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Post by xolilkelox1 on Aug 9, 2007 11:35:38 GMT -5
Dallas Winston do you think he is cold hearted hood or a Kid that grew up to fast ?
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Post by fosterchild on Aug 9, 2007 15:18:48 GMT -5
A little of both although not totally cold-hearted. He does have his moments.
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dobby101
New In Town
*newbie here* =D
Posts: 6
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Post by dobby101 on Aug 11, 2007 22:01:03 GMT -5
I don't think he's cold-hearted. The fact that he did love Johnny and chose to "kill himself" after his best friend passed away showed that he cannot be cold-hearted. I'm not sure he grew up too fast though. Dallas Winston is a very in-depth character in the book and I know when we read the book in school, we had discussion after discussion about him. I'm not going to write all of that here though, but I really think that because he went back to New York for awhile (he was orginally from Tulsa, right? I'm not sure about that), really made him have the habit of not letting anybody in. Dally to me doesn't seem like the type to make new friends in a new surrounding, so maybe him not knowing anybody up there could have made him a thougher hood than he had been before he went up to New York. Just a thought, I know, in Outsiders discussions, I tend to post a lot.  |
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Post by zevie on Aug 12, 2007 13:02:27 GMT -5
That's really interesting, mars. There's so much attributed to the way they are brought up, rather than their base personalities (nature vs. nurture, anyone? lol, maybe skip that debate...).
I could see Dally being a little snot no matter what he is, lol. But, Ponyboy does mention that his mom could get through to Dallas and keep him out of trouble. I do think that if he had the "right" background - not necessarily a Soc background - he could have ended up nicer (for lack of a better word). Without his past, I think he'd lack the bitterness. Maybe he'd be basically the same person, but I can't see him being as constantly angry with the world if he didn't have a reason to back it up. Like that Harry Potter lesson of having all the same tools but using them for good and not for evil. (Still haven't read book 7. YEEP.)
As for the "cold-heartedness" I think that's totally a learned thing. He's such a passionate guy - quick to anger, impulsive, loyal almost to a fault - I think his coldness and his distancing himself from other people must have been brought on by his circumstances. He just doesn't seem to be naturally reserved, lol.
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Post by BlindedxxFalcon on Aug 15, 2007 19:11:12 GMT -5
I totally agree, zevie.
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Post by st.elmo-lover on Aug 15, 2007 22:37:09 GMT -5
I totally agree with mars. And just for good effect I have to say that there's this song that reminds me a lot of Dally's character. It's called Bodybag by Hit The Lights. If any of you guys have heard it you will definitely know why I say that that song reminds me so much of Dally....
And Spot Conlon....but that's off topic.
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Post by hahukumkonn on Aug 29, 2007 2:44:09 GMT -5
One thing I always wondered about - wasn't it illegal in the sixties to arrest a boy younger than thirteen? I don't know that this has been explored enough, but if Dally had been thrown into a real jail at ten years old, what kind of effect would that have had on him?
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Post by fosterchild on Aug 29, 2007 15:22:37 GMT -5
st.elmo-lover, that song is just morbid! lol
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Post by fairlane on Aug 29, 2007 18:46:21 GMT -5
Dallas being arrested at ten always stood out to me a bit, I thought the usual age of criminal responsibilty would be about twelve or fourteen. I guess every state could have different laws though.
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Post by fairlane on Aug 29, 2007 20:48:08 GMT -5
Thats a good point - he could have just been arrested and held in the cells for a while.
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lostbutfound
New In Town
Sometimes the hardest thing to let go of is something you never had.
Posts: 4
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Post by lostbutfound on Sept 8, 2007 14:29:55 GMT -5
If Dallas had grown up in a different time in a different place, he would be a different person than the one we know. His past kind of created who he was and how he acted, but I think that how he was really relates to how he was forced to grow up sooner than any kid should. His only protection of himself was to push everyone away, but he wasn't able to do that entirely either -- just look at the way he behaved with Johnny.
I think that the way that Dally acts really relates to where he is and what the situation demands of him.
And the whole arrested when he was ten, I'm really not sure if that was just something he made up, or if it was true, because even if it was New York, or Tulsa, wherever he was, I can't see a ten year old kid thrown in jail.
But I'm really curious as to what he did if he did get put into jail at ten.
Well, that was kind of rambling.....
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Post by fosterchild on Sept 8, 2007 15:02:59 GMT -5
It wasn't rambling. You made some valid points.
Welcome to the board!
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Post by hahukumkonn on Sept 8, 2007 18:30:15 GMT -5
I'd go along with the cops pulling a fast one on him - making him think he'd go to jail for sure, and then having his parents come bail him out after an hour or so in the clink. I imagine it would have been a really traumatic experience and might have made Dallas want to become tougher than anyone in New York just to keep from going back there.
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Post by BlindedxxFalcon on Sept 15, 2007 19:19:00 GMT -5
One of the reasons I think Dally watched over Johnny was to keep him from getting hard like he did...I imagine him rather like Johnny before he got hard and he didn't want a kid like Johnny to have to go through the same things he did.
Dallas Winston was a kid that grew up to fast, and in the wrong way.
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Post by harajukugirl on Apr 5, 2009 12:02:04 GMT -5
I think that Dallas is not cold hearted but I think that Dallas himself has a hard time showing his feelings. I think that when Johnny died he didn't know what to do with himself and his feelings over ran him causing him to kill himself.
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