his actions in getting drunk and jumping greasers.

Another example of kindness is Johnny’s behavior while they are hiding out at the church.  Johnny is a sensitive boy.  He buys a copy of Gone With the Wind for them to read, and he discusses sunrises with Pony.  When the fire starts, he tries to rescue the children.  His injuries are the greatest. 

Even when Johnny is dying in the hospital, he still thinks of Pony.  He asks for a copy of Gone with the Wind and wants to give it to him so he can finish it. He also tells Pony to make something of his life, referencing a Robert Frost poem that Pony recited for him, “Nothing Gold Can Stay.”

I barely heard him. I came closer and leaned over to hear what he was going to say.

"Stay gold, Ponyboy. Stay gold..." The pillow seemed to sink a little, and Johnny died. (Ch. 9)

Even as he was dying, Johnny thought of Ponyboy.  He did not want him to die young as well, and he wanted to make sure he inspired him to make something of himself.  Johnny knew that of all the greasers, Pony had the chance to get out of the life.

Throughout the book, S. E. Hinton includes examples of the boys doing small things for each other, as their friends are as close as family. These gestures become larger and more important as more serious events occur, resulting in the injuries and deaths of several boys. One act of kindness occurs when Johnny is in the hospital. While they were in hiding together, Pony had been reading to him, and he asks about the book. Two-Bit goes out to the store and picks up a copy of Gone with the Wind for him to read while recovering.

Even strangers sometimes extend themselves to the boys. After the rumble and learning that Johnny has died, Pony is in a daze. A man driving by in his car gives him a lift; while he points out that Pony’s head is bleeding, he is more concerned for the boy than for his car upholstery, and takes him home.

After Pony recovers sufficiently from his injuries—a period when both his brothers treat him kindly—he returns to school. Although his grades have plummeted, the teacher understands that he has been through a lot and offers a deal to write an essay and thereby salvage a passing grade. This act of kindness proves pivotal, as writing is not only therapeutic, but Pony discovers it as his gift.

I would argue that the biggest example of redemption in this brilliant novel is when Johnny dies. You may think this is a rather strange example to focus on, but if we think about what he writes in his final letter to Ponyboy, we can see that Johnny's death is redemptive in many different ways. Let us consider what he writes for one moment:

Listen, I don't mind dying now. it's worth it. It's worth saving those kids. Their lives are worth more than mine, they have more to live for. Some of their parents came by to thank me and I know it was worth it.

Not only was Johnny's sacrifice redemptive in the way that he was able to save children whilst hurting himself, but in a sense, Johnny was able to save himself through his act. Note his transformation from a greaser, an outcast of society who is thought of as being a rebellious and useless individual, to somebody who is thanked by parents and a hero.

In addition, let us also focus on the way in which Johnny's death is redemptive in terms of the impact that it has on Ponyboy. Let us remember what Johnny says to Ponyboy specifically:

And don't be so bugged over being a greaser. You still have a lot of time to make yourself be what you want. There's still lots of good in the world.

It is this final message from Johnny that encourages and inspires Ponyboy to look at his life in a different way and to try and put it down on paper to help others. Johnny's death is therefore a key redemptive moment when we think about how he manages to save so many people, including himself, through his actions.

One major example of caring is Darry's willingness to work two jobs and give up all the things he wants to do in order to keep the boys together. He is awfully young to have assumed the responsibility to take care of the family but he does it quickly and is willing to do whatever it takes to keep them together.

Another example is Ponyboy's willingness to run off with Johnny so that he won't be alone. He is also willing to read to Johnny from the book and is totally destroyed when Johnny dies from the wounds he sustained while rescuing the boys in the church.

Which is of course another example of caring. When Johnny and Dally and Ponyboy get back to the church, Johnny and Pony assume it might be their fault that the fire started. So they rush in to save the kids that are trapped in the back without a second thought. They obviously care about other people and are willing to risk their own lives to save them.