Change In Hinton's 'The Outsider'

Hinton uses this poem in the novel to show that things always change. For example, the poem states, “Nature’s first green is gold, her hardest hue to hold.” Frost is saying that at first everything is pure, but it’s hard to keep it that way. This relates to The Outsiders because in the beginning of Ponyboy’s life, everything was fine. Ponyboy and Johnny even gained a lot of fame and recognition for saving the kids from the burning church. This reminds us of how pure everything is at the beginning. In addition to changing, Robert Frost writes, “Her early leaf’s a flower; but only so an hour.” In this part of the poem, Frost describes how hard it is to keep things perfect. This also relates to the novel because Ponyboy and Johnny’s brief moment