James Dean's character Jim Stark is a rebellious young man with a very supportive family. His father has taken the role of caretaker as he provides all of the daily needs of his son. He deals with many issues including peer pressure, alcoholism, and identifying with a group. Jim deals with many issues with his father. He hates the fact that his father will not stand up to his wife. He despises weakness as even the word "chicken" instills anger in him. This is exemplified in the scene where Jim is talking to Ray, the juvenile police officer. Throughout the film Dean deals with many different issues as a troubled youth. His character is based on an actual case study of a young man who was out cast by his family and society because of his rebellious actions (Wood). B.
Natalie Wood's character Judy exemplifies the role of the female during this time period. She deals with many issues with her father especially in that she feels as if he doesn't care about her anymore because he no longer gives her physical attention. Their relationship is very strained because of this, and there are hints that her father may have sexually abused her. This is best shown in the scene where her father calls her a "dirty tramp" when she appears very dressed up wearing red lipstick There are many issues with masculinity that are dealt with in the film. The best representation of this is in the scene where Jim races a car toward a seaside cliff in an attempt to show that he will not turn first. .
Throughout the film Jim finds himself in the police station quite often talking to the juvenile officer Ray. He exposes a lot of himself and his problems to him. He talks about how much he despises his father for not standing up to his wife, commenting. "She eats him alive," Jim tells Juvenile Officer Ray, "and he takes it. He always wants to be my pal.If he had the guts to knock Mom cold once, then maybe she"d be happy.I"d never want to be like him.