The book "Rumble Fish" just like many of Hinton's books is about adolescents who have difficulty fitting into society. The boy, Rusty James, is a street thug. He spends most of his time in the book trying to become "his brother." He identifies his brother's previous thug ways (his brother has disappeared) as being cool and the ideals that he wants to live up to become. One lesson that he learns in the book is that he is not his brother and can not ever fill his brother's shoes.
Motorcycle Boy was big in the gang. He had a power over others. Before he leaves the town he outlaws gang war. The gangs maintain peace for 2 months until Rusty James breaks the peace. The Motorcycle Boy had learned the importance of not having violence in one's life and the foolishness and harm of gang wars.
Rusty James takes a rough journey to find out who he really is. He loses his friendships, his girlfriend, and even who he thought he was in an effort to emulate his brother. In the end he realizes the price he has paid to find his own identity. He also learns to find his own way in life by breaking away from things people expect of him and his own problems. He is an adolescent who has walked through the cycle of growing up in a bad environment.
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