Chapter 18: "If She Comes Up, It's Baptism"

     "So when your character goes underwater, you have to hold your breath. Just, you know, till you see her come back up." Thomas C. Foster claims at the end of this chapter. He discusses that it is not considered baptism if a character drowns and dies. But, often, when a character nearly drowns, but survives, it is. In one very famous novel, when a small fight between a group of socs and a couple of greasers escalates, a near-death drowning experience occurs. In The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, the main protagonist, Ponyboy, is held underwater in a fountain after spitting at one of his rivals until he blacks out. He becomes conscious again moments later to discover that his best friend, Johnny, has killed a soc. This begins a new life for the two of them, as they run away in order to resist their crime getting discovered, and their inevitable arrest if it is. Ponyboy's drowning experience was like a baptism, as he was changed after that. He had to grow up a bit in order to take care of himself, start taking on responsibilities, and figure out ways to survive. In a way, he was reborn since he became a different person after he was plunged into the water.