Mott Hall School Janelle Matias
English Language Arts 702

This Innocence Is Brilliant The statement “Nothing Gold Can Stay” has had a huge impact on The Outsiders by S.E Hinton. Ponyboy remembers the line from the poem of its origin “Nothing Gold Can Stay” and recites it to Johnny at the church while watching the sunrise. Ponyboy had always remembered the poem because he never understood the meaning of it until that moment when Johnny commented about the beauty of the sunrise. At that moment, he came to a realization that by “Nothing Gold Can Stay’, Robert Frost, meant that all good things must come to an end. Whether it is nature, like when dawn goes down to day, or when a parent passes away, the precious, innocent, pure, and good things in life constantly change and go. In The Outsiders, we get to see the “gold” in the characters life fade away. You can see the dramatic events that happen to the characters internally and exteriorly making them progress and accept that bad things happen in life. The rivalry between the Greasers and Socs makes it seem like they are completely in contrast. However, they all have one thing in common. That is, the struggle to stay gold (innocent, good, and pure) in order to adapt to society in the 1960s. The struggle to stay gold and the true reason for Dally’s death supports that “Nothing Gold Can Stay” is a true statement.

Before Johnny passed away at the hospital he told Ponyboy to “Stay Gold”. Throughout the novel, Ponyboy is seen to strive to do so. Unfortunately, he later understands that nothing innocent and pure lasts forever. At the beginning Ponyboy tells Cherry, “When you're thirteen in our neighborhood you know the score. I kept saving my money for a year, thinking that someday I could buy Mickey Mouse back for Soda. You're not so smart at ten.” This shows how when Ponyboy was ten, he was so innocent he thought he could buy back Soda’s horse “Mickey Mouse.” He thought if he was tough and cynical it wouldn’t have hurt so much but since he was innocent and pure he had a different mind sent. His childhood was a short period in his life. In the book, Johnny says “When you're a kid everything's new, dawn. It's just when you get used to everything that it's day. Like the way you dig sunsets, Pony. That's gold. Keep that way, it's a good way to be.” Johnny refers to the poem “Nothing Gold Can Stay” by saying that once you go through experiences; Ponyboy’s gold (innocence) will end and he should enjoy it while he has it. After Johnny and Dally died, Ponyboy did not want to accept this which lead into an internal conflict. In the novel it says, “What was the matter with Two-Bit? I knew as well as he did that if you got tough you didn't get hurt. Get smart and nothing can touch you...” (p.171). Towards the end, Ponyboy tries to act tough because he knows if he wasn’t innocent at first it would’ve prevented him from getting hurt. After all the events, Ponyboy was no longer pure. He then understood that terrible things do happen and all he can do about it is tell others about his experience and telling them to stay gold unlike himself just like Johnny did. In The Outsiders, Johnny has a really rough life. Feeling isolated by being abused and ignored at home, the gang seems to be the only gold in his life. In the novel, Ponyboy says “Johnny Cade was last and least. If you can picture a little dark puppy that has been kicked too many times and is lost in a crowd of strangers, you'll have Johnny.” Often when you think of a puppy you think of pureness and innocence. This is what Ponyboy is referring to by describing Johnny. When you see Johnny, you can tell his childhood and innocence passed by quickly. This has affected his perspective on life and making him believe that nothing gold can stay. Even though he had critical conditions at home and rough lifestyle, Johnny