Rumble Fish

Susan Eloise Hinton was born in 1948 and lives in Oklahoma, where most of her novels are set. She wrote her first novel, The Outsiders, while still in high school. It was published in 1967 and earned Hinton her reputation as a pioneer of the young adult genre. The work “grew out of her dissatisfaction with the way teen-age life was being portrayed in the books she read” (Michaud, Jon. “S.E. Hinton and the Y.A. Debate.” The New Yorker, 14 Oct. 2014, https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/hinton-outsiders-young-adult-literature. Accessed June 26, 2021). Hinton felt that there was a gap in the literary market for portraying real teen experiences. She wanted to write something in the style of films like Rebel Without a Cause (1955), which she thought portrayed the teen experience better than the sentimentalized literature of the time. Hinton’s work caught the national imagination, and in 1988, the American Library Association awarded her the Margaret Edwards Award for her lifetime contribution to writing for teens.

Rumble Fish (1975), which took up the street gang theme that made The Outsiders so popular, was Hinton’s third novel for young adults. It received the 1975 ALA Best Books for Young Adults award, and in 1983 Francis Ford Coppola directed a film adaptation of the story. Hinton collaborated with the director to co-write the screenplay. She admired the authenticity of Coppola’s adaptation, especially because the stars, Matt Dillon and Mickey Rourke, were of a similar age to the protagonists. In a 2007 interview Hinton describes her enduring attraction to writing about young adults, saying, “[I]t's an interesting time of life […] when your ideals get slammed up against reality and you must compromise” (Sozio, Lauren. “Some of Hinton’s Stories.” Vanity Fair, 14 May 2007, https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2007/05/hintonqanda200705. Accessed June 26, 2021). However, she says that she does not read young adult books published today because she considers herself out of touch with trending topics and contemporary concerns. While she believes that today’s teens would still be able to relate to her characters, she prefers to be known as a chronicler of teen life in a past era.

Plot Summary

Rumble Fish begins with the chance meeting of the narrator, Rusty-James, and his friend Steve in a town that is different from the one they grew up in. While Rusty-James has been idling around without a purpose following a five-year stint in a reformatory, bookish Steve is training to be a high-school teacher. Rusty-James resents encountering his old friend because Steve makes him remember a past he wishes he could forget.

The story then snaps back in time, depicting Rusty-James and Steve as junior high schoolers in their town of origin. They are best friends despite their differences. While Steve is nerdy and looks young for his age, Rusty-James is the ringleader of a group of tough boys and manages to keep the affections of his pretty girlfriend, Patty, despite casual trysts with other girls. Rusty-James idolizes his brother, the “Motorcycle Boy,” who was the notorious leader of a former gang called the Packers. Everyone in the neighborhood venerates and fears the Motorcycle Boy; however, a cop called Patterson is determined to arrest him. Rusty-James’s tough exterior masks his insecurities; he feels alone in a family where his mother has long run off, and where his father is an alcoholic who drinks his welfare check. Rusty-James also knows that while he might resemble his brother in looks, he cannot replicate his academic intelligence and street smarts.

Rusty-James, who looks back nostalgically on the era of the Packers, enjoys getting into fights. However, the Motorcycle Boy has to repeatedly rescue him when the stakes get too high. During the course of the novel, Rusty-James’s reckless, impulsive behavior leads to the damage of his reputation and eventually to his downfall. He gets badly wounded in a knife fight and then joyrides to a lake and cheats on his girlfriend, entering a trap Smokey—a competitor for the position of group ringleader—has set for him. Consequently, a jealous Patty breaks up with him, and he gets expelled from school.

With Patty and school out of his life, Rusty-James fills his vacant hours by following the Motorcycle Boy. At first, he persuades Steve to tag along with him. After a night out with the Motorcycle Boy leads to Steve and Rusty-James getting attacked and almost dying, Steve refuses to hang out with Rusty-James, saying that he must look after his own interests and work hard enough to get out of the neighborhood. While Rusty-James can see that Steve is right about the Motorcycle Boy not being the right role model for him, he feels compelled to continue following his brother. One day, the Motorcycle Boy breaks into a pet shop and releases the animals. The police then fatally shoot the Motorcycle Boy, leaving Rusty-James in extreme shock, feeling that he has inherited his brother’s color-blindness and hearing-loss.

When the final chapter jumps forward to the present-day meeting of Rusty-James and Steve, Steve alludes to Rusty-James’s resemblance to the Motorcycle Boy. Although Steve wishes to resume their acquaintance, Rusty-James does not, as he is uncomfortable with the memories Steve draws up in him.