Chapter 4 Activities
Task 1:
While reading the chapter, compile notes on the following quotations concerning the:
- Context of each quotation (action in the plot surrounding the quotation)
- Significance of each quotation (why is this moment interesting or important?)
a. "I couldn't have gotten much cooler without turning into a popsicle. (53)
b. "He was as white as a ghost and his eyes were wild-looking, like the eyes of an animal in a trap" (54)
c. "...he was watching the moonlight glint off Bob's rings with huge eyes" (55)
d. "...trying to figure out what there was about this tough-looking hood that a girl like Cherry Valance could love" (59)
e. "...He still reminded me of a lost puppy who had been kicked too often" (63)
f. ""Shoot," Johnny said with a grin, "you are too." (64)
g. "It was a small church, real old and spooky and spiderwebby." (66)
be prepared for a quote quiz on a selection of these quotations
Task 2:
This week's writing task is to compose a story in which the following line can be found. You can use these words as the first sentence, or include them as part of the body of your story.
"The dawn was coming. It was lightening the sky in the east and a ray of gold touched the hills."
Step 1: Produce a prewriting plan that details:
- The beginning, middle and ending sections of your story
- Details relating to the setting
- Details relating to the character and point of view
Step 2: Edit your first draft such that you include a selection of:
- Good vocabulary terms
- Sentence starters (adv, pp, sub.clause, -ing, however, nevertheless etc...)
- Sentence enhancers (vss, metaphor, simile, parallelism, personification, onomatopoeia etc...)
- Sentence Enhancers
Task 3:
Step I
Examine the poem below. What ideas does the poem convey to you? Summarize your ideas as a "Sometimes people... " theme statement. Then, produce a SEE paragraph that describes how this theme is found within the poem.
Step II
Examine the theme you used for Step I. Produce a second SEE paragraph in which you describe how this same message can be discovered in our novel. Be sure to utilize specific evidence from the text.
Plan and edit your work to ensure that is up to your highest standards (include elements of structure and style)
Nothing Gold Can Stay
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.
Robert Frost
Step III. Post the paragraphs you produced in Steps I and II on the comment board.
Sometimes opportunities are fleeting. This is demonstrated in the title and last lline of the poem "nothing gold can stay." Your oppurtunities can just come and go like that. The poem goes on to describe how that statement is demonstrated in nature. The moment you think you have everything under control you can be surprised and bedlam can take the place of a controlled situation.
ReplyDeleteTask the third, Step the first
By Joseph the sixty-ninth
Wo-hoo! I'm the first guy to post!!!
The theme in my previous paragraph is exemplified in the novel by Ponyboy. One day he had parents and a brother who didn't have to have such a burden of responsibility on his shoulders, the next day he was an orphan. One day he was at school and getting good grades and finally having a chance to stop being a down-and-out greaser, the next day he was a fugitive from justice on the run with a gun. All these chances, opportunities that Ponyboy has are vanishing before his very eyes.
ReplyDeleteTask the third, Step the second
Joseph the sixty-ninth
Sometimes people are cautious about nature and the enjoy it. This poem states that sometimes nature is loved but that love will slowly fade away. The line "nothing gold can stay" represents nothing good will ever be remembered. But we must make an effort to think about it when we can.
ReplyDeleteOKAY JOSEPH YOU ARE VERY SPECIAL
Sometimes people do things they wouldn't normally do. Rash dictions can sometimes be made and people can spend so many days wishing they could take it back but they can't. Sometimes you will pay for that mistake all of your life and in line 8 "nothing gold can stay" states that good opportunities don't last forever.
ReplyDeleteADAM .T
The way this theme relates to our novel is that. Johnny is a nice kid who never hurts anyone. He had just killed someone. This is the evidence "Johnny had killed somebody. Quite soft spoken little Johnny who wouldn't hurt a living thing on purpose." (pg62) The reason Johnny did this is because he said that the next time someone tried to beat him up he would kill him.
ReplyDeleteADAM. T
Sometimes people come to realize that even though something may start out beautiful and innocent, it usually has an ugly side that shows itself later. We see this in Robert Frost’s poem “Nothing Gold Can Stay” in the lines “Her early leaf’s a flower, but only so an hour.” A flower is a unique thing that usually symbolizes superb things, whereas leaves are common and somewhat boring. The flower is the gold, and the leaf that comes later is the common guilt that comes after the innocence of the flower. Nature always starts out golden, but as it grows older and withers, that gold goes away and is replaced with grey.
