Characters
Smokey Bennet
Smokey, named for his unusually colored eyes, is one of Rusty-James's friends
and part of their group. However, he's apprehensive about gang violence. When
Rusty-James reminisces about the "old days" at age eleven, saying, "A gang
really meant some-thin' back then," Smokey retorts, "Meant gettin' sent to the
hospital once a week." Smokey isn't a loyal friend; he schemes to make it
appear that Rusty-James is cheating on his girlfriend Patty, hoping she'll
break up with Rusty-James so he can date her. He also tells Rusty-James that if
gangs still existed, he would be the leader, not Rusty-James.
B.J.
B.J. is another of Rusty-James's friends and a member of their group. Despite
being overweight, he's tough. As Rusty-James puts it, "Tough fat guys ain't as
rare as you think."
Cassandra
Cassandra was a student teacher at the high school the previous year, with the
Motorcycle Boy as one of her students. She fell in love with him and, despite
having a college education and coming from a good family, moved into an
apartment in Rusty-James's neighborhood to follow the Motorcycle Boy. She often
goes without makeup, walks barefoot, and keeps many cats. Rusty-James sees her
as insincere because she tries to mimic the Motorcycle Boy, saying "meaningful"
things. She's also a drug addict, a habit the Motorcycle Boy despises.
Mr. Harrigan
Mr. Harrigan is the guidance counselor at Rusty-James's school. Rusty-James
mentions, "There was something about Mr. Harrigan that made my mind go kind of
blank, even when he was swatting me with a board."
Weston McCauley
Weston McCauley is a former friend of the Motorcycle Boy and used to be the
second lieutenant in the Packers, the local gang. Now, he's addicted to
heroin.
Midget
Midget is a tall, skinny kid who informs Rusty-James that Biff Wilcox is out to
get him.
Motorcycle Boy
The Motorcycle Boy, whose real name remains unknown to the reader, is the older
brother and idol of Rusty-James. He earned his nickname due to his passion for
motorcycles, which he frequently steals and rides, though he has no interest in
owning one. He is color-blind and occasionally deaf from motorcycle accidents.
Despite his natural charisma and leadership qualities, he often seems
disconnected from others. Rusty-James describes him: "He had strange eyes—they
made me think of a two-way mirror. Like you could feel somebody on the other
side watching you, but the only reflection you saw was your own." Expelled from
school for achieving "perfect tests," it’s unclear if he cheated or if his
intelligence was underestimated. He is an avid reader and appears wiser than
his age. He once told Rusty-James, "I stopped bein' a little kid when I was
five." By fourteen, he no longer needed to show ID to buy liquor and led the
gang, the Packers, advising even older kids. Eventually, he deemed gang
violence senseless and ceased his involvement. He despises drug addicts, and
rumors suggest he killed a junkie. He warns Rusty-James that he would break his
arm if he ever used drugs, and Rusty-James believes him.
Roy Patterson
Roy Patterson is a police officer with a vendetta against Rusty-James and the
Motorcycle Boy. He is constantly seeking an opportunity to "get" them.
Ultimately, he shoots and kills the Motorcycle Boy without warning as he steals
fish from a pet store.
Patty
Patty is Rusty-James's girlfriend. Her mother, a nurse, works night shifts,
leaving Patty to care for her younger brothers. With bleached blond hair and a
tough demeanor, she once attacked another girl with a broken bottle for
flirting with Rusty-James.
Don Price
Don Price is a smart-alecky kid who has been causing trouble for Coach Ryan.
Coach Ryan offers Rusty-James five dollars to beat him up.
Rusty-James
Rusty-James, whose real name is Russel-James, is fourteen during the main
events of the book but behaves and speaks like someone much older and tougher.
He admits that he's not very smart and has a bad temper. He engages in
stealing, swearing, smoking, drinking, and gets into fights about once a week,
although he hasn't lost a fight in two years. He idolizes his older brother,
Motorcycle Boy, wanting to emulate him because Motorcycle Boy is "the coolest
person in the whole world." Rusty-James doesn't think much about the future or
the past, preferring to live in the moment. His friend Steve is important to
him, as Steve is perhaps the only stable person he has ever known. When
Rusty-James was two years old, his mother left the family, taking Motorcycle
Boy with her, and his father disappeared on a three-day drinking binge, leaving
Rusty-James alone in their house. Possibly because of this experience,
Rusty-James hates being alone and fears the day Motorcycle Boy will leave home
for good.
Rusty-James's Father
Rusty-James's father, whom his sons refer to as "the old man," is an alcoholic.
He attended law school and speaks with a large vocabulary and an educated
manner. He is described as "a middle-sized, middle-aged guy, kind of blond and
balding on top, with light-blue eyes. He was the kind of person nobody ever
noticed. He had a lot of friends, though, mostly bartenders." He is entirely
detached from his sons, viewing them like an anthropologist would observe an
unfamiliar tribe. "What strange lives you two lead," he comments mildly upon
learning that Rusty-James has been injured in a knife fight.
He began drinking heavily when Rusty-James's mother left: he went on a three-day binge, which he claims was the first time he ever got drunk. Reflecting on his marriage and his descent from lawyer to skid-row drunk, he says, "Our marriage was a classic example of a preacher marrying an atheist, thinking to make a convert, and instead ending up doubting his own faith." This suggests that his wife was some sort of troublemaker. He adds, "She married me for fun, and when it stopped being fun she left."
