Staying Gold
Staying Gold: A Coming-of-Age Journey of Discovery and Belonging When she was just 15 years old, H.E. Hinton began writing The Outsiders . Perhaps part of what makes this Bildungsroman from 1967 so compelling is that it came from a person who was coming-of-age herself at the time, making the story, experiences, and dilemmas during this narrative feel even more true and powerful. Following the story of Ponyboy, this novel is based in a world surrounding the conflict between the socioeconomically divided greasers and Socials, or the “Socs.” The lower-class and generally frowned upon greaser gang defines Ponyboy's entire life including his friends, enemies, actions, and appearance (most notably, his hair), which he appears to accept without question. At the start, Ponyboy is truly reliant on the greaser community, having lost both of his parents, and he mentions that he “doesn’t use his head,” which gets him into trouble but also becomes important in the pivoting moments of the story