The book and the movie of The Outsiders both create a scene where Johnny’s death drives Dally into frenzy. While the book is mainly centered around Ponyboy, because he is the narrator, the movie, however, provides a more detailed illustration of Dally’s behaviors and his psychological status.
The book tells that Dally becomes extremely mad after Johnny’s death. It is previously mentioned that after Johnny killed Bob at a night, he and Ponyboy tried to run away to a deserted church. Johnny proposed to cut his and Ponyboy’s hair to avoid being identified by people as a greaser, and Ponyboy reluctantly agreed. Yet after Johnny’s death, when Dally fails to get Johnny’s hair back, he thinks it is Ponyboy that make Johnny cut his hair. He even scolds Ponyboy for “having done that”. It is simply because Dallas’ emotion has grown out of control at that point, and he cannot just take Johnny’s death in a short time. He needs to find someone who is responsible for Johnny, or at least, someone who has ever hurt him.
In fact, the movie clip also shows this, but from a different angle. After Johnny’s death, Dallas bolts through the door in agony, and a doctor tells him he is not allowed here. Dallas’ cumulating emotion, again, bursts out. He raises his gun toward the doctor, and fire several make-believe thrusts. Also, he shouts out with extreme anger and madness that “how do you doctors help people”? Again, Dally wants to ascribe Johnny’s death to the inability of doctors.
As for Dallas’ death, the book mainly describes the way Ponyboy thinks of Dally, without a detailed explanation of how Dally robbed the grocery store, which is one of the leading factors of his death. While the movie, focuses more on the scene within the grocery store. First, Dally is looking at the magazine shelf. He picks up one, tears it up, and goes straight to the check-out counter. When he is informed that he needs to pay for the magazine that he destroyed, Dally suddenly takes out a gun to bluff the cashier, forcing the cashier to give him money. He fled away immediately after he got the money. And what follows has already been covered in the book, that he goes to a booth to get the rest of greasers to meet and assist him at the parking lot. On their way to the parking lot, several patrol cars overtake him, and close in on him. When he uses his gun to bluff at the police, he got shot in a second, with the shouting from other greasers indicating that his gun is unloaded. But it is too late anyway. Several bullets went through his body, and he laid to the ground recklessly, dead.
The movie clip really shows a feverish guy, Dally, having nothing to fear, eager to do things illegally to release his pressure and depression, and finally looking for death himself. The book also mentions this by saying “grim triumph” when describing Dally’s expression after being jerked by the bullet. What the movie has not shown is Ponyboy’s thoughts toward Dally. At the time Dallas crumpled at the ground and finally died, Ponyboy is too shocked to say a word. He is shocked by the fact that two greaser guys, Johnny and Dally, dies in the same day. But sure, he has expected that this is the way that Dally could die. In Ponyboy’s memory, Dally has been a hero. Dally pulled Johnny out of the burning church; Dally give his gun to Ponyboy although he may get in jail; Dally risks his life keeping Johnny and Ponyboy out of trouble. However this time, he dies desperately, but at least, gallantly.
In all, both the book and movie clips clearly unfold the plot of Johnny and Dallas’ death. True, that they have their own emphases of a specific aspect, which can be considered as a large difference. Still, there are a few subtle differences between the two. Ponyboy’s thoughts, as mentioned in the book, build a deeper and greater insight of the significance of Dallas’ death in the whole story. The movie, though, takes advantage of visual and acoustic representations, describing Dally’s tone, figure, and actions more vividly.