MovieChat Forums > The Outsiders (1983) Discussion > Three questions about Darry's legal stan...

Three questions about Darry's legal stance

posted 2 years ago by TM1617-2 (643)
7 replies | jump to latest

Isn't Darry under twenty-one? If so, then he is a minor in his time. It's wonderful that the oldest Curtis brother is the guardian of his siblings, but I'm surprised that he's allowed to be. Why doesn't Darry plan to run from the rumble with Sodapop and Ponyboy in the event of the police? Surely he knows that if he gets arrested, then he will lose custody of his brothers. Even if Ponyboy does not admit to running away during the trial, he must be asked which time the drowning and stabbing have occurred. He puts a shadow of suspicion over Darry by saying that he's been at the playground with a friend at two o' clock in the morning. That is something else that could get all three boys in trouble. Is the judge just excusing the last part to be kind to the kids because of all that they have been through?

[–] [deleted] 2 years ago

If he's over 18, he is no longer a minor.

[–] TM1617-2 (643) 2 years ago

Thank you, JackBrock. This movie takes place in the early sixties, so kids under twenty-one are minors, and I think that Darry is.

[–] [deleted] 2 years ago

The Judge, or whoever decided on custody, must have wanted to keep the family together. This was (and is) standard practice if practicable. I don't believe it was stated what Darry's age is, but he seems like he was in his early twenties.

As for the other questions, I don't remember the movie that well.

[–] strntz (12474) 2 years ago

I read the book once (1974) and saw the movie once, but I don't think they mentioned Darry's age. I assumed he would have been of legal age whatever that was at the time the book was published.

[–] ADBruno1985 (3507) 2 years ago

My guess is it was an exception. Darry was out of school and working. And it kept Sodapop and Ponyboy from being displaced from the home they grew up in. It feels like there are no other relatives willing to step up. And the two are old enough and stubborn enough where they'd probably have run away from any/every foster home they were placed in. Plus to further illustrate that they're kids from the wrong side of the track who nobody *really* cares about. So all those thigs combined, it would've been looked at as a waste of resources, so just leave them to their own devices like they want.

[–] TM1617-2 (643) a year ago

Thank you, ADBruno1985. Surely you were right about the boys running away from a foster home, but in that case, all three would have been wards. I wouldn't have considered that because I was thinking about a guardian staying in the Curtis house, but maybe that kind of arrangement was not allowed in those days. You had a smart gathering of the state not caring about the brothers anyway, but it might have had more to do with the belief that such kids could handle themselves due to their rough background. The courts obviously had a close eye on Darry, Sodapop, and Ponyboy since one of the deepest and shared fears of the boys was that they would be forced in to a reform home or sent to prison.

[–] punkrockgirl (1270) a year ago

I always assumed Darry was in his early twenties. I haven't read the book in a long time so I don't remember if his age is confirmed.