Character Analysis
(Avoiding Spoilers)
Grew Up... without a mother and without a place. After his mother ran away from home, Motorcycle Boy was left to the care of his alcoholic father. Though that didn't end up too well either, since Motorcycle Boy quickly took to crime.
Living… in Tulsa, OK, back after some time in California. The Golden State was beautiful, but even that wasn’t enough, so Motorcycle Boy's back in his hometown until something else calls him away.
Profession… former gang leader turned drifter. Motorcycle Boy might have returned to Tulsa, but he has no plans to help his younger brother, Rusty, with his gangster ambition; after years of fighting, all he wants is a more peaceful, meaningful life. But there's not a lot the world has to offer him, especially not the world of poor, crime-racked Tulsa.
Interests... motorcycles, his kid brother, and Siamese fighting fish, which he calls “rumble fish.” When Motorcycle Boy first sees the fish in a pet store, he feels a connection with the rumble fish, which – like the gangsters in his neighborhood – are trapped in a vicious environment with nothing but their aggression. “Rumble fish," Motorcycle Boy sadly remarks, "if you leaned a mirror against the bowl, they'd kill themselves fighting their own reflection."
Relationship Status... single. Though there are hints of something with a substitute teacher called Cassandra. Like everyone else, Cassandra's enamored with the Motorcycle Boy’s aura of mystery, but her drug abuse puts a strain on their relationship. Besides, long-term relationships don't seem to be Motorcycle Boy's thing, since he dislikes being tied down.
Challenge… dealing with the past. Motorcycle Boy regrets his time as a hoodlum, and he tries his best to keep his Rusty from making the same mistakes he did. But despite his best efforts to keep his feet on solid ground, trouble always seems to follow Motorcycle Boy.
Personality… quiet, restless, and contemplative. Aloof and mysterious, Motorcycle Boy seems to live in a world of his own, causing others to assume he’s insane. Yet Motorcycle Boy also projects a sense of vision that makes him a magnet for those searching for an identity. As his father puts it, Motorcycle Boy was “born in the wrong era, on the wrong side of the river, with the ability to do anything and finding nothing he wants to do.”
