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Johnny’s last words to Ponyboy are interesting, especially considering everything the audience has learned so far about said words: “Stay gold, Ponyboy. Stay gold…”
Why does he say that when the only time Pony told him about the poem it was about how that’s not possible? “Nothing gold can stay.” He takes the poem and goes against it.
Furthermore, every other “gold” thing has fallen victim to this rule:
- The sunset the two of them had watched ended, as well as the fact that it was the last one that Johnny ever got to see and enjoy.
- Pony’s mother was golden and then both her and his father passed.
- Mickey Mouse (Sodapop’s horse) was a dark gold and then he was sold and taken from Soda.
- Soda’s eyes were described as gold, and one could say that his breakdown at the end of the book was an ending, but that could be stretch. Another thing is that S. E. Hinton herself said that for Soda’s future, she envisioned him getting drafted in the Vietnam war and dying there, which could also symbolize it.
But Ponyboy stays gold.
Even though he’s noticeably tougher and more rough than before, he hasn’t completely hardened himself the way that Dally had. Even though the Ponyboy at the end of the book would threaten some Socs with a broken glass bottle and make good on it if they didn’t run, he still takes the time to pick up the broken glass off the street so that people don’t get flat tires.
That scene is so important to his character because it shows that despite all of the confusion, the stress, and the mental, physical, and emotional toll, on top of the death of not one but TWO of his closest friends, he still isn’t a bad person.
What separates him from Johnny is that he had people there for him in his time of need. Every Single Time. He had a loving home life with his parents and brothers, and even when his parents were gone, he was still close with his brothers and could rely on them. When he got jumped at the beginning of the book he had the gang —especially Darry and Soda— to save him. He had Johnny when Bob and Randy were trying to kill them. He had Dally to go to when they were trying to run away, as well as to protect him during the church fire, both literally and metaphorically. It was Dally’s hand that physically slapped him to get the smoke out of his lungs and it was Dally’s jacket that prevented him from getting the worst of the flames.
There’s also a fundamental difference between him and the other greasers. One that makes him see the beauty in sunsets —something that not even Johnny cared for until Pony pointed them out to him— and prevented him from using a busted up bottle to fight off the Socs at the beginning of the book. His aversion to fighting and his ability to sympathize with the Socs, even the ones who played a huge hand in this entire mess (Randy).
He’s smart as well, which is another thing. Both Pony and Darry are intelligent and athletic, and had a promising future after school. There are many similarities and parallels between the two, but the reason why even if they had gotten the same exact upbringing they wouldn’t be the same is stated right at the beginning of the book in chapter one. “He doesn’t understand anything that is not plain hard fact. But he uses his head.”
When Two-Bit comments on how Darry would be a Soc if it wasn’t for them, he meant it. What separates Darry and Pony —even though they are already different from your average greaser— is that Darry is a greaser only in name and status. Ponyboy has heart— something that is scorned by Darry, at least at the beginning.
Ponyboy has qualities that make him unique from both Greasers and Socs, and even though he’s young and his perception of things is definitely not completely reliable or accurate, he’s still managed to separate himself from everyone else.
Ponyboy is different, but time and time again he is protected and cared for and loved, and that is what I believe separates him from others and allows him to truly “Stay Gold.”
I seen the post where you wanted something sad about the outsiders so maybe like, once Johnny and dally dies he becomes sadder and sadder every day. He completely stop watching sunsets but every once in a while he will look at the them despite the heaviness in his heart. He stops playing track because the running reminds him of when him and Johnny had to run away and when ever he sees and leather jacket his eyes fills with tears because they remind him of dally. He blames himself every day of the deaths of his two best friends despite soda pop and Darry telling him it wasnt his fault. He locks him self in his room most the time and just stares at his book shelf no longer having the motivation to read the books. He reads johnnys letter every night and bowls his eyes out till he falls asleep. I don’t know what else to put so there ya have it😅
That actually sounds amazing. In a sobbing on the bathroom floor kind of way. Thank you!
