Please give examples of the use of simile and metaphor in The Outsiders, by S E Hinton.

In The Outsiders by S E Hinton,
Ponyboy Curtis, a "Greaser," narrates the story of the lives and struggles of his gang
of "Greasers" as they try to pitch themselves against the more popular and wealthy
"Socs," or Socials. Ponyboy and his brothers, Darry and Soda have to manage without
their parents who were killed in a car accident some years before. The novel allows the
reader to contemplate how circumstances can lead to unfortunate events and
misunderstandings can have tragic results. The novel does, however, end on a note of
hope as Ponyboy, seemingly hardened by all the events despite his friends' desperate
pleas:"Don't get tough. You're not like the rest of us and don't try to be..."reveals
his true nature.

There are many instances in the novel
where comparisons are made. Similes and metaphor allow a writer to relay a message in an
indirect way, allowing for a broader understanding which gives readers an opportunity to
interpret and visualize something from a perspective they may not have considered
previously. 

The novel includes Robert Frost's
poem, "Nothing Gold Can Stay," and Ponyboy relates it to Johnny,
his best friend, whilst they are hiding. It has an impact on Johnny who has had time to
reflect on the poem and explains his understanding of it. In his explanation, Johnny
uses both metaphor (comparing everything "new" to the "dawn" by way of direct
comparison) and simile ("gold...like green," using the word like to explain the
comparison):

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“I've been thinking about it, and that poem,
that guy that wrote it, he meant you're gold when you're a kid, like green (simile).
When you're a kid everything's new,
dawn..."(metaphor).

On his
deathbed, Johnny reminds Ponyboy to "Stay gold, Ponyboy, Stay gold," also a metaphor,
gold being a precious metal and revealing Johnny's wish that Ponyboy remains true to
himself. The metaphor and paradox from the poem is relative to the "Greasers," a
tight-knit group of misunderstood youths where, it seems that, as Frost says, "Nothing
gold can stay," inferring the transitory nature of life and how the boys' innocent
childhood has been replaced by the realities of life.