...What Life Lessons Can We Learn? What life lessons can you learn in an extraordinary time in your life? During the novel The Outsiders Ponyboy learns numerous life lesson, and also learns multitudinous thing about the people he is closest to. In this essay we will explore three different life lessons Ponyboy learned and how they influenced him. The first life lesson is nothing gold can stay. Johnny gave Ponyboy his copy of Gone with The Wind before he died. Inside was a note were Johnny told Pony to stay gold, and not to let the world change who he is. This changed Pony because he finally understood what the poem meant, and realizes that he should stay the way he is and not let someone else change him. Johnny also told Pony to tell Dally...
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...01/09 Nothing Gold Can Stay Why do things change? In “The Outsiders” by S.E. Hinton, the theme of the book is that “Nothing Gold Can Stay” (77). This means that things do not last forever. Johnny, Ponyboy, and Randy all learn this lesson in different ways. Johnny learns “Nothing Gold Can Stay” (77) in many ways. First, it states, “I never noticed colors and clouds and stuff until you kept reminding me about them,” (78). When Johnny took the time to think about colors like Ponyboy had mentioned, he realized that “Nothing Gold Can Stay” (77). The colors of the clouds were seldom golden, and when it was it lasted only but a short period of time. Before Ponyboy showed Johnny the good he saw in sunsets and colors, he was just another greaser boy who lived by the stereotype. After Pony pointed out to Johnny all the interesting things he thinks about, not only was their relationship stronger, but Johnny’s thoughts were too. Next, it...
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...Staying Gold What is the theme of The Outsiders, a novel written by S.E. Hinton? The main character, Ponyboy, is a greaser that lives in a society where the rich kids, or Socs, are different from the poorer kids, or greasers. He reveals that life is worth living, no matter what difficulties he faces. Darry, Ponyboy’s oldest brother, shows that family is important. Sodapop, Ponyboy’s other brother, communicates that an understanding person should be kept close. Cherry, a Soc, shows Ponyboy that a stereotypical Soc is not that different from the stereotypical greaser. These are all minor themes, but the main theme of The Outsiders is that innocence should be treasured. Ponyboy memorizes the poem “Nothing Gold Can Stay” by Robert Frost. He remembers...
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...In the novel The Outsiders, the author presents gold as valued items in life. Gold can be friends, innocence, or a good heart, which Dally sees in Johnny making Johnny his gold. S.E. Hinton argues that gold will not last forever, so it should be cherished and appreciated for as long as it lasts. Gold cannot be preserved forever. The poem Ponyboy recites while watching the sunset says, “so dawn goes down to day.” (Hinton, 77) Johnny describes dawn as everything new and day as when you get used to everything. (Hinton, 178) Gold is dawn, for new things are special and appreciated. However, dawn will not last forever. At some point, it will become day, so gold should be valued until it is gone. Reality will not allow you to hold onto gold, but...
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...The Outsiders. This poem has two meanings, the first about good things never last forever and the second about youth and innocence. Robert Frost’s poem relates to the novel, the Outsiders in many ways. The first meaning is that good things do not last. That life may seem perfect when everything is going right, but this will not stay forever. Everything living is beautiful and every beautiful thing will eventually die. Robert Frost is saying good things will never stay forever. Many times in a person’s life there will unhappiness and sorrow, the good times will end. Even though the great times come to an end, they will be followed by more and more great times. It is just like life. Life begins through beautiful babies, but sadly, in many years the baby will die. But, since good times will come again, a new beautiful baby will be born. It also means that all things are going to change eventually, like people, seasons and nature. Gold in the poem represents youth. Line one, “Natures first green is gold,” indicates nature’s first green is youth because every living thing begins with youth. Line two, “Her hardest hue to hold,” represents that youth is very hard to keep because they get older in age. In line three, the poem says, “Her early leafs a flower”, which defines youth as innocent, and beautiful like a flower. Line four, “But only so an hour” means that the young child will grow older and no longer be innocent for it will mature and begin to do wrong things. In line...