Rusty-James's Mother
Rusty-James's mother left the family when Rusty-James was two and Motorcycle
Boy was six. Initially, she took Motorcycle Boy with her, but later abandoned
him, and he eventually returned to his father and Rusty-James. She now lives in
California and appears to still be unstable, moving from one relationship to
another. When Motorcycle Boy finds her, she is living with a movie producer but
is considering "moving in with an artist who lived in a tree house up in the
mountains."
Coach Ryan
Ryan is the physical education instructor at Rusty-James's school. Rusty-James
dislikes him because he considers the coach to be insincere. The coach uses
teenage slang and makes excessive efforts to befriend Rusty-James, which makes
Rusty-James wary. Rusty-James comments, "I hoped to hell when I was grown I'd
have better things to do than hang around some tough punk, hoping his rep would
rub off on me."
Steve
Steve, Rusty-James's best friend, is also fourteen but appears to be twelve and
behaves like he's forty. Rusty-James notes, "he could say stuff that I wouldn't
let anybody else get away with." Steve comes from a good family and is fearful
of violence. He is shy around girls, doesn't smoke, and refrains from drinking
until later in the story. He has "dark-blond hair and dark-brown eyes and a
face like a real sincere rabbit." According to Rusty-James, Steve is more
intelligent than he is. Rusty-James protects him from bullies and listens to
his numerous concerns. In return, Steve completes Rusty-James's math homework
and allows him to copy his history assignments so Rusty-James won't fail.
However, this isn't the sole reason for their close friendship. Rusty-James
explains, "Maybe it was because I had known him longer than I'd known anybody I
wasn't related to." Interestingly, Steve's parents are unaware of his
friendship with Rusty-James.
Biff Wilcox
Biff belongs to a rival group that used to be allies with Rusty-James's crew
but are now adversaries. Rusty-James observes that if the old gang wars were
still ongoing, Biff would be the leader of his gang, the Devilhawks. He is
tougher and more dangerous than most other kids.
Themes and Characters
Rumble Fish captures the experiences, friendships, and conflicts among a group of teenagers in Oklahoma. Hinton's most ambitious novel centers on Rusty-James, through whom readers encounter a disheartening view of life as a meaningless, destiny-driven existence.
Hinton explores Rusty-James's character development by contrasting him with two other key figures: his idolized brother, the Motorcycle Boy, and his best friend Steve, a sensitive, shy, and awkward teenager. As Rusty-James distances himself from his chaotic but self-governed life, he gains a deeper understanding of his reality, unveiling the full extent of Hinton's bleak depiction of adolescent despair.
Rusty-James adopts a tough exterior to hide his vulnerability and loneliness. He confesses his fear of solitude, obsession with appearances, and reliance on others' company. Rejected by school authorities and his girlfriend, he gradually "burns out" and succumbs to the troubling family traditions that shape his pessimistic worldview. Estranged from the gang that once bolstered his self-esteem, he gravitates towards the "cool" yet self-destructive example set by the Motorcycle Boy.
Rusty-James's mother abandoned the family when he was two, leading his father into alcoholism and the Motorcycle Boy to become disconnected from nearly everyone. Rusty-James himself cannot escape his family's legacy; his fate mirrors Greek tragedy, suggesting that human behavior is driven by biological necessity and destiny. The fighting "rumble fish" the book is named after, along with mythological figures like Prometheus who challenge this determinism, are inevitably doomed.
From the beginning of the novel, Rusty-James's father and the Motorcycle Boy seem aware of this tragic reality, and Rusty-James gains a similar awareness as he matures. Hinton implies that maturity is more about awareness than physical change. As Rusty-James learns more about himself and delves into the soul of his revered brother, his confusion deepens, his confidence wanes, and his naive perception of reality shatters, revealing his own stagnation and helplessness. He realizes he has no more freedom than the fighting fish, confined to solitary bowls and unable to swim freely. When Steve likens Rusty-James to a ball in a pinball machine, he accurately captures his friend's disorientation.
Although Rusty-James eventually gains some independence from the Motorcycle Boy's violent world, he withdraws from society and becomes a cynical drifter, much like his brother. His alienation leads to a spiritual collapse. While he achieves physical survival, he appears destined to follow the Motorcycle Boy's path over time.
The Motorcycle Boy serves as a reflection of Rusty-James. Though he drifts through the hazy world of Rumble Fish, only becoming active towards the end, his presence continuously inspires and directs Rusty-James throughout the narrative. Born from violence, the Motorcycle Boy exists in a bleak world devoid of illusions or hope. It's as if he has glimpsed the core of reality and uncovered its darkest truths.
Interestingly, the Motorcycle Boy is intelligent, articulate, and well-read, much like his father, a law school graduate. Both father and son have withdrawn into a hollow existence, highlighting the suffocating nature of family tradition and despair. Similar to Rusty-James, the Motorcycle Boy accepts "the way things are," and his dramatic attempt to free the fighting fish from the pet store—an act that ultimately leads to his death—can only be seen as a self-destructive, futile effort.
Often described as a heroic figure born in the wrong era or as "royalty in exile," the Motorcycle Boy resembles an Arthurian knight endowed with vision and committed to his bleak sense of reality. However, he is completely amoral, directionless, and lacks purpose, failing to earn the admiration of a society that views him as an outcast. Inevitably, he becomes a target of hatred for the local police, who are eager for a chance to eliminate him.
Rusty-James hopes to inherit his brother's image, yet people constantly point out how different they are. The novel's central irony is that Rusty-James ultimately becomes like his brother. In the book's epilogue, he appears far from home, devoid of ambition, resolve, or purpose. Instead of portraying her characters as "losers" who have ruined their lives, Hinton seems to empathize with those who have never had, and likely never will have, control over their destinies.
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