Who Dies In The Outsiders?

The Outsiders, written by S.E. Hinton in 1967, is a young adult novel in which Ponyboy Curtis narrates the story. Ponyboy is fourteen years old and lives with his two older brothers—Darry and Sodapop—and his younger sister—Stephanie. His best friend is Johnny Cade, a fellow Greaser who lives on the other side of town from him. Another important character in The Outsiders is Cherry Valance, a Soc whom Ponyboy meets at a drive-in movie theater and falls in love with. In an unfortunate turn of events, Johnny gets into a fight with some Socs, who stab him in the back with a knife. After one of the Socs attacks Johnny in self-defense, Johnny kills him. The two boys flee and hide out in an abandoned church in the country. While they are there, Ponyboy reads Gone with the Wind and begins to see the world differently. The boys are eventually found and brought back to town. Johnny is put on trial for murder, but Ponyboy testifies on his behalf, saying that he acted in self-defense. Johnny is found not guilty, but he dies from his injuries shortly thereafter.