ReplyDeleteMy previous theme statement was that sometimes people grow out of their childhood purity too early, and their unattractive side becomes predominant. We see this theme in S.E. Hinton’s “The Outsiders” when Johnny stabs a boy because he is tired of being the underdog that everybody can walk all over. “‘I killed him.’ He said slowly. ‘I killed that boy.’” (51) Johnny started out as all children do, a symbol of innocence, but because he grew up abused, his golden glow faded away, because nothing gold can stay. Johnny’s gold is gone, and now he has released an evil that has taken over his whole being. Johnny is like the flower that turns to a leaf. It takes an amazing amount of willpower to stay golden, but Johnny’s spirit has been broken beyond repair, and he will never be the same.
Mary
Sometimes people do not understand that all good things will come to an end.
ReplyDeleteGood times and opportunities do not stay around forever so you should experience those times with an open heart and always grasp their special moment. In the poem Nothing Gold can Stay, this message is shown in the line “So dawn goes down to day. Nothing gold can stay.” Sometimes when people miss great opportunities and moments it shows that they are living life too fast and not stopping to smell the roses on the way.
In the novel, Johnny and Ponyboy do not quite realize that good things come to an end but they have both definitely encountered it. The time that Ponyboy and Johnny have a good time is when they are with Cherry and Marcia, the Soc’s ruin their moment and their good time ended. Maybe if they new they probably wouldn’t see the girls again, they would of tried to make the moment last longer. The message in the poem is developed in this novel and I hope that next time when the boys come across a good time they will live it to the fullest.
Natalie
STEP ONE
ReplyDeleteThis poem gives me ideas about life. From this poem I have learned that “Sometimes people are filled with happiness, but they cannot keep it forever.” This idea tells me that everyone feels happy at some point in their life, but happiness cannot last forever. It tells me that when there is a moment of happiness in my life that I should embrace it and not worry about grief.
STEP TWO
In the poem, Nothing Gold Can Stay by Robert Frost I have learned that sometimes people are filled with happiness, but it does not last forever. In the quote, “nature’s first green is gold, her hardest hue to hold” it tells me that in nature gold is a wonderful, but hard to hold hue. In other words it means that gold (happiness) cannot last forever. This relates to my life because the quote tells me that there will be jubilant moments in my life, but they will not last forever. The quote also tells me that when I am experiencing joy and happiness I should try to make it last forever and not worry about my grief. Clearly, this poem shares important life lessons.
~Shay
a. "I couldn't have gotten much cooler without turning into a popsicle. (53)
ReplyDeleteThis quote shows that Ponyboy is really cold and is not in shape for anything that is going to happen to him. If he is going to run away, he will need to seek help from one of the gang, but it can’t be Darry because Darry would not let him leave.
b. "He was as white as a ghost and his eyes were wild-looking, like the eyes of an animal in a trap" (54)
This is describing Johnny as the five socs were barring down on them. Johnny is like this because one of socs, Bob, was the one with all of the rings who had beaten up Johnny before. The ‘animal’ look in his eyes show that he is ready to do anything, if that brings him to killing a young boy.
c. "...he was watching the moonlight glint off Bob's rings with huge eyes" (55)
This is describing Johnny looking in aghast at Bob’s rings. Those were the rings that had already beaten him up. Whenever he thinks of them he freaks out, and now that he sees them, he could go ape on Bob. Also, Johnny has a switchblade and will not take a lot before he could pull it.
d. "...trying to figure out what there was about this tough-looking hood that a girl like Cherry Valance could love" (59)
When Ponyboy is visiting Dally at Buck’s place and he is wondering what She could like about Dally. This is significant because the only reason Dally gets girls is because he acts really tough and likes to get into fights.
e. "...He still reminded me of a lost puppy who had been kicked too often" (63)
This is Pony describing Johnny. Johnny is like this because the home he lives in he gets beaten and he is a greaser. He has been beaten up badly, by knives and rings, so he is always really scared of what is around the corner.
f. ""Shoot," Johnny said with a grin, "you are too." (64)
This is when Johnny says Pony is good-looking. This is important to Ponyboy because Pony always thought that Sodapop was real good-looking and always was embarrassed about his looks. This could be important for Pony’s confidence.
g. "It was a small church, real old and spooky and spiderwebby." (66)
Usually Churches are grand and beautiful and symbolize sanctuary for people in need. In this case however, the church is creepy and does not symbolize any positive input. It symbolizes a prison and a hiding spot from the police, and it also is where Pony and Johnny and going to stay for the next week.
JACK THE SIXTY NINTH
Sometimes people think that the best stays for ever. This is shown on the title (nothing gold can stay). The best does not stay for ever. This is shown on the title and the last line of the poem "nothing gold can stay". Not all gold situations stay the same. The gold on your hand can disappear just like that.
ReplyDeleteNicholas :)
Sometimes people think something can last forever, when in reality it can last only a few moments. The line I chose from the poem is “But only so an hour”. This shows us that when nature’s “hardest hue to hold” of green is glowing brightly, we think we can watch that leaf forever, but when that leaf falls off the tree and gets stepped on by passing people, we get surprised. We must always know that everything good and bad will eventually leave. That is my analysis on the poem.
