Nature's First Green Is Gold

Nature's first green is gold,

Her hardest hue to hold.

Her early leaf's a flower;

But only so an hour.

Then leaf subsides to leaf.

So Eden sank to grief,

So dawn goes down to day.

Nothing gold can stay. (Page 77)

Nothing gold can stay. The poem above is titled "Nothing Gold Can Stay" by Robert Frost. The meaning of this poem is to enjoy the life you have when you are young, because none of the liveliness and the "hakuna matata" can go with you. This theme is very well displayed in The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, a book about Greasers (characterized as hoodlums who are independent, tough and greasy-haired), and Socs (stuck up, rich snobby kids). There are many conflicts between these two groups, which resolve in a lot of violence. Socs tend to grow up too fast and try to act more mature, while some, but not all Greasers are completely different. This story teaches readers to stay "gold" as long as you can, while you are young, and to not let situations "harden" you as you go through life.

One of the Greasers in this book is named Dally. Dally is one of the older, more experienced Greasers in the gang. The "gang" is a gang made up of 7 Greasers: Johnny, Ponyboy, Dally, Darry, Steve, Two-bit, and Soda. The way that Dally grew up was very unusual. He was in jail by the age of ten; he had a hoodlum kind of life. Ever since he can remember, he was robbing, well, everywhere for a living. In the book, they described him as hardened. "I just don't want you to get hurt. You don't know what a few months in jail can do to you . . ." " . . . you get hardened in jail. I don't want that to happen