New York
New York is the city that forged Dallas Winston into the toughest, coldest, and meanest member of the greaser gang. He spent three years on the wild side of New York, where he was arrested at the age of ten and learned to survive through violence and crime. This background set him apart from the other greasers, who were products of the East Side's poverty but not of the same hardened, big-city street culture. Dally's New York experiences included gang fights, muggings, and a general lawlessness that made him "as wild as the boys in the downtown outfits, like Tim Shepard's gang." The novel uses New York as a symbol of extreme delinquency and a place where organized gangs were common, unlike the Southwest where the warfare was between social classes rather than rival gangs. Dally's past in New York explains his bitter, self-destructive edge and his ability to handle any situation with a cold, calculating ruthlessness that the other greasers lack.
Dally's New York Past and Its Influence
Dally's time in New York was marked by constant violence and criminal activity. He blew off steam in gang fights, and his reputation was such that the police had a file on him. He had been arrested, got drunk, rode in rodeos, lied, cheated, stole, rolled drunks, and jumped small kids. This background made him tougher, colder, and meaner than the rest of the greasers, and the shade of difference that separates a greaser from a hood wasn't present in Dally. He was as wild as the boys in the downtown outfits, like Tim Shepard's gang. In New York, organized gangs were rarities, but Dally's experience there meant he was used to a more structured gang rivalry. In the Southwest, there was no gang rivalry, only the conflict between social classes, which left Dally with no specific thing to hate except Socs, and he knew that you can't win against them no matter how hard you try. This bitterness was a direct result of his New York upbringing.
Contrast with the Greasers' World
The novel contrasts the organized gang violence of New York with the more personal, class-based conflict in the Southwest. In New York, Dally was part of a named gang, but in the Southwest, there are just small bunches of friends who stick together, and the warfare is between the social classes. A rumble, when it's called, is usually born of a grudge fight, and the opponents just happen to bring their friends along. This difference meant that Dally, even though he could get into a good fight sometimes, had no specific thing to hate. No rival gang. Only Socs. And you can't win against them no matter how hard you try, because they've got all the breaks and even whipping them isn't going to change that fact. This is why Dallas was so bitter. His New York experiences had taught him a different kind of warfare, one that didn't translate to the Southwest's social landscape.
Dally's Hardened Nature and Its Consequences
Dally's New York past made him incapable of the kind of emotional vulnerability that other characters show. He could take anything because he was hard and tough, and when he wasn't, he could turn hard and tough. This hardened nature is what allowed him to survive, but it also prevented him from seeing the good in the world. Johnny, in his final letter, asks Ponyboy to tell Dally to look at a sunset, because he doesn't think Dally has ever really seen one. It was too late to tell Dally, and Ponyboy doubted he would have listened. Dally's death, a violent and desperate end under a street light, is a direct consequence of the life he learned in New York. He died violent and young and desperate, just like everyone knew he would die someday. The novel uses New York as a shorthand for a life of crime and violence that ultimately leads to destruction, a fate that Dally could not escape.