ReplyDeleteIn the novel the outsiders, Ponyboy Curtis must embark on an epic adventure. His adventure is running from the fuzz with his sixteen year old friend Johnny who just killed a soc from the west side. In the poem ‘Nothing Gold Can Stay’ the message is that good thing never last forever. In the novel the outsiders Johnny understands that when you are a kid, everything is new and gold, but that will pass. The first evidence of Pony and Johnny’s understanding of ‘staying gold’ is when they watch a beautiful sunset over the country side’s rolling hills. The evidence that shows us when Pony fully understands the ‘stay gold’ concept is when Johnny says his last words “stay gold Ponyboy, stay gold” Pony understands that being a kid is gold.
JACK THE JACK MAN
The theme in my previous paragraph is related to Johnny in the novel the Outsiders. Johnny has a sense of false confidence. In the novel Johnny swore that he would never get beat up or scared of the socs, but on page (54)"He was as white as a ghost and his eyes were wild-looking, like the eyes of an animal in a trap" This shows that Johnny can be strong and tough until someone that he is scared comes along.
ReplyDeleteNicholas :) :)
Sometimes people become upset at the end of the day watching the sunset, however I always feel that nighttime is not the end but a new beginning. There is a well-known saying,
ReplyDelete“ it’s always darkest before the dawn.” In other words it will get worse before it gets better or darker before it gets light. Robert Frost states in his poem, “ so dawn goes down to day. Nothing gold cans stay.” Meaning that the sun is setting and the light is succumbing to the dark.
The theme relates to the novel The Outsiders in several ways. Firstly the fact that Ponyboy’s life is spiralling out of control as he has become embroiled in the murder of Bob. He has made an effort to extricate himself from his precarious situation by escaping to the country,
where he has always dreamed of starting a new life. It is said in the book, “this is the country, I thought, half asleep. My dreams come true and I’m in the country.” (page 63). Showing that after all the hardships, like the darkness before the light, he can start fresh and start again.
Millicent
Sometimes people can be good for a little while but then it fades off.
ReplyDeleteAnd then they turn back to normal.
sometimes people are good for a little bit but rage builds up inside them and they cant control it and then they let out to much at once.
Sometimes control can become overpowering. This is explained in line two: “Her hardest hue to hold.” Power is something everyone wants, and when you get it, it becomes uncontrollable. The poem also describes how hard it is to hold the color gold. The second you let your guard down, or you bend the rules slightly. Chaos is afoot, and it’s in your power to control it.
ReplyDeleteThe theme in my paragraph is presented in the book when Darry is always trying to make Ponyboy the best he can be. Doing this delivers pressure to Ponyboy’s life. Darry was always kind and nice before his parents died, and now Darry is mean and strict and he always wants control over Soda and Ponyboy’s actions. Now, after Darry hits Ponyboy, Ponyboy runs away. Therefore, Darry has control over nobody now. His power is gone, and he needs to fix the power-craving side of him.
-Tea
In my novel the outsiders the charachers in the story can be in golden moods for a little bit but then they change back to normal. Like Dally and Two bit sometimes they are in good moods other times they are not. Like when Two bit was at the movies with his friends and he was hitting on two girls at that time he was in a good mood. Then later on he says to Ponyboy if you were not sodas brother id beat the snot out of you.
ReplyDeleteTask 3
ReplyDeleteStep 1:
Sometimes people take things the wrong way but realize that it is too late to change anything back. In the poem the author quotes “So Eden sank to grief”. It feels as though nothing is quite the same without the gold staying around for longer that it does. There is a point in the poem that the author and the character(s) understand that all good things must come to an end.
Step 2:
The poem Nothing Gold can Stay relates to the novel The Outsiders because both pieces of writing show that all good things must come to an end. This is shown when Darry gets angry at Ponyboy and hits him on the face. Darry does not really listen to Pony’s explanation which causes Ponyboy to lose his trust in Darry and he lost Ponyboy’s trust. It will be hard for Ponyboy to go back to Darry after that incident.
Rachel
Sometimes people need to make the best out of their opportunities. It says " Nothing Gold Can Stay." This means that things won't always be good and we need to make the best of the opportunities that we get to accomplish something. It also says " Her early leafs a flower, But only so an hour." This line tells us that you get opportunities in life, but they don't always last so long.
ReplyDeletePrabtaj
Sometimes people need to make the best of their opportunities. In the novel Ponyboy is a really smart kid, who gets like straight A's in school. Ponyboy should focus on his school work and try to do something with his life instead of throwing away the opportunity. " I make good grades and have a high IQ and everything, but I don't use my head." This tells us that Ponyboy is smart, but he does stupid things without thinking and doesn't care about school.
