Comparison Between 'The Outsiders And Nothing Gold Can Stay'

Throughout The Outsiders, there are many references to Ponyboy’s love of reading. This includes major works, such as Gone With the Wind, Great Expectations, and Robert Frost’s “Nothing Gold Can Stay” poem. His love of reading is just one of the things that sets him apart from the other boys in the novel, and it helps many readers connect with him on a deeper level. The allusion to these various pieces of writing helps to set this book apart from other young adult novels that came out around this time. One of the most influential themes from this story is the idea of “staying gold,” which comes from Frost’s poem. The importance of the meaning behind this is a major theme in this novel and influences much of Ponyboy’s development as he matures.

The “gold” in nature represents when plants and flowers are at their brightest and fullest during spring and summer, but this gold cannot stay and will eventually fade come autumn and winter. On the other hand, this poem figuratively suggests that nothing good can last forever—there is a cycle of life and death, as well as the loss of innocence. Despite Frost’s argument that “nothing gold can stay,” when Johnny tells Ponyboy to “stay gold” in this book, he means for him to stay innocent and pure for as long as he can (Hinton 126). Ponyboy is a great example of a character who is able to “stay gold” throughout the book, as he retains some of his childhood innocence and appreciates many of the simple joys in life. However, certain characters do not have this innocence and purity, such as many of the members of the Socs. The main goal of the Socs throughout the novel is to seek out any way to gain power and territory over the Greasers (Hinton 10). This idea of “staying gold” is a great allusion to Robert Frost’s poem, and helps the reader better understand the complex characters and their development throughout the