Who Dies in The Outsiders?
Three deaths, one week, and how each one changes Ponyboy
Three characters die in The Outsiders: Bob Sheldon, the Soc Johnny stabs to save Ponyboy, Johnny Cade, from injuries he suffers rescuing children from a fire, and Dally Winston, shot by police the same night Johnny dies.
Ponyboy's parents died in a car crash before the story starts. Ponyboy himself survives.
| Who dies | How | When |
|---|---|---|
| Bob Sheldon | Stabbed by Johnny in the park | Chapter 4 |
| Johnny Cade | Broken back and burns from the fire | Chapter 9, after the rumble |
| Dally Winston | Shot by police under a streetlight | Chapter 10, the same night |
| Mr. and Mrs. Curtis | Car crash | Before the book begins |
How does Bob Sheldon die?
Late one night, Ponyboy and Johnny are in the park when Bob and his friends pull up, drunk and angry because the boys were seen with their girlfriends. The Socs push Ponyboy's head under the water of the fountain and hold him there. Johnny, who has carried his switchblade ever since Bob's gang beat him months before, stabs Bob to save his friend. Bob dies on the spot, and the boys go on the run.
Bob is not simply a villain. His friend Randy later tells Ponyboy that Bob's parents never set him any limits, and that he kept pushing in the hope that someone would. Even Cherry, who knows his cruelty, mourns him.
↑ Back to the topHow does Johnny die?
Hiding out near Windrixville, the boys decide Johnny should turn himself in. As they leave, they see the old building they stayed in on fire, with schoolchildren trapped inside. Ponyboy and Johnny climb in and pass the children out through a window. A burning piece of the roof falls on Johnny, breaking his back and burning him badly.
He lies in the hospital for days. After the greasers win the rumble, Ponyboy and Dally rush to tell him. Johnny says it was useless fighting, tells Ponyboy to stay gold, and dies.
↑ Back to the topWhy does Dally die?
Dally loved Johnny more than anyone, and he cannot bear losing him. He runs out of the hospital, robs a grocery store and calls the gang to meet him in the vacant lot. When the police corner him there, he raises a gun, and they shoot him dead under a streetlight. The gun was not loaded.
Ponyboy understands what everyone in the gang understands: Dally did not want to go on without Johnny. It is the darkest moment of the book, and Ponyboy faints soon after.
↑ Back to the topWhat happens to Ponyboy after the deaths?
Ponyboy falls ill for days, partly from a head injury in the rumble and partly from shock. For a while he tells himself that he, not Johnny, killed Bob. A judge clears the boys, and the three Curtis brothers are allowed to stay together. His grades slip until his English teacher offers him one last chance: write a theme about anything that matters to him.
Finding Johnny's letter gives him the reason. He decides to tell the story of the boys like him, so people will understand them before judging them, and he begins with the book's very first line.
↑ Back to the topDoes anyone die differently in the movie?
No. Coppola's 1983 film keeps the same three deaths, in the same order. Johnny's last words and the scene under the streetlight are among the most remembered moments of the film.
↑ Back to the topMore about The Outsiders
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