Hello 7th grade students!
I hope you enjoyed reading The Outsiders as much as I did. This is such a great book about social cliques and how those cliques can affect society and change people’s lives. It amazes me that S.E. Hinton was only in high school when she wrote and published it! Later, we will watch the movie version of the book, and I will get to hear what you think about it, but in the meantime, I’d like to hear your thoughts and interpretations on the book itself.
Choose one or more of the following quotes from the book. Interpret and explain what you think the quote means and why the character may have said it.
Ponyboy: “I lie to myself all the time. But I never believe me” – pg. 18
Cherry to Pony: “I could fall in love with Dallas Winston. I hope I never see him again or I will.” – pg. 46
Johnny to Pony: “Stay Gold Ponyboy” – pg. 148
Pony to Cherry: “It’s okay… We aren’t in the same class. Just don’t forget that some of us watch the sunset too.” – pg. 46
Randy to Pony: “Greasers will still be greasers and Socs will still be Socs. Sometimes I think it’s the ones in the middle that are really the lucky stiffs.” – pg. 117
Ponyboy: “What kind of a world is it where all I have to be proud of is a reputation for being a hood and greasy hair? I don’t want to be a hood, but even if I don’t steal things and mug people and get boozed up, I’m marked lousy. Why should I be proud of it? Why should I even pretend to be proud of it?” pg. 132
Ponyboy: “It was too vast a problem to be just a personal thing. There should be some help, someone should tell them before it was too late. Someone should tell their side of the story, and maybe people would understand then, and wouldn’t be so quick to judge a boy by the amount of hair oil he wore.” – pg. 179
27 responses so far ↓
1
brae
// Dec 2, 2008 at 6:39 pm
well this is a tough one, but i think i will chose “stay gold”.I think that this means to stay young for as long as u can because if u don’r then you will wish you had.Being a child means energy, fun, and living life to the fullest. So when Jonny told Ponyboy to stay gold he ment to do what you can while you can.
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2
Aaron B.
// Dec 5, 2008 at 9:29 am
Ponyboy: “I lie to myself all the time. But I never believe me” – pg. 18. this means he lies but never does what he says he is gona do. or say somethhing hey told him self he was gona do.
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3
Katlyn .M.
// Dec 5, 2008 at 9:31 am
Ponyboy: “I lie to myself all the time. But I never believe me” – pg. 18
I think that Ponyboy was saying is that he tries to lie to himself but he always finds away to look around what he said and not belive it
He can always lie but know that its not true
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4
thomas
// Dec 5, 2008 at 9:32 am
cherry says shell fall in love with dally and she never wants to see him becouse shes doesnt want to go out with him becouse there from diferent gangs
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5
tabitha.b
// Dec 5, 2008 at 9:32 am
i choose “stay gold”because when you are a kid just like ponyboy you supposed to like your life aslong as you can dont go out and get a job right off the bat and become sore all the time and just play like the kid you are love your life dont just jump into it.
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6
Amber H!
// Dec 5, 2008 at 9:33 am
I understand what Ponyboy means when he says “It’s okay… We aren’t in the same class. Just don’t forget that some of us watch the sunset too.” He means just because a person may look different doesn’t mean their any less better. Just because you may be in a different clique doesn’t mean you and another person in a different clique can’t like the same thing and be friends.
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7
mason m.
// Dec 5, 2008 at 9:34 am
I would pick randy to ponyboy, i think he means that if tour rich you only care about showing off and if your poor you will do anything to be cool. But the people in the middle care about other people AND they get the right amount of attention without having to be someone their not.
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8
dakota
// Dec 5, 2008 at 9:36 am
I would have to choose the one from jonny to ponyboy “stay gold” i would probily think that means tha jonny does not want ponyboy to change he wants ponyboyto stay the same.
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9
jamison
// Dec 5, 2008 at 9:37 am
“stay gold” is the one i picked because i think it means be a good person even though you dont think it will stay just be good. what you look like on the outside doesnt make whats on the inside.
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10
Angelia M.
// Dec 5, 2008 at 9:40 am
When Cherry tells Ponyboy that if she sees Dallas again she’ll fall in love with him.Means that she hopes not to see him again.
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11
michaelt
// Dec 5, 2008 at 9:40 am
I will have to go with Stay gold.When Johnny told PonyBoy him to ’stay gold’. It mean to never ever get old. To alsway stay young. To stay a child alsway a live it young. And so want you want to be.
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12
dylan coomer
// Dec 5, 2008 at 9:41 am
i would have to say stay gold . i think it means to never get old and johnny does not want him to get old and be no fun
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13
travis
// Dec 5, 2008 at 9:45 am
I think that means means that the socs have it rough because everyone hates them because they are rich and that the greasers have it bad for everyone making fun of there hair because they put to much oil in there hair.The reason they think the ones in the middle are the lucky ones is because the ones in the middle don’t have anything to fight about
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14
John Pennington
// Dec 5, 2008 at 9:46 am
Pg 117
I think that means that the greasers have it bad because their hair is to grecy and the soc have it bad because their so rich and. The East side and the west side fight because of the side of the town they live on. the reason they think the ones in the middle is so lucky is because they dont have any thing to fight about
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15
dylan coomer
// Dec 5, 2008 at 9:58 am
scrach that other message this i still choose “stay gold ponyboy ” i think it means stay young and johnny said that to tell him to stay fun and never grow old
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16
dakota
// Dec 5, 2008 at 10:01 am
THIS IS A GOOD BOOK!!!!!!!
