To whom does johnny compare the southern gentleman in the book he and ponyboy are reading

Johnny links Dally to the Southern gentlemen in terms of courage. Dally may not have the same manners as the Southern gentlemen's but johnny says that he is as brave. Dally begins to show this when he comes face to face with his own death at the end of the book. The earlier discussion of the Southern gentlemen, shown as riding fearlessly to their deaths in war, it also can be seen as a form of foreshadowing.