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..."Nothing Gold Can Stay" When in the church on Jay Mountain, Ponyboy recites the poem, "Nothing Gold Can Stay" written by Robert Frost. He remembered the poem, but couldn't recall the meaning of it. Johnny finds out the meaning of the poem at the end of the book, and tells everyone in his gang the meaning and how it connects to the greaser gang. Even though Robert Frost talks about plants in this poem, its figurative meaning is about babies and how they lose their innocence over time. “Nothing Gold Can Stay” symbolizes pony in the outsiders. The first line in the poem is “Natures First Green Is Gold” . This means that when the plants start budding, they are very beautiful. Ponys life can be compared to “natures first green is gold”. Pony is the...
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...Throughout the novel The Outsiders, Ponyboy Curtis probably changes more throughout the course of the Outsiders than any other character. Ponyboy’s innocence plays a major part of the novel. In the course of the novel Ponyboy matures and feels many different types of feelings in certain events. One example of this is when Johnny and him saved the kids from the burning church and were part heroes part criminals. In this example Ponyboy’s actions describe how he is maturing and how he is witnessing important events unfold in the book. Towards the start of the Outsiders Ponyboy is an intelligent young teen, who is part of the track team. Although, he lacks the perspective to understand everyone around him. This means he can only see his part of the story and fails to see why others act the way they do. One example of this is how Darry, Ponyboy’s older brother, is always treating him bad. Ponyboy is constantly always thinking about how Darry bully’s him and is mean to him for no reason. Also,...
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...“Natures first green is gold, then leaf subsides to leaf, so Eden sank to grief, nothing gold can stay.” This poem written by Robert frost is like a parallel to the novel “The Outsiders”. The poem has a deeper meaning than what the words say, which basically tells the story of Pony and Johnny. “Nature’s first green is gold” goes along perfectly with the first scene of the novel. The line in the poem literally means that it’s springtime and growth flourishes, but figuratively it means that humans are all born with innocence. In the first scene, Pony walks out of a movie theater not worrying about anything besides Paul Newman and a ride home. This shows that Pony still has his innocence. While pony may have his innocence, Johnny is already starting...
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...downfall. Although Ponyboy is usually seen as the hero in The Outsiders, Johnny is the most heroic character in my opinion. He was willing to sacrifice his life in order to save multiple lives in a burning church. As a result, he was nearly killed because of a falling pillar that hit his back. Johnny is selfless, loyal, and daring. One quality Johnny shows in The Outsiders is selflessness. He displays this trait when he saves the children from the burning church. The children are stuck inside the church while it burns down, and Johnny immediately goes to save them. Ponyboy also saves the children, but he sees something different in Johnny which represents his selflessness: “I blinked myself-- Johnny wasn't behaving at all like his old self... I caught one quick look at his face; it was red marked from falling embers and sweat streaked, but he grinned at...
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..."When I stepped out into the bright sunlight from the darkness of the movie house, I had only two things on my mind: Paul Newman and a ride home." Good Morning boys and staff. I am here on behalf of Penguin publishing to sell you The Outsiders. The outsiders is a 50 year old book, written by S.E Hinton and first published by Viking publishers. Some say it is out dated and some say it is too old for a 14 year old school boy. But this is incorrect. I believe that the outsiders is tremendously relevant to 14 year old boy’s daily lives and so will you. The characters in the novel are very easy to relate to as they experience in some cases the same sort of things that a boy of your age would, such as drinking, drug use, smoking and violence. Ponyboy is the main character in the novel he is haunted by the death of his parents and during the novel he faces some very tough situations and issues. Dally Winston is another character in the novel he is from the tough streets of New York City. Dally is a rough mean greaser who doesn’t mind a rumble or two. Johnny is Ponyboy’s best mate. He has problems with his mother and father. Johnny also experiences some very tough issues and situations with Ponyboy alongside him. “Stay golden Ponyboy stay gold,” When Johnny says this he means that Ponyboy is a...
