Introduction The important moments in life that guide us in making the choices that lead us down the right paths should be found out as we grow up in a world full of negativity. In the novel The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, Johnny helps the readers with the idea of 'staying gold'. Johnny is a member of the greaser gang. Through his relationship, he learns the importance of having a positive outlook on life and the values of life. Staying gold means staying true to yourself; even in a cold world, you can see the warmth in people's hearts. Through Johnny's experiences, we see that some of the most important memories in life are sometimes the hardest to hold onto. Paragraph 1 Through the progression of Ponyboy's relationship with Johnny, the novel allows readers to understand that you can "stay gold" through love and loyalty. While the greaser gang is telling Johnny about how they had beaten the socs, Johnny shows no emotion and says, "Useless fighting's no good," meaning that there is no point in fighting, and it doesn't matter how much they fight each other; it isn't going to change anything, and that instead of fighting, they should appreciate the people who we are close in our lives by staying gold. Through Ponyboy's friendship with Johnny, S.E. Hinton has shown …show more content…
This showed he could let the past go and hold onto the better moments. When Johnny was on his deathbed, he had written a letter that said, "You're gold when you're a kids. 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." Through this quote, it showed what Johnny was thinking in his final moments, so he was able to express it to friends even if he wasn't there to say it. S.E. Hinton has shown through Johnny the theme of staying gold by saying that even though there are dark days, there will always be something good in your