A person who teases someone else can bring out the worst in the victim. It’s like a ticking bomb inside them that every time they get knocked emotionally and physically they get closer and closer to blowing up and finally one day they just explode and take guard. In the novel “The Outsiders” people get pushed too far and take defense.
Guarding your own life may cause you take the life away of the person who is taunting you, just like Johnny had to. Johnny was a greaser who in our day we call the “poor kid”. He didn’t have as much as the socs, which we are also known as “rich kids”. The socs think they are all cool and think they have the right to do whatever they want, including picking on the greasers.
Johnny was teased a lot by a soc named Bob and he almost had beaten Johnny to death. After that near death experience Johnny started carrying a knife on him to protect him in case it ever happen again. Then when Bob came with his friends to tease Johnny and his friend Ponyboy, it drew the line. He got out his knife and slaughtered Bob. It wasn’t intentional but he was getting beaten up. What else was there to do when you and your friend are getting harassed to death? If I were in his shoes I would most likely do the same thing but like I always say you never know what you’re going to do unless you’re in the situation in real life.
Sadly Johnny died in a church fire that Bob’s friends lit to get there revenge on him. Ponyboy was heartbroken, his best friend just died. It’s not like it was an accident, it was on purpose and no one got punished. How would you feel being burned to death? My guess is not good, because I know I wouldn’t be feeling the best at the moment.
Life is a gift for all of us. To be able to find love and have friends and fun times and possible even fulfill our dreams. But if we treat life with disrespect then karma will come for you. You have to be grateful for what you have because there are many others out there who aren’t as lucky and don’t have a place to stay or nothing to eat.
