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The Outsiders has endured throughout history as a revolutionary young adult novel and, 20 years after the book’s initial release, a widely beloved film adaptation. It has since amassed a cult following over the years, in large part due to the fearlessness in which The Outsiders confronts serious topics — poverty, loneliness, grief, classism. From heartbreaking character deaths to senseless gang violence, the story is a true tragedy. We cry for Johnny (Ralph Macchio), who spent his life abused and died horrifically in a fire, or for Dallas (Matt Dillon), who never knew what it was to be loved. And yet, many seem to overlook one of the most tragic characters in The Outsiders, Darrel, or Darry (Patrick Swayze).
Darry Curtis is our main character Ponyboy’s (C. Thomas Howell) eldest brother. From what we gather in the beginning of the film, we can see that he’s something of an authoritarian figure within the Curtis household. Always finding something to criticize in Ponyboy and a harsh no-nonsense attitude. Right after Ponyboy gets jumped by a group of Socs after leaving the movie theater, instead of being concerned, Darry laments Ponyboy’s lack of responsibility — “Movies and books! I wish you could concentrate on something else once in a while.” However, as we learn later on, Darry is now the sole carer for his two brothers after their parents died tragically in a car accident eight months prior. Even worse, the boys are only allowed to stay with Darry on the condition that they don’t cause any trouble — something which is near unavoidable as a young Greaser on the rough side of town. With this, Darry’s austere exterior begins to make more sense. He needs to keep his brothers in line, especially Ponyboy who’s constantly off with the fairies, otherwise they’ll be ripped from him and dumped straight into a boy’s home.
Most of this information is revealed slowly to us, as the film is strictly Ponyboy’s point of view. We see the world how Ponyboy sees it. We see a mean older brother out to get him for making a simple mistake by walking home alone, or coming home late. But when we look deeper, it’s not hard to imagine the kind of stress Darry was under. Stuck in constant fear that the only two people he had left in the world would be taken away, and neither of them seemed to grasp the seriousness of their situation. Particularly Ponyboy. That’s not to say that Darry’s severe attitude is excusable, just more understandable.
What makes Darry’s character all the more tragic are the details the film left out. In the novel, we learn that Darry was actually incredible popular when he was in school. He was the football captain, had tons of friends, and was full of life. Darry was even attending college under a football scholarship. His future was a beacon of light for his family. The one hope they had of lifting themselves out of poverty and finding a better life for themselves. Yet, once his parents died, Darry was forced to drop out of college and find a job working menial labor at minimum wage to support his brothers. While characters like Johnny or Dallas had objectively tragic backstories, with abusive parents and neglectful ones, respectively, the awful thing about Darry’s character is that he had hope. Dallas could never change his delinquent ways, it was all he knew how to be. He was far too cold-hearted and held too much hatred for the world.
On the other hand, Darry was so close to being someone. To saving his family from a lifetime of poverty. To making something more out of his life. But it all came crashing down. We can understand why he holds so much anger and fear, why he’s so strict and unyielding. He never even got the chance to just be an irresponsible, carefree 20-year-old. And while Swayze did a fantastic job playing Darry, he was 30 during filming and the fact that he looked like a fully grown adult made it harder to sympathize with his character. Due to this, the audience can’t see that Darry is so young, yet he’s holding the weight of the world on his shoulders.
Things get even worse for Darry when he inadvertently sets off the course of the entire film after shoving Ponyboy (or hitting him, in the book) during an argument. This was the catalyst that caused Ponyboy to run away, to get attacked by Socs and almost drowned, for Johnny to kill Bob out of self-defense, for the two to be forced into hiding. While the story follows Johnny and Ponyboy as they’re on the run, what we don’t see is the inner turmoil this whole situation had on Darry. This entire time, Darry tried his best to keep his brothers safe from trouble. Keep a firm hand, be the bad guy if he had to. And yet, he allowed his fear and anger to rule him, which evidently drove Ponyboy away. We see a hint of this regret and self-blame in Sodapop’s (Rob Lowe) letter to Ponyboy at the church. The letter reads that Darry’s “awfully sorry” for hitting him and how the whole situation has “scared us something awful.” They spend a whole week having no idea where Ponyboy is, if it’s hurt, if he’s scared. Seeing his name splashed across the newspaper, terrified that this was going to be the thing to put Ponyboy in a boy’s home. Or worse, jail.
When they finally reunite in the hospital after the church fire, we see the relief and desperation flood through Darry. He cries as he hugs Ponyboy and grips Sodapop’s shirt with a shaking hand, weeping “I thought we lost you like we did mom and dad.” The line is heartbreaking. To imagine this young man, forced to grow up so fast, still grieving over the death of his parents and almost losing his little brother through his own actions. Even then, Darry still doesn’t know how long this will last. If, once Ponyboy and Johnny turn themselves in, the court will rule Darry unfit as a guardian. It’s a level of stress that’s tough enough on an adult, let alone on someone still growing up.
It’s moments like this where you can really sympathize with Darry. The tragedy that has befallen him just over the past year is unfathomable, yet he’s never allowed to break. Darry doesn’t get a chance to grieve and make mistakes like Ponyboy or Sodapop. He has to be tough and cold to survive in their world, especially as a Greaser. In this scene at the hospital, we finally see that hard exterior crack and understand that Darry is struggling too. More so than he ever lets on.
Darry Curtis is far from perfect. He’s too mean, he’s too strict, he’s too serious. He’s the complete opposite to carefree, stuck in the clouds, irresponsible Ponyboy. Which is why, when we see the story from Ponyboy’s eyes, it’s hard to understand Darry’s motives and why he is the way he is. Darry had no experience as a parent, but was forced into the role without any preparation or warning. He had dreams of making something of himself, but had to drop out of college and lose all his friends. He’s constantly afraid of losing more of his family in a world where there’s danger lurking around every corner. While The Outsiders is full of tragic characters with awful lives and terrible fates, Darry is the only character who is completely overlooked. His entire life is in shambles, and no one even noticed. Not even us.
