Ponyboy is a hero because he is courageous and not afraid to rescue and help people in their times of need. One main reason why Ponyboy is a hero is that when school children are stuck in a fire Ponyboy runs in to rescue them. Ponyboy yells to the teacher, “I’ll get them, don’t worry… I’ll get them,” and immediately rushes into the burning building to rescue the children. This quote shows the true nature of Ponyboy because he is concerned for a group of children trapped in a burning church. He was so worried that he goes in to the burning church with disregard for his safety and saves the kids. What he did when the church was burning meats the definition of a hero perfectly, he was courageous, saved people who needed his help, and was even called a hero by the newspaper. Another way that Ponyboy is a hero is that when Randy, a soc comes over and talks to Ponyboy, Ponyboy listens and talks to Randy about Randy’s problems. Randy then goes on to say, “Thanks kid.” This is a small gesture of kindness shown by Ponyboy, yet it is an act of heroism too. People do not have to save the world to be a hero, a small act of kindness still can take a courageous gesture like overcoming the differences between two people like Ponyboy and Randy did. Heroism in its own simple but pleasant way being kind to others is also heroic. Ponyboy is a hero because no mater how big or small the act of heroism he committed was, it saved, and helped people.

Johnny, like Ponyboy, is a hero in his own unique way. Johnny is a great example of heroism because he shows that everybody has heroic qualities of bravery courageousness and helpfulness inside of them and all it takes is an event to bring the qualities out. One important example is that during the chapter when the church is on fire Johnny not only saves school children but saves Ponyboy by pushing Ponyboy out of the church leaving him self in great danger of being crushed by the building’s falling timbers. Ponyboy describes it like this; “Johnny shoved me backwards towards the window… [and screamed] get out.” This shows Johnny’s bravery and heroism because the building was collapsing and about to crush him. Another act of heroism that Johnny commits is that he stands up for two girls who were being bullied by Dally. Here is the section that Johnny stops Dally from bulling the girls.

"Leave her alone, Dally".
"Huh" Dally was taken off guard. He stared at Johnny in disbelief. Johnny couldn’t even say “Boo” to a goose. Johnny gulped and got a little pale, but he said, “You heard me. Leave here alone.”

This part in the story was an exciting and surprising part, were Johnny stood up to Dally whom he admires. Ponyboy puts it this way, “Johnny worships the ground that Dally steps on.” and yet Johnny stood up to Dally to protect two girls. In doing so he earned new friends and gained respect. Both of these are act of heroism because Johnny protects two girls from being bullied by Dally, and is also courageous because Jonny admires Dally and Dally could have beat Johnny up for saying what he did. Instead Dally stormed off in a different direction and didn’t bully the girls anymore. Cherry, one of the girls that Johnny rescued said, “Thank you, he was starting to scare me.” This again shows that Johnny did the right thing, in being brave and courageous, and standing up to Dally. Overall Johnny is a hero because no mater how small or big the deed he committed was, Johnny saved and rescued people. This shows that anyone can be a hero, even a quiet, and reserved kid like him

• Randy is different from the other Socs because he is willing to talk to Ponyboy, a greaser, and because he decides to stop fighting.
  He will likely not participate in any more gang activities and will go on to be a respectable citizen.
  Compared to other Socs, he will probably not drink as much and will be more accepting of greasers.

• Randy is one of the Socs who attacks Johnny and Pony in the park.
  He makes a pretty dramatic turnaround after Johnny kills Bob.
  He asks to talk to Pony before the big rumble.

• When Randy first wants to talk to Pony, he doesn’t want to talk to “the tall guy that had almost drowned” him.
  He listens to Randy, though, because he seems sincere. I'm sick of all this. Sick and tired. Bob was a good guy. He was the best buddy a guy ever had. I mean, he was a good fighter and tuff and everything, but he was a real person too. You dig (Chapter 7)?

• Randy feels terrible about what happened to Bob. He likely will not get drunk as often as he used to. He says what Bob did was wrong, but his parents were overindulgent. This leads me to infer Randy will stop engaging in the behaviors he blames Bob’s parents for accepting, such as drinking too much, staying out late, and fighting.