a fic for an AU I came up with for The Outsiders
It started at two, before the young couple knew it that number jumped to 5, then 7, then landing at 9 with the newest stray their middle child brought home that day. The middle son soda always had a way of finding kids nobody wanted to take care of or were unable to. They were considered strays because they followed the boy around. The newest member had joined when he was only 14 as a runaway from New York with no family in Tulsa to care for or love him. It was only natural for the boy to bring this new friend home to his parents. The loving parents accepted all the little boys their boys brought home, they welcomed them in, gave them food, took care of them and loved them unconditionally. They were considered as the neighborhood parents with so much love to give to any kid they met and that needed it or wanted it.
The entire neighborhood was shaken in 1965 when the young couple’s eldest turned 20, lost his parents and became a legal guardian of his two younger brothers in a single night. The table that year when it finally came to the holidays was the quietest it had ever been because it was the first holiday since the brothers and their friends had lost the Curtis parents and they had nearly lost three other members of their ragtag family that year following the Curtis parents, johnny got caught up in an attempted murder charge, ponyboy nearly died in the attempted murder attempt at the hand of a soc then passed out was out cold for a week before regaining consciousness, and lastly Dallas the newest member had robbed a store at the news johnny most likely wasn’t going to leave the hospital and they’d lost his pulse before getting it back although he’d already run off when the monitor started doing a long beep sound and alarming the nurses and doctors and gotten shot at least 5 times after robbing the store wanting to join johnny
Johnny, pony, and Dallas were all considered lucky to have come back to the gang after the incredibly rough week they had. That first year was the roughest for the gang because of everything that year had thrown at them. It was the first year a 16-year-old Kendi Millier-Brown joined them. She was Dallas's cousin and the only family he still talked to after leaving New York and his relatives didn't want to take in the young juvenile delinquent. The young platinum blond girl also fancied the middle Curtis brother though neither was ready for another relationship at the time the two met. She taught him to trust again and took all the overflowing love he had to give without complaint about him being considered too much to handle or too emotional. Kendi was at the table every year after that, so they had a full table most years.
The people at the table during the holidays were Darry, two-bit, Mrs. Mathews, Kathy, Steve, soda, Kendi, johnny, ponyboy, Dallas, and Evie. In 1982 the number of attendants changed, two deaths, one move, and one birth Mrs. Mathews and Kendi died Mrs. Mathews died a few years prior. Kendis death resulted in Sherley's birth and Kathy had moved across the country and hadn't been home for a long while at that point. That made the total at the table 9 that year. One year before the twins were born a young girl belonging to Dallas Winston was also born. Two years that number jumps to 13 with the birth of Steve and Evie Randles twin son and daughter.
By 1985 two-bit Mathews and marcia meyrink had their Babygirl hope Mathews, ponyboy and johnny met and took in a young boy by the name of Tex. In 1995 the total went up to 16 whenever marcia decides she wanted to celebrate as a family with two-bit. Tex's younger brother was born the next year in 1996. In the end two young adults ended up creating a family of almost 20 people even if they hadn't been there for a lot of it, they looked down and looked after their family from wherever they went to after their untimely demise. They adored their ragtag family that had grown so much compared to when it was just the 5 of them.
i like patrick swayze but I do wish they had an actual 20 year old playing darry so the viewer understands a bit better his position and actions. In the movie he felt too old and that made it harder to understand some of his actions, especially since the only time his age is hinted at is when soda mentions how darry could've worked through college, which isn't much.
Love the dichotomy of Darry Curtis. He’s big and tough and will mess you up without remorse. He eats chocolate cake for breakfast. His little brother hates him. His middle brother adores him. He’s smart and capable, with a bright future ahead of him. He roofs houses. He’s the frontman at a rumble. He carries his baby brother to bed. He’s mean, he’s dangerous, he’s a hood. He leaves the front door unlocked for anyone who needs a place to crash. He does backflips off the front porch. He doesn’t cry in front of people. He’s afraid of losing his family. He likes fights. He’s scared.