Pedagogy

S.E. Hintons Rumble Fish tells the story of Rusty James (or Russel-James), a fourteen-year old boy who is known to be a notorious and tough kid in his depressed neighbourhood. He talks and acts like an older person. He admits that he is not very smart and he has a bad temper. He smokes, drinks, curses, steals and gets into gang fights every week and has not been defeated in two years. He looks up to his older brother, Motorcycle Boy, and wants to grow up to become just like him. Rusty Boy does not like being alone and dreads the time when his brother has to leave him.

Motorcycle Boy, whose name is not revealed in the story, is Rusty James hero and older brother. His name refers to his love for motorcycles and because he steals and rides them. However, he does not intend to have one of his own. He is deaf and colour-blind resulting from motorcycle accidents. He is born a natural leader with a charismatic nature. He got expelled from his school for getting perfect scores in tests. Clearly, school authorities think of him as a cheater although it has not been proven. He could be much smarter than what people think because he likes to read. When he reached fourteen, he became the leader of a gang named Packers. Later on, he finally realizes that gang fights and violence is stupid and attempts to stop them. He outlawed gang fights by a treaty and leaves aimlessly while Rusty James lives for the excitement and thrill of fighting like a hoodlum with a very uncertain future. Rusty James had broken the treaty in a violent encounter and got severely hurt. Motorcycle Boy then reappears and he seems disinterested with his history as a gang leader.

In the days that followed, Rusty James life as a notorious starts to fall apart. He loses his friends and his girlfriend until he lost almost everything including his confidence. He struggles to succeed and stray from being a criminal which became his downfall. In the end, as Motorcycle Boy breaks into a pet store to free all the animals and take the rumble fish to the river, he got shot by the police and died. Rusty James vowed to forget his past and start a new life somewhere else.

The story is set in the South-eastern part of the United States around the era of 1930s  1950s. The authors tone in Rumble Fish can be described as thoughtful with occasional humour. The theme is focused on poverty and its effects.

The book is written using the first-person narrative style from Rusty James perspective and then shifts to third-person narrative. It reflects the problems that teenagers are facing in the society which involves violence, unfair treatment, poor environment and difficulty in dealing with the society.

It is ideal for young and reluctant readers as well as high school readers because they can easily relate to the main characters. In general, it is recommended for adolescent readers for the lessons it imparts. However, thorough guidance is necessary to avoid misconceptions since there are very sensitive issues and inappropriate dialogues between characters that are presented in the story. The ending is also somewhat vague and lacks substance which can be misleading.