life, and to be honest it hasn’t gotten much better. He has a reputation for fighting, stealing, and just being plain rude. His record with the Police, or fuzz as they call them, is far from clean. I doubt that I would be able to stand being in the same room with him for more than a minute. Despite his many unlikable qualities, Dally seems to have made some very close friends. Hinton characterizes him as a tough guy, with a soft spot for a select few people, to show that many people have very different personalities than their looks and day-to-day behavior suggest.
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Other than being described as cruel, insolent, and violent, Dally can also be brave, when he chooses to be. It takes a lot of courage to start, and win, as many fights as Dally has. Likewise, when encountered with a burning church, Ponyboy and their friend Johnny gallantly volunteer to save the children who are trapped inside. Once all the kids were safe, the church began to collapse while Johnny and Ponyboy were still trapped inside. Dally immediately rushed to the rescue and pulled the two from the wreckage. Later in an ambulance, one of the paramedics describes the events of the day by saying, “First you and the black haired kid climbing in that window, and then the tough-looking kid going back in to save him. Mrs. O'Briant and I think you were sent straight from heaven. Or are you just professional heroes or something?' (Hinton 95) Dally, or ‘the tough-looking kid’ as the paramedic described him, ran into the burning church with no hesitation, no fear, and not a single thought for the personal dangers the rash decision could of caused. Dally could have been severally injured or even killed, yet he decided to risk it anyways. He weighed his friend’s lives vs. his own, and he chose his friends. Hinton expresses this side of the, usually merciless, Dally to show that anyone is capable of great acts. The most lonely and malicious people are capable of the kindest decisions; while the kindest, and most helpful people can turn unforgiving and despicable.
As cold and tough as Dally looks on the outside, on the inside he is more dependent on his friends than he’ll ever admit. Dally once said, “…my old man don't give a hang whether I'm in jail or dead in a car wreck or drunk in the gutter.” (Hinton 88) Dally’s a school dropout, has a huge reputation for fighting, a mile long criminal record, and parents who don’t care about him. His friends are all he really has. Dally was especially close to Johnny, who was one of the younger and more innocent members of his group. All of them were very protective of Johnny and were crushed when his injures killed him. Dally especially didn’t take the news well, “…he slammed back against the wall. His face contracted in agony, and sweat streamed down his face… He suddenly bolted through the door and down the hall.” (Hinton 149) After Dally’s abrupt exit, Ponyboy headed home and told the others what had become of the close duo. Ponyboy even thought to himself, “Dally is tougher than I am. Why can I take it when Dally can't? And then I knew. Johnny was the only thing Dally loved. And now Johnny was gone.” (Hinton 152) Later that night, while being chased by the police for a robbery, Dally pulled out a gun. The gun wasn’t loaded of course, even Dally wouldn’t go that far, but the police didn’t know that. They open fired ending Dally’s life. Ponyboy described the scene by saying, “He was jerked half around by the impact of the bullets, than slowly crumpled with a look of grim triumph on his face. He was dead before he hit the ground. But I knew that was what he wanted…” (Hinton 154) Dally couldn’t handle it. He couldn’t bear the thought that his best friend, his brother, innocent little Johnny, possibly the only thing he ever loved, was gone. So Dally solved his problem and ended his suffering the only way he knew how. Through Violence. At the beginning of the story, Dally was described as cold and cruel. At the end, you can describe Dally as cold, cruel, and brave. His character was uncovered overtime, proving the point that you never truly know anyone. They decide if you see them as them, or who they want you to see.
Dally, with a reputation for being coldhearted and ruthless, is a lot more capable of compassionate feelings and heroic acts than anyone realizes. After being called cruel and unfeeling his whole life, Dally surprised everyone by rescuing Ponyboy and Johnny from a burning church. Later, after Johnny died, Dally reached his emotional breaking point, proving that he had feelings, despite how little he showed them. S. E. Hinton exposes Dally’s true character gradually, using desperate circumstances to portray his emotions. She does this to show that not everyone is who they say they are. People are always so much more on the inside.
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