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17
Becca
// Dec 7, 2008 at 7:55 pm
I read “The Outsiders” last year [7th grade] and I really liked them.
Pony to Cherry: “It’s okay… We aren’t in the same class. Just don’t forget that some of us watch the sunset too.” – pg. 46
When Pony says this to Cherry I believe that he means, just because we arn’t viewed the same by everyone else on the outside, just because we arn’t from the same side of town, and we have different names doesnt change the fact that we are both people and all live in the same world. He also means that when it gets down to it the Socs are no better than the Greasers even though they think they are, he’s trying to say we see the same moon, the same sun, the same colors, they breathe same air, walk on the same green grass, and like I said before they all live on the same round, rotating place that we call Earth.
I hope yall enjoy this book as much as I did, and I hope by the end of the book you understand the meaning behind it.
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18
Savanna H.
// Dec 7, 2008 at 8:42 pm
I choose stay gold
Stay gold was meant to Ponyboy as you always have a different choice and a different person that you can make yourself into. You are who you choose to be.
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19
Joni M.
// Dec 8, 2008 at 6:33 pm
I choose “stay gold Ponyboy stay gold”
When Johnny told Ponyboy to stay gold it ment that Ponyboy should always try to make the right choices and stay the same like how he loves to read and watch movies Johnny is telling Ponyboy to not change even though no-one else in the gang likes to read or watch movies that much.
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20
Jordan G
// Dec 10, 2008 at 10:54 pm
hey
the book ” the outsiders” was wonderful i ♥ loved♥ it!
a comment from the book i choose was :
Johnny to Pony: “Stay Gold Ponyboy” – pg. 148
Johnny means to act your age, be yourself, and don’t act tougher than what you are for friends. Be yourself and they will be your friend an you will also always make new ones too.
and another one is:
Ponyboy: “I lie to myself all the time. But I never believe me” – pg. 18
Ponyboy means he is always trying to make himself feel better by lying to himself, but he can never make it sound good enough to believe that it happened or didn’t.
P.S. WHOEVER HASN’T READ THIS BOOK NEEDS 2 NOW IT IS AWESOME!
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21
Mrs. S
// Dec 11, 2008 at 2:30 pm
Thanks for all of the great comments guys. Many of you chose to discuss what Johnny said to Ponyboy, “Stay gold Ponyboy.” This is probably one of the most well known quotes from the entire book, which is why it doesn’t surprise me that so many of you chose it. However, what does surprise me is that many of you didn’t refer back to the poem by Robert Frost read earlier in the book, “Nothing Gold Can Stay.” I am not to say that any of your interpretations are incorrect, but I do think some of you need to go back in the book, find the poem, read it and the context it was written in, and then think about that quote again. It may (or may not) change the way you interpret why Johnny said that to Ponyboy.
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22
Miranda M.
// Dec 15, 2008 at 10:50 pm
I agree with Jordan the book was awesome:-)
I picked the quote Cherry to Ponyboy: ” I could fall in love with Dallas Winston. I hope I never see him again or I will.” -pg.46 because if she sees him and he wants to go with her she would say yes not thinking. She would not be able to hold herself together long enough to think about her answer!!!!!!!!
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23
michael
// Dec 17, 2008 at 3:57 pm
“Stay gold”- johnny,Because if you’re a young person ;Then you should always take care of yourself from danger.
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24
jacob. morrison
// Dec 19, 2008 at 11:30 am
johnny to ponyboy stay gold means stay the same just be yourself don’t be like someone else stay the same
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25
Abby K.
// Jan 8, 2009 at 11:53 am
I am about to finish this book. I think these books have a lot of feeling, and many people can relate to them.
“I lie to myself all the time. But I never believe me.” I think this means that no matter how hard you try to falter the truth, it will still always be the truth.
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26
'hopee !
// Jan 8, 2009 at 11:56 am
well, this is hopee ! i’m not sure what we are supposed to blog about today. so, i’m taking this oppurtunity to tell all you fellow blogers a little about the twilight saga ! first of all if you haven’t picked up “twilight” at a book store or library near you, you best hurry up and get started ! i promise you will not be dissapointed ! these thrilling novels are not only about action, but they are also about forbidden love <3 ! yes, girls thats right love, awwwwwww ! however this time the love is not so simple..
READDDDD ONNNNNNN(:
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27
*hopee, s curr !
// Jan 22, 2009 at 11:53 am
hayy, this is hope from the legendary Jessie M. Clark !
today i will be bloging about Eclipse – the third book in the twilight series ! well, first i must say this novel is one of my favorite books in this saga so far, with drama, action & thrilling experiences you will never get bored ! i am almost done with this extended novel, almost at the climax i would say & am loving every sentence of it ! i can’t spoil because i know how i feel when someone does this to me *ElEn* ! but i will say edward & jacob are geting in a heated battle & to make sure to read on !
- thanks for reading !
as always,
hope(: !
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