Why aren’t Ponyboy and Johnny scared when they enter the flaming church?

In Chapter 6, Ponyboy and Johnny arrive back to the church from eating at Dairy Queen with Dally, only to find out that the abandoned church is on fire. While Ponyboy is watching the fire, he overhears a woman tell a man standing next to him that there are children inside the church. Ponyboy tells them that he will save them and runs into the burning church. As soon as he enters the church, he hears, "Hey, Ponyboy" and turns around to see Johnny (Hinton 78). As they are searching for the children, Pony thinks to himself, "Why aren't I scared?" (Hinton 79). Ponyboy and Johnny end up finding a group of children trapped in a back room and proceed to help them jump out of a window to safety. While Johnny is throwing children out of a window, Ponyboy looks at him and notices that Johnny isn't scared either. Pony mentions that it was the first time in his life that Johnny did not have a defeated look on his face. Ponyboy says, "He looked like he was having the time of his life" (Hinton 79).

There are several reasons why Ponyboy and Johnny were not afraid when they entered the flaming church. They were focused and on a mission when they entered the church and were excited to be engaged in such a heroic task. Pony and Johnny were also feeling the effects of adrenaline from the suspenseful situation. Deep down they knew that they were engaged in an extremely noble cause. They probably viewed themselves as being "gallant," similar to the Southern gentlemen in the novel Gone With the Wind. Pony and Johnny were essentially living out their fantasies by rescuing the helpless children which explains why they were not afraid.