Rumble Fish

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. Plot Rusty-James runs into his old friend, Steve Hays, at the beach. It has been five years since they last saw each other. Steve is in college and Rusty is not long out of the reformatory. When Steve looks at the scar on Rusty's side, Rusty tells him that he got it in a knife fight. Steve remembers, and tells Rusty he was there when it happened. When Steve mentions that Rusty looks just like someone from their past, Rusty thinks he could have been happy to see Steve again if he had not made him remember everything. Rusty tells his story. At the age of 14, Rusty is hanging out at Benny's, playing pool with his friends when he learns that Biff Wilcox wants to kill him. Rusty seems to think that Biff wants to kill him for the comments he made about a girl named Anita. He tells his friends what he said, and when the gang agrees that Rusty is telling the truth, the notion of fighting about it seems silly. Rusty gets angry with Steve for bringing up Motorcycle Boy (Rusty's older brother, a former leader of the gang) and makes plans to fight Biff. At the fight day, Rusty is spending some time with his girlfriend, Patty. They make out and James falls asleep while there, nearly missing the fight. Later, Rusty arrives to fight Biff and is accompanied by his friends Steve, Smokey Bennet, and B. J. Jackson. Biff, too, brings some friends for backup. Biff's erratic behavior leads Rusty to believe that he is on drugs, which causes him to worry that the fight will not be a fair one. Rusty's fears are confirmed when Biff pulls a knife. Rusty is able to knock the knife away from Biff and beats him until it appears the fight is over. The Motorcycle Boy arrives and announces his return. Rusty is momentarily distracted and vulnerable to being attacked. Biff seizes the opportunity to grab the knife and stabs Rusty in the side. Motorcycle Boy steps in and ends the fight by breaking Biff's wrist.