Johnny Cade is "the group's pet." The tale portrays Johnny as a "lost dog" and a "pup that has been kicked too often." He is just 16, yet has just been thumped by the remorselessness of life. Johnny had been seriously beaten by a gathering of Socs before this story starts. This beating puts him practically over the edge; truth be told, the Socs frightened him so much that he even conveys a switchblade in his pocket. Johnny promises that, "He would execute the following individual who hopped him."
His folks misuse him both genuinely and verbally, and Johnny regularly selects to go anyplace yet home. The subject of family love is explained by Johnny ordinarily, in light of the fact that his eyes have seen what family love isn't. "