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...The exceptional novel ‘The Outsiders’ by S.E. Hinton leaves us questioning about our lives and the society in which we live in. Hinton explores this throughout her rebellious narrative, using the themes of stereotypes and relationships and connections with others. With these themes Hinton then displays the messages of not to judge people without getting to know them first and that love and understanding can play a major role in a person's life. People should be judged on their merits and not by stereotypes that have been unreasonably placed upon them, as these can often prove inaccurate and misleading. Throughout the novel ‘The Outsider’, S.E. Hinton reveals to readers that people shouldn’t place labels on others, but instead to get to know...
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...During the reading of “The Outsiders,” written by S.E. Hinton, I automatically felt a connection with Johnny Cade, a greaser who was friends with the main character - Ponyboy. Johnny had a pretty rough life which is made obvious throughout the book. About 4 months before the book begins, Johnny is critically beaten up by a group of Socs which had left him jittery and on edge. That’s not all Johnny has faced with the Socs, however, he has also killed one when the same group tried to drown Ponyboy. Johnny is in a stage of being nervous all the time and carries a blade with him everywhere. A blade that he’ll eventually have to use to protect himself and Ponyboy. However, Johnny is not a wanted criminal, in the eyes of many he is a hero. Most importantly, Johnny is first described as “The gangs pet.” Or “A little dark puppy that has been kicked too many times.” Johnny has had it rough since the beginning. Johnnys parents are viewed as uncaring and unloving. Which is why Johnny basically did anything he wanted because his parents wouldn’t care. He stayed away from home a lot, often sleeping in vacant lots or at Ponyboys house. On top of that, Johnny was severely beaten by a group of Socs last spring. This led to PTSD and fear, and this fear would lead to him potentially killing a Soc....
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...THE OUTSIDERS The outsiders written by S.E. Hinton is about a group of boys known as the greasers who are rivals with the socials. Ponyboy and his gang learn to get through their problems with the Socs and their lives. They need to trust their gang to be there for each other. The greasers are known to be fighters, and the Socs are the west side rich kids who like to jump greasers who walk alone. Ponyboy and his friend Johnny get into a brawl which ends up as a death of a Soc. They must deal with grief and trust each other to go on with their lives. Their friendship depends on the trust of each other. Johnny and Ponyboy must trust each other to get through what happened the night they killed that Soc. When Sodapop gets sad and tells Ponyboy...
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...An outsider to me is somebody that tries to be themselves and not act like someone their not. For example, I would personally consider the “greasers” in this book an outsider. They fit the description perfectly. These group of kids do not care how they look or what others think of them, they stick of for each other even if it causes them to be mortified, and also do outrageous things that no ordinary kid would think of. The Outsiders as a book had its sorrow moments and its fortunate ones. The characters did indeed play apart in how/when these scenarios happened, but the one that is considered my personal favorite would be Ponyboy. The foremost reason is because he reminds me of myself (Besides the smoking). He is courteous to others, is living his young life in a slo-mo picture, and is always there for anyone that needs him, not just his gang. Pony and I also connect with our odd thinking of what will occur next in the future and how we may approach these problems....
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...“Stay Gold” In the book The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton the Greasers had eachothers back. Greasers are compassionate for one another, because of their loyalty against their enemies, protect each other, and they go to each other for help and advice. “You take for your buddies no what they do. Which in a gang you stick up for your members if you don’t it isn't a gang anymore.”(The Outsiders Loyalty Quotes) This quote inspired me by how well the gang works together through superior and poor situations and it shows that one has to be there for eachother in a gang. The Greasers are very loyal against their enemies. They were determined to win. Most of the time they would work together no matter what it took. The Greasers would physically defend each other. “Some Soc knocked out one of our bunch and was kicking me hard but I had...
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