The Outsiders seems to hit all of the hot issues that confront teenagers. This chapter starts out with a diatribe against suicide. Suicide is a critical issue for teens, and Johnny's lack of choice about his living or dying brings him a new perspective. He is angry with himself (for not valuing his life when he had the time) and at life itself (for not being fair): "I used to talk about killing myself . . . I don't want to die now. It ain't long enough."
He regrets not learning more, doing more, and experiencing more. He regrets losing the opportunity of living while he had the chance: "I wouldn't mind it so much if there wasn't so much stuff I ain't done yet and so many thing I ain't seen. It's not fair."
Johnny's perspective regarding his mother also changes. His mother finally comes to the hospital to see him, and he turns her away. Note that his wanting her to leave him alone contrasts sharply with his earlier statement in Chapter 3, when he laments to Ponyboy, "I stay away all night, and nobody notices." And in Chapter 6, when Dally picked Pony and Johnny up at the church in Windrixville, Johnny was upset that his parents hadn't even wondered where he was. Perhaps Johnny's refusal to see his mother when she visits the hospital suggests that he doesn't want to be the victim anymore, or maybe he wants to hurt her emotionally the way she has so often hurt him.