ReplyDeleteStep 1
ReplyDeleteSomethimes people shine different colours; when they are younger, that is when they still have their inocents. When you get older you learn about different experiences and that is when you start to lose your innocents. In this poem, it says nothing gold can stay; the gold is your innocents and that can never stay it will go away. As we get older our colours change.
Step 2
In the book, "The Outsiders", Ponyboy has already had most of his innocents taken away. This is due to the environment that he has grown up in. When he was younger he had a lot of innocents but as he got older the innocents started to drift away because of what he has done and saw. An example of this is in the phrase, "I wish that we brought some weed." That is how much of his innocents is gone and he is only 14 years old. His gold was gone fast. Everyones innocents colour always goes away.
Ponyboys lives in an enviornment that is very masuline and he does what he wants.
Kylie
Task 3:
ReplyDeleteStep I
Sometimes people believe that goodness, purities and freedoms will always end at some point in time and then come back again.
The theme above is clearly within the poem Nothing Gold Can Stay. This is proved from lines 7 and 8 when the poem states: “So dawn goes down today, nothing gold can stay”. My theme statement tells us that good things (like freedom, purity and goodness) will go away eventually but may come back. “Gold” is the poem’s way of saying freedom, purity and goodness. The gold goes away as the dawn breaks into day but dawn will come again the next day too. The goodness and light always goes, but soon comes back, as clearly stated in the poem and in my theme.
Step II
My theme statement (goodness and light always goes but will soon come back) is also a message discovered in the novel The Outsiders. This theme statement is found in the novel as Ponyboy thinks “...a ray of gold touched the hills...my dream’s come true.”(pg.63). It is dawn in the book, representing freedom and goodness. This is not as good as it seems though. All this freedom and goodness will soon subside as they face the trouble ahead of them, however, it will probably come back when they clear up all the unpleasantness. My theme statement from the poem is evidently seen in our novel.
-Sophia
Sometimes people make the most of opportunities. This idea is found in the poem in lines 3 and 4 ‘her early leaf’s a flower; But only so an hour.’ This shows that even though the moment did not last long, ‘nature’ had success and made use of her time by having her creation blossom. Another section that is similar to my idea is line 5, ‘then leaf subsides to leaf’; this shows that if you don’t try to attain the success that comes with work, your attempts (leaves), will remain as nothing more than that (flowerless).
ReplyDeleteThe idea that sometimes people make the most of opportunities can be found in the novel The Outsiders. The main character, Ponyboy, has had a difficult introduction to life and his family situation is much less than perfect. He chooses to succeed in academics, and he is one of the few ‘Greasers’ who tries to work hard in school. Although he runs away as a crime witness, Ponyboy makes the most of his time by supporting Johnny in difficult times.
Tamzin
Step 1
ReplyDeleteSomethimes people shine different colours; when they are younger, that is when they still have their inocents. When you get older you learn about different experiences and that is when you start to lose your innocents. In this poem, it says nothing gold can stay; the gold is your innocents and that can never stay it will go away. As we get older our colours change.
Step 2
In the book, "The Outsiders", Ponyboy has already had most of his innocents taken away. This is due to the environment that he has grown up in. When he was younger he had a lot of innocents but as he got older the innocents started to drift away because of what he has done and saw. An example of this is in the phrase, "I wish that we brought some weed." That is how much of his innocents is gone and he is only 14 years old. His gold was gone fast. Everyones innocents colour always goes away.
Ponyboys lives in an enviornment that is very masuline and he does what he wants.
~Kylie :)
I wrote that sometimes people have all the gold in the world, but it never lasts forever, and it doesn't make them any happier. I think this theme can be found within the poem because I derived this idea from the title. It can't really relate to the poem in any other way.
ReplyDeleteMy theme can relate to the novel because of an event that occurred earlier in the book. This event is when Cherry Valance talks to Ponyboy about being a greaser and being a soc. The part my theme can relate to is when Cherry tells Ponyboy that socs have it all, but can't seem to be happy. She tells him how they are always looking for something else to do, which usually leads them to beating up greasers and getting drunk like Bob& Randy.
Sometimes people do things they wouldn't normally do. Rash dictions can sometimes be made and people can spend so many days wishing they could take it back but they can not. Sometimes you will pay for that mistake all of your life and in line 8 "nothing gold can stay" states that good opportunities don't last forever and that all good things must come to an end in one time or another.
ReplyDeleteThe theme in my paragraph is related to Johnny in the novel the Outsiders. Johnny has a sense of false confidence. In the novel Johnny swore that he would never get beat up or scared of the socs, but on page (54)"He was as white as a ghost and his eyes were wild-looking, like the eyes of an animal in a trap" This shows that Johnny can be strong and tough until someone that he does not like comes along and tries to talk or do anything that he doesn’t agree with him gets terrified.
By: Tofer