Discussion Topic

Key Events in Rumble Fish

Summary:

Rumble Fish, set in a southwestern town likely based on Tulsa, Oklahoma, spans from the mid-1960s to early 1970s. Key events include Rusty-James's fight with Biff Wilcox, his expulsion from school, and his girlfriend breaking up with him. The climax occurs when Motorcycle Boy frees animals from a pet store and is killed by police, leading Rusty-James to go color-blind. The story is framed by Rusty-James meeting his old friend Steve on a California beach.

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In what time period does Rumble Fish take place?

Author Susan E. Hinton's third novel (following The Ousiders and That Was Then, This is Now), Rumble Fish was first published in 1975, but Hinton had written most of it much earlier. Parts of the novel had appeared in The University of Tulsa Alumni Magazine in 1968, so the time period of the novel could be anywhere from the mid-1960s to the very early 1970s. Additionally, the novel takes place over about a five year period; the first and last chapters occur in California after the main action of Rumble Fish. There are few contemporary allusions found to give any specific clues to the exact year, but the slang usage--especially concerning drugs--is reminiscent of the late 1960s.

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What happens at the end of Rumble Fish?

Rusty-James’s life is going downhill fast.  He gets expelled from school because he generally does not care about school.  He will be sent to Cleveland High, “the school...

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where they sent everybody they didn’t like” (p. 63).  Rusty-James says he does not really care, but he also tells his counselor he does not want to go.

“Rusty,” he said, “they are equipped to handle your kind in Cleveland.” (p. 63)

The counselor asks Rusty-James to start doing some serious thinking about his life, but he has so many serious problems he does not have time to think about his own life.

Things go from bad to worse.  Motorcycle Boy, Rusty-James’s brother, decides to let all of the animals go so he robs the pet store, but he is shot by the cops and dies.  Rusty-James goes color-blind and half-deaf from the pain.

Since most of the book has been a flashback, it ends with Rusty-James accepting Steve's invitation to dinner, but knowing he won't go because he does not want a reminder of the past.

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What are the main events in Rumble Fish?

  1. Rusty-James fights with a rival gang member, Biff Wilcox, and wins.
  2. Rusty bumps into his friend Steve at a party. Steve notices a scar on Rusty’s side and asks Rusty about it. Rusty admits he got it in a fight with Biff Wilcox.
  3. Rusty shows up at school the next day despite his wounds, and after school he and Steve try to steal hubcaps from a car at Benny’s.
  4. Rusty gets expelled from school.
  5. Rusty’s girlfriend breaks up with him, and he goes drinking with friends.
  6. Motorcycle Boy tells Rusty about his trip to California and that he saw their mother.
  7. Rusty and Steve are mugged and end up in a strange part of town, but Motorcycle Boy rescues them.
  8. Motorcycle Boy breaks into a pet store and sets all the animals free.
  9. Motorcycle Boy is shot dead by the police.
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Where does Rumble Fish take place?

Rumble Fish takes place in a southwestern town.  It is not clearly identified in the book, but the author has said that it is her hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma.  In the work, the characters live on the 'wrong' side of town and most of the action takes place at night.

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What are six important events that occurred in Rumble Fish?

I would say that Rusty meeting his old friend, Steve Hays, on the beach at the beginning of the story is the first important event that is narrated to readers. It is not the first event in chronological order. The beach scene sets up Rumble Fish as a frame story, and the story will return to the beach at the end. The meeting is important because it alerts readers to a previous relationship and conflicted set of events.

Event number two that I would pick is the fight between Biff and Rusty. The fight ends with Rusty being stabbed and Motorcycle Boy breaking Biff's wrist. I would then pick the hubcap theft that Rusty commits. That is followed by the late night party and ditching school the next day. This results in Rusty getting expelled. Pick Patty breaking up with Rusty next. Follow that up with Rusty being mugged and beaten. For the final events of your list, I would choose Motorcycle Boy's fish theft and eventual death. He is shot and killed by a police officer.

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  1. Rusty-James wins a fight against a rival gang member, Biff Wilcox. Rusty's brother, the Motorcycle Boy shows up to remind the boys of their self-imposed ban on fighting; Rusty is cut by Biff with a knife, but he refuses to go to the hospital.
  2. Rusty-James is expelled from school.
  3. The Motorcycle Boy tells Rusty that he saw their mother while he was in California.
  4. Rusty-James's best friend, Steve, decides he is too dangerous to hang around with any more.
  5. Rusty-James and the Motorcycle Boy rob the pet store, stealing some Siamese fighting ("rumble fish") that they plan to free in the river, but the Motorcycle Boy is killed by a policeman before they reach the river.
  6. Steve and Rusty-James run into each other on a beach in California, but Rusty decides not to accept Steve's invitation for dinner.
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What is the main event in Rumble Fish?

An action-packed novel, the most important scene comes as the climax of S. E. Hinton's Rumble Fish. At the end of Chapter 10, Rusty-James gives up the leadership of the gang to Smokey, who also takes Patty as well. It is one of the few times that Rusty-James decides not to use his fists to decide matters. When Rusty-James discovers that the Motorcycle Boy is at the pet store, he rushes to meet him. In Chapter 11, the Motorcycle Boy explains that his favorite fish are Siamese fighting fish--"rumble fish"--which will kill each other if put in the same bowl. The boys leave when the store closes, but the two return later and break into the store and steal the fish. The Motorcycle Boy also releases all of the animals in the store, taking the fish with him intent upon releasing them into the river. They are met by Officer Patterson, however, who shoots the Motorcycle Boy; the Motorcycle Boy, along with the fish, die in the street. Rusty-James is arrested, and he then further injures himself when he breaks out the police car's window.

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