On April 24, 1967, author S.E. Hinton published her first book, The Outsiders, at the age of 18. However, the bulk of the book was written between the ages of 15 and 16.
In the contemporary world, the novel is acclaimed as one of the best coming-of-age novels of all time. It follows 14-year-old Ponyboy Curtis as he navigates the social complexities of the Socs, the rich kids who always seem to thrive, and the Greasers, the street boys who are often deemed the lowest of the low.
Despite being a greaser himself, Curtis doesn’t connect to the title of ‘Greaser’ in the same way as his brothers. After getting into a brawl with his friend Johnny Cade, a brawl which ends in the death of a top Soc, both of them are forced into hiding as the consequences of their violent actions roll out around them. Throughout the plot, the story explores themes of the rich vs the poor and holding onto positivity.
The Rich vs The Poor
“Maybe the two worlds we lived in weren’t so different. We saw the same sunset.” –The Outsiders, page 41
The main overarching conflict of The Outsiders is the continual fighting between the Greasers and the Socs. To the Socs, the Greasers are nothing but violent hoodlums who go around causing trouble for everyone else.
To the Greasers, the Socs are stuck-up rich kids who enjoy picking on them for fun, causing constant conflict between the two social classes. While The Outsiders does work to highlight the distinct differences between both parties, it also highlights their similarities. Sure, the Socs might have better cars, better clothes, and prettier appearances, but they’ve got their own problems. Just like the Greasers, who may have more freedom and closer brotherly connections, they have their issues they must deal with as well.
This is mainly highlighted in a scene between lead character Ponyboy and Soc girl Cherry, who argues to him that just because they have everything handed to them, it doesn’t mean they don’t have their own problems to deal with. She goes as far as to tell him, “Things are rough all over”, highlighting how it isn’t fair to judge just based on societal class, as people can have problems no matter how rich or poor they may be. This theme of both classes being more similar than different is also highlighted by Ponyboy himself when Cherry tells him she used to watch the sunset before she got so busy. When Ponyboy tries to picture her watching it, he comes to realize that the worlds of the Greasers and the Socs are not as different as everyone makes them out to be. Though it may seem as if their worlds are their own, at the end of the day, they both see the same sunset.
Positivity
“He meant you’re gold when you’re a kid, like green. 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…You still have a lot of time to make yourself be what you want. There’s still lots of good in the world.” -The Outsiders, pg. 178-179
One of the most iconic quotes from The Outsiders is “Stay Gold, Ponyboy…Stay gold”.
In the context of the story, this quote is extremely significant in explaining one of the main messages Hinton wishes to portray: holding on to yourself, positivity, and childhood wonder so as not to grow up too fast.
Earlier on in the story, Ponyboy reads the poem ‘Nothing Gold Can Stay’ to Johnny while they’re hiding out in the abandoned church, yet neither of them seems to understand what it means entirely. However, when faced with his mortality, Johnny finally concludes that the poem is referring to the fleetingness of childhood whimsy and a sense of self.
The hardest thing for someone to hold onto is their child-like positivity, sense of self, and purity when faced with the harshness of the world, and, especially in the society they live in, it is often stripped away far too quickly. He tells Ponyboy to remain gold to get him to hold onto the positivity and childhood joy within him. He admires how Ponyboy can enjoy a sunset and how he finds such love in literature, a quality he and the other Greasers can’t quite seem to grasp.
This whole section of the plot tries to convey to the reader that they should hold onto the things that not only make them happy, but the things that make them unique, as those are the things that make them different and, therefore, an interesting person to be around.
When they conform to the world, they are nothing special, just a simple green hue in a sea of green leaves. However, when they hold onto their individuality and wonder, they stand out as a glimmering gold.
