The Outsiders (film) Essay Questions

What does "Stay gold" mean?

Johnny tells Ponyboy to "stay gold" in response to their discussion of the Robert Frost poem, "Nothing Gold Can Stay," while looking at the sunset in the country. While the poem suggests that "nothing gold can stay"—meaning nothing good can last—Johnny suggests that Ponyboy should hold on to what is good and always remember the "gold" parts of life, even when the going gets tough. While it might be easy to become hardened and cynical because of the difficult life of a Greaser, Johnny urges Ponyboy to hold on to positivity and resilience, so that he can weather the hardships of life. The "gold" is the gold mentioned in the Frost poem, as well as the gold represented by the light during a sunrise and a sunset. The boys watch the sunrise and mourn the fact that its beauty doesn't last long. However, just by noticing it, the two boys are connected to the goodness and beauty of the world around them, a brief respite from the chaos of their lives.

Describe the three Curtis brothers.

Ponyboy, the youngest, is contemplative and thoughtful. He is serious and wants to fit in, but he is also soulful, and has a rich inner life. He is portrayed, from the start of the film, as a writer, and the main protagonist. Not only does he go through the events of the film, he also records them and keeps track of what has happened to all of them. Additionally, he is depicted as deeply moral: he is the one who begins to go to the church to save the young children first. Johnny and Dallas follow his lead, but he is the most heroic, initially.

Sodapop is his next oldest brother. Sodapop is very loving and close with Ponyboy, but lacks Ponyboy's intellect and ambition. He wants the best for his intelligent and writerly younger brother. He himself is a high school dropout, who works at the local gas station. He is kind-hearted and protective.

Darry is the oldest Curtis brother, and at the start of the film he has become hardened by his role as head of the household. After the boys were orphaned, Darry has had to take on the responsibilities of a parent. This has put a tremendous amount of pressure on him, and he takes out this tension on Ponyboy, even hitting him at one point. When Ponyboy returns from hiding in the country, however, Darry realizes how important his younger brother is to him, and again adopts a protective and loving attitude. At one point, a Greaser characterizes Darry as the most like a Soc of all the members in the gang, saying, "The only thing that keeps Darry from being a Soc is us."

In what ways do Cherry and Randy try to reach through the divisions between the gangs?

At the concessions stand, Cherry tries to level with Ponyboy by telling him that both the Greasers and the Socs have it hard, and that if both gangs could realize this, maybe the violence would stop. She takes a liking to Ponyboy and wants to be kind to him. When Bob is killed, she even offers to testify on Johnny's behalf in court. Cherry maintains a loyalty to Ponyboy and the Greasers whom she knows, but also professes her love and affection for Bob up until the end of the film. She is in a conflicted position, because while she can understand that Johnny had to kill Bob to defend Ponyboy, she still remembers Bob as sweet and loving, in spite of his flaws. She cannot quite befriend the Greasers and create unity, but she attempts to find connection with Ponyboy.

Randy also attempts to find connection with Ponyboy after Bob's death. When he meets Ponyboy in the parking lot of the ice cream parlor, he expresses awe at Ponyboy's heroism in saving the children from the church, and tells him that he would not have been able to save the children himself. In expressing his admiration for the Greasers' heroic acts, Randy attempts to break down the tension between the rival gangs and find what is ethical and human between them. However, the rifts between the two gangs are too strong, and Randy quickly resorts to his denigrating attitude towards Greasers, saying, "It doesn’t matter if you whip us, you’ll still be where you were before: the bottom. We’ll still be the lucky ones at the top with all the breaks." Even though he wants to break through and form a connection with the Greasers, he cannot help but relish his higher status as a Soc. Randy then quickly takes back this statement and tries to form a connection with Ponyboy, who accepts it kindly. However, the divisions are too strong to be fully healed.

What is the film's perspective on violence, ultimately?

While the film is filled with violence throughout, the voice of Johnny is the one left in the audience's head at the end of the film. In his final moments, Johnny tells Ponyboy, “It’s useless…Fighting ain’t no good.” Johnny, as a martyr-like character, becomes the ultimate voice of reason in the midst of all the violence and pain. The viewer can clearly see that Johnny is right—fighting doesn't do any good, and it has only led to the deaths of so many people too young to die. Following Johnny's death, Dallas is needlessly killed by the police. The violence of the neighborhood and the community is a cycle that keeps repeating itself. While it is the boys' reality, it doesn't do anyone any good. Johnny has to die in order to see just how useless it is.

What distinguishes the Socs from the Greasers?

The Greasers are a rag-tag group of tough guys, who take pride in their ripped jeans and long, slicked back hair. They live in the more impoverished part of town, and many of them come from broken homes. Therefore, they stick together as a matter of survival and necessity. If they didn't have one another, they would have nothing. They are Greasers because they are poor, and as such have an inherent mistrust of institutions and the system. They know that they are better off looking out for one another.

The Socs, on the other hand, live on the south side of town, which is implied to be where the affluent neighborhoods are. They drive nice cars, wear preppy sweaters and collared shirts, and wear their hair short. They are well-groomed and wealthy, but just as violent as the Greasers. They are in a higher class position, but Cherry suggests that they have it hard, just like the Greasers.

In his dramatic stand-off with Bob, Ponyboy attempts to compare the two gangs solely on the basis of their wealth disparity. When Bob defines the Greasers as "white trash with long, greasy hair," Ponyboy fires back that Socs are only "white trash with Mustangs and madras." The distinction, in Ponyboy's eyes, is a matter of wealth and aesthetics, but in the grand scheme, both groups are just "white trash."