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 (Hinton 4). His coming-of-age journey begins when he escapes after a fight with his older brother, only to then be attacked by the Socs and almost killed. However, his friend Johnny is able to save him by murdering one of the Socs, and they are then forced to run away from their divided Oklahoma town together. This moment in the story represents how Ponyboy loses his innocence and his only protection, the greaser community, from the “real” world, and it forces him on a journey to mature into a stronger, wiser, and more independent person. Ponyboy’s coming-of-age journey follows him discovering the truth behind his society’s divisions that had always remained unquestioned, which is driven most greatly by his relationship with Johnny.

Beginning at the point when he runs away, Ponyboy undergoes a series of events that each change his life and eventually lead him to question the social norms surrounding him. First, Ponyboy and Johnny bond closer together while hiding in an abandoned church, setting Johnny as an essential figure in Ponyboy’s coming-of-age narrative. They also recite the poem “Nothing Gold Can Stay,” by Robert Frost, which comes back later and symbolizes Ponyboy’s growth through Johnny. In addition, while at the church, Ponyboy and Johnny save children who are inside as the building burns, and Johnny returns to the hospital in critical condition. However, they also become "heroes" in the local news (107). The idea that greasers were only outsiders and could never be heroes was instilled into Ponyboy and the community's minds, and only this tragic experience allows Ponyboy to realize that perhaps greasers could be more than the broader community assumed after all. It starts making him question whether he was right to blindly follow the “greaser” label. Next, during a planned rumble with the Socs, Ponyboy realizes that fighting is not the answer to their divide and only brings pain, and that he only fights because the other greasers do. He had not critically thought about this before. As the greasers win, however, Ponyboy does not fully retain these revelations until Johnny reasserts these ideas in Ponyboy’s mind right before his death, saying that the fighting is “useless” (148). Johnny's words truly set in Ponyboy's revelations, as he hears it from someone close to him, who he looks up to, and who has lived the same experiences of getting pushed down under others in society. Johnny’s words force Ponyboy to come to terms with his questions from before and decide that his innocence and ignorance of realizing societal issues were not fair or healthy for his community.

However, it is Johnny’s final words that truly define Ponyboy's coming-of-age story. In reference to the Frost poem, Johnny says, “stay gold, Ponyboy. Stay gold,” and in a letter to Ponyboy, Johnny explains what these words mean (148). Regarding the poem, he states: “[Frost] meant you're gold when you're a kid, like green. When you're a kid everything's new, dawn. It's just when you get used to everything that it's day… Keep that way, it's a good way to be” (178). Then, he adds, “don't be so bugged over being a greaser. You still have a lot of time to make yourself be what you want” (179). What Johnny wants Ponyboy to understand is that he can continuously forge his own path and keep an open mind, as one does as they grow up. He learns from Johnny that he does not need to follow and conform blindly to society and without hesitation, and that he must “use his head” to think about the world around him. Through his experiences and this letter, Ponyboy matures and realizes the truth about his society. He also decides to help end the unnecessary violence that his town faces. 

Therefore, Ponyboy’s coming-of-age narrative in The Outsiders concludes when he fully realizes the injustices and misunderstandings in his community, opens up his future to possibilities, and resolves to help others around him. Now no longer being innocent to the world, he decides to share the greaser story and what he learned about blindly following certain paths or assumptions so that people “wouldn't be so quick to judge a boy by the amount of hair oil he wore” (179). Crucially, Ponyboy came to these conclusions because by losing his innocence, he had seen the worst of what can become of social divisions that remain unquestioned, including unnecessary hatred, the dehumanization of another group, and death, consequences which only cause pain and suffering for all. In conclusion, from his experiences, Ponyboy matures, becomes a strong individual, and gains wisdom about the world around him. With Johnny's assistance, Ponyboy discovers that humans must stay gold: to always approach others and their surrounding world with a fresh and open mind in order to create a supportive environment for all people.

Hinton, S. E. The Outsiders. New York, Penguin Group, 2012.