Nothing Gold In The Outsiders

All in all, the permanent theme of S. E. Hinton’s The Outsiders is nothing gold can stay; Nothing good lasts forever. In other words, this means that good times always come to and end happiness cannot thrive too far, you're never having too much joy in life. Early in the book , and in the boys lives there is an underlying message that tells the reader nothing gold can stay. When Soda was ten, he got a horse named Mickey Mouse, He loved the horse and then later it was sold. “Soda had bawled all night long after they came and got Mickey Mouse. I had cried, too, if you want to know the truth, because Soda never really wanted anything except a horse, and he’d lost his.” (39) Sodapop really loved his horse and his horse was something

Darry also had a hard lesson early in life. He was a great athlete and student with a promising future, then he had to sacrifice his future because if he didn't work, he would have to put his brothers in a foster home. “Darry didn't deserve to work like an old man when he was only twenty. He had been a real popular guy in school; he was captain of the football team and he had been voted Boy of the Year. But we just didn't have the money for him to go to college, even with the athletic scholarship he won. And now he didn't have time between jobs to even think about college.” (16) Darry was the ‘golden boy’, with lots of opportunities to change his life, and be in a better place. But when his parents died all those chances died with them. Now he works like an old

Ponyboy remembers the good times with Johnny after he dies and he convinces himself that Johnny isn't dead. “Johnny was dead. But he wasn't. That still body back in the hospital wasn't Johnny. Johnny was somewhere else--- maybe asleep in the lot, or playing the pinball machine in the bowling alley, or sitting on the back steps of the church. I'd go home and walk by the lot, and Johnny would be sitting on the curb smoking a cigarette, and maybe we'd lie on our backs and watch the stars.” (150) Readers can tell that Ponyboy liked how his mind traveled back to when him and Johnny were best buddies and he wishes it can be like that forever, he then realises life goes on and there's nothing you can do about it. Although dally didn't seem like there wasn't anything good in him, Ponyboy saw gold in him. “Nobody would write editorials praising Dally. Two friends of mine had died that night: one a hero, the other a hoodlum. But I remembered Dally pulling Johnny through the window of the burning church; Dally giving us his gun, although it could mean jail for him; Dally risking his life for us, trying to keep Johnny out of trouble. And now he was a dead juvenile delinquent and there wouldn't be any editorials in his favor” (154) When ponyboy and johnny needed help the most they went to dally and dally selflessly sacrificed everything he had he just gave it to Ponyboy and Johnny