Discussion Topic

Dreams of Darry and Dally in S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders

Summary:

Darry's dream in The Outsiders is to provide a stable life for his brothers and keep the family together after their parents' death. He sacrifices his own aspirations for college to work and support them. Dally, on the other hand, dreams of freedom from societal constraints, living a life unbound by rules or expectations, reflecting his rebellious and troubled nature.

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What is Dally's dream in The Outsiders?

Dally is the most reckless, violent member of the Greaser gang, and he has an affinity for breaking the law, fighting rival gang members, and hanging out with his friends. Dally never explicitly mentions that he has a specific dream and is depicted as a relatively hopeless character with no future. After Johnny mentions that he is thinking about turning himself in, Dally expresses his love for Johnny and reveals that he lost his childhood innocence at a young age by going to jail. In jail, Dally became hardened and was never given the opportunity to regain his childhood innocence. After Johnny's tragic death, Dally loses his mind and purposely pulls out an unloaded weapon in front of the police. Dally wants to die after he loses the only person in the world he genuinely cares about.

If one were to surmise what Dally's dream would be, it would probably...

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have to do with Johnny surviving his horrific injury. Since Dally loves the rodeo, one could also imagine that Dally might dream about riding broncos professionally. It is difficult to determine what Dally's dream would be because he is such a hardened individual, but the two things he certainly loves are rodeos and Johnny.

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I don't believe that Dallas Winston (or any of his friends in The Outsiders) ever reveal any particular dream that he hopes to come true. Dally is proud of his long police record; he misses the gang fights and the streets of New York City; and he spends some of his non-gang related activities as a rodeo partner of Buck Merrill. Dally hopes that Johnny Cade will "get tough" like he is, and there is no doubt that he wants to see Johnny survive his burns. In the end, it may be that his dream is to die when he commits "suicide by cop." But I have been unable to locate any specific references in the novel to a particular dream of his. 

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What are Darry's dreams in S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders?

Darry is the oldest of the Curtis brothers and has the responsibility of providing and taking care of Ponyboy and Sodapop. Similar to Ponyboy, Darry is athletic and intelligent. When Darry's parents died, he was forced to give up a scholarship to play football in college in order to work two jobs. Since Darry works two jobs, he rarely has time to relax and hang out with his friends. Judging from the way he gets on Ponyboy about his grades and life decisions, Darry seems to be under a lot of stress.

If I were to examine Darry's dreams, I would imagine he dreams that his parents would not have died. The reader also knows that Darry dreams about playing college football and earning a post-secondary education. Darry probably dreams about not fighting with Ponyboy or having so many responsibilities. Darry also probably dreams about not working two jobs and getting to hang out with friends his age.

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