“Johnny Cade was last and least” (Hinton 11). This is the first sentence Ponyboy uses to describe Johnny, and it does not give a feeling of caring. To call one “least” would imply that they are “less” and not as important. However, later on in the same paragraph, Ponyboy says, “He was the gang’s pet, everyone’s kid brother” (Hinton 12). This sentence is better applied to the gang’s protectiveness of Johnny, he is like their younger brother. Most siblings are fiercely protective of their younger siblings, and the gang is no exception; even Ponyboy, the youngest of the gang, is protective of Johnny.
However, there is an implied tone throughout the book that most of the greasers are protective of Johnny. The other greasers, such as Tim Shepard’s gang, do not regard Johnny as their younger brother. And in fact, before the rumble, the only reference to Johnny by someone outside of Ponyboy’s gang is Tim Shepard asking if Ponyboy and the “quiet black-headed kid” (Hinton 139) had killed the Soc that led to the rumble. Because of the first person narration, Ponyboy displays his own feelings of protectiveness on other greasers, over romanticizing the sibling/family relationship his own gang has.
