Summary
The Outsidersauthor S.E. Hinton candidly explains why Dallas “Dally” Winston had to die. Played by Matt Dillon inFrancis Ford Coppola’s 1983 adaptationof the beloved novel, Dally is a complex character, a particularly tough member of the greasers with a criminal history who has a particular soft spot for Johnny Cade (Ralph Macchio), whom he looks out for as if Johnny was his own little brother. Dally is ultimately killed when gunned down by the police after robbing a grocery store with an unloaded gun.
When asked on X/Twitter why she decided to kill Dally, especially after Johnny’s death,Hintonbluntly and jokingly responded,“Because I am a stone cold b*tch.“Check out Hinton’s post below:
Neither the book nor the movie waste much time between Johnny and Dally dying, with Johnny dying in chapter 9 of the novel and Dally dying in chapter 10, along with the scenes occurring in close succession in Coppola’s adaptation. The film also features the devastating visual image of Dally crawling and collapsing on the street after he is shot.
It Was Essential To The Story’s Themes
As indicated by the original question posed to Hinton on X/Twitter, Dally’s death could be seen as excessive, particularly after Johnny’s heartbreaking end. Nevertheless,Dally had to die because of his connection to Johnny and because of how his death tied into the larger themes. Johnny was the only person Dally genuinely loved, and without him, life felt meaningless, which led Dally to rob a grocery store and brandish an unloaded gun with the intent of having the police kill him.
The narrative and emotional impact of Dally’s death continues to endure 57 years after the novel’s publication, with readers still actively engaging with the author and the text itself.
When the greasers excitedly tell Johnny that they won the rumble against the Socs, Johnny tells them,“useless . . . fighting’s no good,“before delivering his final and iconic line,“stay gold, Ponyboy, stay gold.“Dally’s death further emphasizes Johnny’s message about violence, one of the story’s overarching themes which is that violence ultimately does not solve anything. Unlike Ponyboy Curtis (C. Thomas Howell) and his brothers, who were able to find a future without violence and live by Johnny’s dying words, that never would have been possible for Dally.
25 Wild Details Behind The Making Of The Outsiders
The Outsiders launched the career of so many iconic young actors, but they went through a lot to make it to the big screen.
The narrative and emotional impact of Dally’s death continues to endure 57 years after the novel’s publication, with readers still actively engaging with the author and the text itself. In addition toThe Outsidersbook and movie, it is now also a Tony Award-winning Broadway musical, offering a slightly different, but still distressing depiction of Dally’s death.The Outsidersis a rare story that can stand the test of time and resonate well in numerous mediums.
The Outsiders
Cast
The Outsiders is Francis Ford Coppola’s adaptation of S.E. Hinton’s coming-of-age drama novel. Two teen gangs, the Socials and the Greasers find themselves at irreconcilable odds when one of the Social’s boys is killed in a brawl. Following the event, the Greasers head into hiding while some of them seek redemption for their past crimes.
