Greased Long Hair (Symbol)
The greased hair sported by the members of the Greaser gang is perhaps the most potent symbol in the film. While the preppy Socs have close-cropped, well-groomed hair to reflect their wealth and clean-cut upbringing, the Greaser gang has longer, greased hair to reflect their pride in being from "the wrong side of the tracks." For Greasers, long greased hair symbolizes their toughness, pride in where they come from, and their affiliation with their gang. Above all, the greased hair symbolizes the boys' kinship with one another. When Johnny and Ponyboy run away to the abandoned church, they cut their hair (and dye Ponyboy's) to disguise themselves. Ponyboy is not happy about having to change his appearance, and when he returns to the neighborhood, the other gang members give him a hard time about it. When he takes on a different appearance, he becomes different from his fellow gang members, which symbolically disconnects him from them.
The Country (Symbol)
The country is a symbol of escape for Johnny and Ponyboy. When they sit by the fire in the park, they dream of escaping the neighborhood and finding solace in country life. Johnny says, "Seems like there's gotta be some place without Greasers or Socs. Just plain ordinary people. Just people." Ponyboy responds, "It's like that out in the country." The country is a place that promises to deliver the boys from the gang warfare taking place in the neighborhood, and offers the promise of being "just people." It symbolizes a utopia where the boys are not defined by the gangs they run with, but rather by their traits and themselves. For Ponyboy, the country is also a more complicated symbol, because it is where his parents were killed. Ponyboy sees that it is dangerous both in the country and in the neighborhood, but still holds out hope for deliverance from world of Socs and Greasers. When the boys finally make it to the country, they live a happy if boring existence in the abandoned church; the country is a place where they don't have to worry about the concerns they have in town, but it is also a place where all they have to eat is bologna and they're visited by wild animals at inopportune times.
Bob's Rings (Symbol)
When we first meet Johnny, he has scars on his face from getting hit by a Soc who was wearing rings. Later, when he looks down at Bob's hand, he notices the rings on his fingers in fear, and we realize it was Bob who scarred him. Bob's rings represent his wealth as a member of the Soc gang. They also represent his capacity for violence: he used the rings to hurt Johnny. Because we know that he hurt Johnny with his rings, we know that he is capable of doing real harm. Thus, as a symbol, the rings represent a connection between affluence and violence; Bob literally uses expensive jewelry to hurt a vulnerable Greaser.
Knives (Symbol)
Knives are symbols of an unfair fight in the film. While a "skin-on-skin" fight is characterized as fair—one in which every fighter is using their bare hands—because no really damaging violence can be done, the presence of a knife in a fight immediately makes it an unfair one. When Dallas and Johnny and Ponyboy walk through the drive-up restaurant at the start of the film, they see a fight breaking out which includes the use of a knife, and the boys promptly leave so as to avoid trouble. Before the rumble, the Greasers make sure that the Socs have no intention to use knives in the fight. Johnny uses a knife to kill Bob when it seems like Bob is going to drown Ponyboy. While Johnny is acting in self defense, nobly saving his friend from drowning, the knife is still a transgressive symbol.
The Robert Frost Poem (Allegory)
The Robert Frost poem that Ponyboy has memorized, which begins "Nothing gold can stay," is an allegory for the plight of all the gang members. The poem, as interpreted by Ponyboy and Johnny, examines how youth and "gold" does not last, seasons change, and life goes through many stages. They discuss the poem as they watch the sunset and contemplate its beauty but also its ephemerality. In the lives of the young people in the film, there are moments of connection and beauty, but those moments are often short-lived, and hardship is never far away. The gang members are all young people, but many of them have been forced to grow up too quickly or take on adult responsibilities and worries at a young age. In this way, the poem illuminates their plight and can stand in as an allegory for the life of a Greaser. While the poem insists that "nothing gold can stay," however, Johnny tells Ponyboy to "stay gold." In other words, Johnny urges Ponyboy to hold on to the "gold," or the goodness of life, and remain resilient and positive in the face of adversity.
