Zoey .

M Michaud

Ms.Mounts

Modern Literature

09 January 2017

Self defense

Acting in self defense is not murder. Thus, Johnny killing Bob in order to protect

Ponyboy in S.E. Hinton’s ​The Outsiders​ should not be deemed murder. Johnny only attacked,

because he was provoked, and because Pony was in danger, he acted impulsively in a moment of

a flood of emotions.

Johnny was protecting Pony. In legal terms, self defense includes the protection of others.

In Oklahoma’s self defense act, the “Stand your ground” clause states:

“​A person who is not engaged in an unlawful activity and who is attacked in any other

place where he or she has a right to be has no duty to retreat and has the right to stand his

or her ground and meet force with force, including deadly force, if he or she reasonably

believes it is necessary to do so to prevent death or great bodily harm to himself or

herself or another…”(21 OK stat ​§ 21-1289.25 section D​)​.

Based on this state law, the only possible verdict Johnny could receive is innocent. Johnny saw

Pony being drowned and acted to defend him. Johnny even admits this is the driving force for

him to do what he did: “I had to. They were drowning you, Pony. They might have killed

you.”(S.E Hinton 57). In his eyes, Pony was about to die. Due to the fact that homicide is legal if

you’re protecting someone, and Johnny was doing just that, Johnny’s actions should not be seen

as murder.
 The killing occurred in a moment of passion, which only further proves Johnny’s

innocence. Oklahoma state law defines homicide as excusable “...when committed by accident

and misfortune in the heat of passion…”(21 OK stat § 21-731). Johnny acted impulsively when

he realised that someone he cared about was about to die. Also, Johnny had been attacked before,

and may have something along the lines of PTSD, which stirred up even more emotion in the

moment. The Soc’s had a weapon and because of the past events, he felt he was going to be hurt

again. “And they had a blade..they were gonna beat me up….” “like…” -I swallowed- “like they

did before?” Johnny was quiet for a minute. “Yeah,” he said, “like they did before.”(S.E Hinton

57). Johnny killed Bob in the heat of the moment. This was a moment of terror and passion,

because Johnny believed he and Pony were going to die. This belief led to Johnny letting his

emotions lead him. He was frightened, it was in a moment of passion, and he didn’t mean to kill,

only stop Bob, so his violence in the situation should be viewed as an excusable homicide.

Johnny was provoked by the Soc’s, and the Oklahoma laws excuse homicide when

committed “...upon any sudden and sufficient provocation…” (21 OK stat § 21-731). The Soc’s

provoked Johnny and Ponyboy by insulting them, threatening Pony, and attacking first. The

Soc’s insulted the boys by saying “”you know what a greaser is?” Bob asked. “White trash with

long hair.””(S.E Hinton 55). The threat came when Bob said,““You could use a bath, greaser.

And a good working over. And we’ve got all night to do it. Give that kid a bath David.”” (S.E

Hinton 55). Then they attacked when one of the Soc’s, presumably David, grabbed Pony and

pushed his face into the water. “I ducked and tried to run for it, but the Soc caught my arm and

twisted it behind my back, and shoved my face into the fountain.”(S.E Hinton 56). The actions of

the Soc’s should be seen as provocation, and the following violence was their own fault,
especially since Pony tried to leave, and did not want to fight. Thus, Johnny’s actions were

justifiable in this situation.

Although some readers may say that Johnny did murder Bob, they are incorrect because

Johnny acted in self defense. Yes, in Oklahoma’s self defense laws it states that “​When

committed in the lawful defense of such person, or of his or her husband, wife, parent, child,

master, mistress, or servant…”(21 O.S. § 733) and Pony was not any of those things to Johnny.

But, the self defense laws embrace both the castle doctrine and the stand your ground law, and in

the stand your ground clause, it says that an individual can act in defense of themselves and

anyone ​who they believe to be in danger when in a place that they are allowed to be. “ ...who is

attacked in any other place where he or she has a right to be...if he or she reasonably believes it is

necessary to do so to prevent death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another…” (21

OK stat ​§ 21-1289.25 section D​). Considering that the self defense laws embrace this clause, and

they were in a place that they were legally allowed to be, this would be seen as self defense.

Johnny’s actions may be viewed as murder because he couldn’t have known if the Soc’s were

really going to kill Pony. This is not a valid statement because he was being attacked and the

possibility of death was there. The self defense laws don’t apply only when someone is being

killed, it applies to an attack that can result in bodily harm of any kind. “...or suffering substantial

bodily injury at the hands of someone else and their defense results in death, the death is

categorized as justifiable.” (M.K Bailey Law offices,Self Defense). No, Johnny couldn’t be sure

that Pony would be killed, he didn’t need to be.

Johnny’s only acted in the way he did because he felt Pony and himself were in danger,

he was provoked, and he was triggered by his past. All of these things make a homicide
justifiable in the eye of the law. As proven above, all of these things led Johnny to act in self

defense to protect both himself and Ponyboy. If the reader of this paper were to be in Johnny’s

situation, would their opinion stay the same?

 Works cited

"OK § 21-1289.25 PHYSICAL OR DEADLY FORCE AGAINST INTRUDER." ​Law of Self

Defense​. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Jan. 2017.

"Criminal Defense." ​Justifiable Homicide - OK Criminal Defense Lawyer | Law Firm of

Oklahoma​. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Jan. 2017.

"Self Defense." ​Self Defense | Oklahoma City Lawyer | Justifiable Homicide​. N.p., n.d. Web. 09

Jan. 2017.

"2014 Oklahoma Statutes :: Title 21. Crimes and Punishments :: §21-731. Excusable homicide,

what is."​Justia Law​. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Jan. 2017.

Lubenkov, Rix, and Don Gutteridge. ​The outsiders by S.E. Hinton​. London, Ont.: Althouse

Press, 1992. Print.