Johnny's Poem 'Nothing Gold Can Stay'

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I believe Johnny’s strength is that he can find meaning in things that people who are absorbed in reading all the time like Ponyboy can’t. Johnny failed a year in school and “he couldn’t grasp things that came at him too fast” but even so, he could understand things once he caught on to what was going on. I know this because at the end of the story, when Johnny wrote the note to Ponyboy before he died, he explained what the poem “Nothing Gold can Stay” meant. When Ponyboy first recited this poem to Johnny, he said it without knowing its meaning and Pony was the one who skipped ahead a grade. Johnny was the one who realized what the poem truly meant and it shows us Johnny isn’t dumb at all. He may not be quick to understand stuff, but once he

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The Outsiders and Robert Frost Essay

High level sample Frost and Hinton both explore the concept that all things change, including what is good in life. Frost writes that “Nothing gold can stay.” We think of “gold” as something that is gleaming and precious. When Frost writes that this cannot “stay”, this seems to mean that everything is temporary, including the precious things in life. Frost’s message here is similar to Hinton’s novel. In the Outsiders, this message is displayed through the young character of Ponyboy Curtis. Ponyboy’s…

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Juxtaposition In The Outsiders

The juxtaposition of Johnny's and Dally's deaths creates a picturesque image of both the hero and the hoodlum. Johnny dies as a result of an injury he obtained after helping Ponyboy rescue several children from a burning building. They had spent a great deal of time together…

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Essay about Nothing Gold Can Stay

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…

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The Outsiders Book Report

struggles with right and wrong in a society in which he believes that he is an outsider. Ponyboy and his two brothers Darrell who is 20, and Sodapop, who is 16 have recently lost their parents in an automobile accident. Pony and Soda are allowed to stay under Darry's guardianship as long as they all behave themselves. The boys are greasers, a class term that refers to the young men on the East Side, the poor side of town. The greasers' rivals are the Socs, short for Socials, who are the "West-side…

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Book Summary: The Outsiders

himself as one of the “greasers”. Ponyboy is rather more different than the same from his peers. He is like his peers because he greases his hair and is proud/happy he’s a greaser just like the rest of his peers. He’s more different because he tends to stay out of trouble and others rather find him more sweet and kind than scary and mean. Ponyboy also cares a lot about others and his grades in school. He also loves to read and watch movies. Ponyboy had two brothers they’re names are Darrel Curtis and…

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Sidewalk Bleeding By S. E. Hinton: Character Analysis

characters, such as Ponyboy, were immune to speculations by their community. Although he was hurt, he stayed true to himself and his character by never resorting to violence or succumbing to the stereotype of a hoodlum. Ponyboy followed Johnny’s request to “stay gold”, after Johnny learned his lesson by growing up too fast, prompted by society and their…

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