Stay Gold In The Outsiders

“Stay gold Ponyboy. Stay Gold” Symbolism is defined as “the art or practice of using symbols esp. By investigating things with a symbolic meaning.” (Merriam-Webster 1190). Many objects in S.E. Hinton’s realistic fiction novel, The Outsiders, have deeper meanings than they seem to have. The novel tells the story of Ponyboy Curtis, along with his gang (the greasers), and their lives as they live in a society where social class means everything. Hinton creates a deeper and better story by alternative meanings to otherwise nugatory objects. For example, Hinton gives new meaning to sunsets, cars, and even gold. In the book, Ponyboy loves sunsets, but he didn’t know anyone else who did. However, one day, he ends up meeting someone from a rival

This quote shows Ponyboy’s disbelief at the fact that someone from a gang who targets and harms his friends for fun has something in common with him. Part of this disbelief also came from the fact that he didn’t want to realize that those people had some intentions that weren’t evil. Before Cherry, this Soc, departed, she told Ponyboy, “Just don’t forget that some of us watch the sunset too.” (Hinton 46). This shows Cherry realizing that Ponyboy has a wall of hatred in his heart towards Socs, and wanted to try and break it by reminding him of their liking of sunsets. Also, this demonstrates Cherry and Ponyboy’s complex relationship because of their conflicting gangs. Near the middle of the book, Ponyboy says, “It was hard to believe a Soc would help us, even a Soc that dug sunsets.” (Hinton 86). This proves that Ponyboy’s wall of hatred had grown so thick that he couldn’t believe that he and a Soc had even one thing in common. However, it also proves that Cherry is slowly getting through to him, seeing as he’s starting to realize that not all

In the novel, the Socs ride in cars like Mustangs or Corvairs, which are recurring objects in the story. At the very beginning of the book, Ponyboy gets jumped, and right before the story says, “I about decided I didn’t like it so much, though, when I spotted that red Corvair trailing me. I was almost two blocks home from then, so I started walking a little faster.” (Hinton 4). This proves that Ponyboy became fearful after seeing a fancy car, instantly recognizing it to be a Soc’s car. Also, it proves at a very early point in the book that the Socs are far more well off than greasers, which is part of their reasoning for their violence. The next time cars are mentioned is when the novel states, “But most looked at us like we were dirt--gave us the same kind of look that the Socs did when they came by in their Mustangs and Corvairs and yelled ‘Grease!’” (Hinton 15). This quote shows that because of their fancy cars and money, the Socs feel that they are so much better than greasers. Hinton used cars to signify that a Soc is coming or to foreshadow that an important event will occur, as shown here. Ponyboy’s confusion on why the Socs hate greasers is shown in the novel when it says, “I really couldn’t see what Socs would have to sweat about--good grades, good cars, good girls, madras, and Mustangs and Corvairs--Man, I thought, if I had worries like that I’d consider myself lucky.” (Hinton 36). In this example,