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Rumble Fish (novel)
Encyclopedia
Rumble Fish is a 1975 novel for young adults by S. E. Hinton
, author of The Outsiders
. It was adapted to film
and directed by Francis Ford Coppola
in 1983.
, alienation
, gang life, and drug abuse
.
Hero worship is explored through The Motorcycle Boy, the older brother of the protagonist. The Motorcycle Boy is well respected by most of the youth in the city and finds that it is "[a] bit of a burden to be Robin Hood, Jesse James, and the Pied Piper." Despite this adoration, the Motorcycle Boy feels alienated from society, separate and distanced from them. He believes it is this distance that leads the city's youth to revere him because, "Even the most primitive societies have innate respect for the insane." The Motorcycle Boy's physical barriers to the surrounding world, deafness and colorblindness, are the result of an accident and thus the result of the surrounding world.
The theme of alienation is also explored through the protagonist, Rusty-James. A tough teen, Rusty-James gets attached to people and fears being alone. It is revealed later in the novel that when he was a toddler, Rusty-James's mother took The Motorcycle Boy (who was six at the time) and left Rusty-James with the boys' father. The father then went on a three-day drunken binge, leaving Rusty-James alone. Rusty-James seems to often worry that The Motorcycle Boy will leave him. He believes he loves The Motorcycle Boy, Patty, Steve (partially), and his father (partially), though he is aware he cannot rely on any of them. In the end of the book, Rusty-James's father is proved worthless, The Motorcycle Boy is killed by a police officer, and Patty (his girlfriend) and Steve (his best friend), leave him. In the end, Rusty-James is left alone and alienated.
On the theme of gang
s, while The Motorcycle Boy ended gang fights some time before the story takes place, Rusty-James is obsessed with them and wishes to bring them back. He was in the Little Leaguers, the peewee branch of the local gang, the Packers, when he was 11. Rusty-James tends to get upset when people disregard "The Rules," a systematic moral check point for teen fights, such as telling your opponent if knives are going to be involved beforehand, or that fights have to start without insults.
Teenagers are not the only characters with drug problems in the novel. The protagonist's father was once a lawyer but became an alcoholic after his wife left him. The Motorcycle Boy hates junkies, though this is never explained, and Rusty-James is also opposed to drug use. Weston McCauley, former second in command of the Packers, the local gang, is a heroin addict. Cassandra, originally a student teacher, who "thought she was The Motorcycle Boy's girlfriend," also does heroin, although she claims she is not addicted. The Motorcycle Boy doesn't drink on a regular basis but does when he wants to. Steve was originally opposed to alcohol, but does eventually get drunk after his mother had a stroke. Rusty-James is frequently drunk.
S. E. Hinton
Susan Eloise Hinton is an American author best known for her young adult novel The Outsiders.While still in her teens, Hinton became a household name as the author of The Outsiders, her first and most popular novel, set in Oklahoma in the 1960s. She began writing it in 1965...
, author of The Outsiders
The Outsiders (novel)
The Outsiders is a coming-of-age novel based in 1965 by S. E. Hinton, first published in 1967 by Viking Press. Hinton was 15 when she started writing the novel, but did most of the work when she was sixteen and a junior in high school. Hinton was 18 when the book was published...
. It was adapted to film
Rumble Fish
Rumble Fish is a 1983 film directed by Francis Ford Coppola. It is based on the novel Rumble Fish by S.E. Hinton, who also co-wrote the screenplay....
and directed by Francis Ford Coppola
Francis Ford Coppola
Francis Ford Coppola is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. He is widely acclaimed as one of Hollywood's most innovative and influential film directors...
in 1983.
Plot
Russell James, known as "Rusty-James", has a reputation for toughness, lives in his brother's shadow, and is frequently truant from school.Characters
The characters include Rusty-James as the protagonist of the story, his brother The Motorcycle Boy, Biff Wilcox, Smokey, Patty, Steve, Cassandra, BJ, and Rusty-James's parents.Themes
The novel includes a number of themes; among them are hero worshipHero worship
Hero worship is defined as the foolish or excessive adulation for an individual. In Wikipedia, you may be searching for:*Hero Worship , an album released by Sandra Bernhard*Hero Worship...
, alienation
Social alienation
The term social alienation has many discipline-specific uses; Roberts notes how even within the social sciences, it “is used to refer both to a personal psychological state and to a type of social relationship”...
, gang life, and drug abuse
Drug abuse
Substance abuse, also known as drug abuse, refers to a maladaptive pattern of use of a substance that is not considered dependent. The term "drug abuse" does not exclude dependency, but is otherwise used in a similar manner in nonmedical contexts...
.
Hero worship is explored through The Motorcycle Boy, the older brother of the protagonist. The Motorcycle Boy is well respected by most of the youth in the city and finds that it is "[a] bit of a burden to be Robin Hood, Jesse James, and the Pied Piper." Despite this adoration, the Motorcycle Boy feels alienated from society, separate and distanced from them. He believes it is this distance that leads the city's youth to revere him because, "Even the most primitive societies have innate respect for the insane." The Motorcycle Boy's physical barriers to the surrounding world, deafness and colorblindness, are the result of an accident and thus the result of the surrounding world.
The theme of alienation is also explored through the protagonist, Rusty-James. A tough teen, Rusty-James gets attached to people and fears being alone. It is revealed later in the novel that when he was a toddler, Rusty-James's mother took The Motorcycle Boy (who was six at the time) and left Rusty-James with the boys' father. The father then went on a three-day drunken binge, leaving Rusty-James alone. Rusty-James seems to often worry that The Motorcycle Boy will leave him. He believes he loves The Motorcycle Boy, Patty, Steve (partially), and his father (partially), though he is aware he cannot rely on any of them. In the end of the book, Rusty-James's father is proved worthless, The Motorcycle Boy is killed by a police officer, and Patty (his girlfriend) and Steve (his best friend), leave him. In the end, Rusty-James is left alone and alienated.
On the theme of gang
Gang
A gang is a group of people who, through the organization, formation, and establishment of an assemblage, share a common identity. In current usage it typically denotes a criminal organization or else a criminal affiliation. In early usage, the word gang referred to a group of workmen...
s, while The Motorcycle Boy ended gang fights some time before the story takes place, Rusty-James is obsessed with them and wishes to bring them back. He was in the Little Leaguers, the peewee branch of the local gang, the Packers, when he was 11. Rusty-James tends to get upset when people disregard "The Rules," a systematic moral check point for teen fights, such as telling your opponent if knives are going to be involved beforehand, or that fights have to start without insults.
Teenagers are not the only characters with drug problems in the novel. The protagonist's father was once a lawyer but became an alcoholic after his wife left him. The Motorcycle Boy hates junkies, though this is never explained, and Rusty-James is also opposed to drug use. Weston McCauley, former second in command of the Packers, the local gang, is a heroin addict. Cassandra, originally a student teacher, who "thought she was The Motorcycle Boy's girlfriend," also does heroin, although she claims she is not addicted. The Motorcycle Boy doesn't drink on a regular basis but does when he wants to. Steve was originally opposed to alcohol, but does eventually get drunk after his mother had a stroke. Rusty-James is frequently drunk.
Awards and nominations
- ALA Best Books for Young Adults, 1975
- School Library Journal Best Books of the Year, 1975
- Land of the Enchantment Award, New Mexico Library Association, 1982