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Be careful who you trust.
Seth wrongly places his trust in Adam. He sees Adam as a friend and someone to look up to, and he believes in the cool and masculine image that Adam maintains. He even attempts to adopt that image himself. As a result, he clings to Adam as if he were a trustworthy mentor. He believes what Adam tells him about himself and trusts that Adam can serve as a role model.
Adam’s image as a fighter, rebel, and ladies’ man, however, is a complete lie, fabricated to impress Seth. As Adam’s behavior becomes riskier and he pretends to throw a rock off the bridge, Seth has second thoughts about where it may lead them. He is tempted to leave, yet the good feeling he has from being with Adam overwhelms his doubts. Seth trusts Adam’s reassurances that he should not be afraid of “an old lady.”
Of course, it is not an old lady that Adam next antagonizes. Subsequent events reveal that he is entirely untrustworthy. Confronted by three older, bigger teens, Seth is “determined not to tell” on Adam, but Adam does not share his determination. He betrays Seth, leaving him high and dry to face the bullies without help. Afterward, Adam tries to regain face by constructing additional lies, claiming that the bullies held a knife on him and promising revenge.
Seth pays the price for trusting Adam, having learned that he needs to be more careful about where he places his trust.
Actions have consequences.
Throughout the story, Adam engages in risky behavior, ignoring potentially negative consequences. He wants to be seen as a tough guy, so he lies about having been in fights and being in trouble with the police. At first, he escapes the consequences of his behavior. He and Seth are not caught buying and smoking cigarettes illegally. He does not cause an accident or get into trouble for pretending to throw a rock at a passing car. Ironically, it is instead a seemingly harmless act, flicking a cigarette butt off a bridge, that finally results in a harsh consequence. When the bullies confront him, Adam seems to escape the consequences by shifting the blame to Seth. However, his betrayal leads to the painful loss of Seth’s admiration, trust, and friendship. This consequence, disturbing his own sense of self-worth, may be devastating for someone so in need of affirmation.
Seth, by contrast, is forced into facing the consequences of his own behavior. In his desire for acceptance, he imitates Adam and stays with him despite Adam’s reckless behavior and his own qualms about it. He ignores his nervous feelings about getting caught illegally buying and smoking cigarettes, and he represses an impulse to leave the bridge when Adam feigns throwing a rock off it, which could cause a serious accident. Readers might feel some sympathy for Seth since he suffers a beating because of Adam. However, that beating is also a consequence of his sticking with Adam.
Be yourself.
Seth tries hard to be like Adam, denying who he happens to be. He copies Adam’s fashion and mimics his risky behaviors. He admires Adam for his countless fights, trouble with the law, casual smoking, and success with women. Seth feels inferior because he has never been in a fight, never had run-ins with the police, never smoked, and never kissed a girl outside the context of a party game. He asks Adam for details of his exploits in hopes that he can learn Adam’s secret to being cool and manly.
Yet Seth’s conscience troubles him, revealing a dissonance between who he seeks to be and who he really is. As Adam’s behavior becomes riskier, posing a danger to himself and others, Seth worries and wants to get away. Still, he desires Adam’s approval more than he fears the consequences, which Adam coolly blows off.
When the bullies in the black car confront the teens, Adam shows his disloyalty and cowardice, driving Seth toward a painful realization. He sees that Adam’s image is pure fabrication and that to adopt his image would be a lie. By learning this, Seth discovers qualities of his own character. In contrast to Adam’s deception, Seth’s authentic character emerges in his behaviors at the story’s close. He displays loyalty in the face of Adam’s disloyalty. He shows courage that contrasts with Adam’s display of cowardice. He shows dignity while Adam shows dishonor. In their reactions to the bullies’ threat, Seth summons his true strength, while Adam exposes his weakness.
As Seth turns his back on Adam, he rejects the inauthentic self he had sought and accepts himself as he is.
