On The Bridge- Response

        Have you ever hung out with people who you thought were your friends? Have you ever pressured yourself to do things that you knew were bad just to fit in? In the short story "On The Bridge" by Todd Strasser, the main character Seth gets himself in a lot of trouble while hanging with someone that he thought was his friend. Seth is the protagonist and Adam is the antagonist. Seth is the type of boy that doesn't do bad things or get into trouble. Adam on the other hand always does bad things or get into trouble. Seth is convinced that Adam is his friend but it's not till later on in the story that he realizes Adam is not.
         In the beginning of the story Seth and Adam are hanging out and talking. Adams sharing a story on how he punched some kid in the face. Towards the middle of the story Seth and Adam are on a bridge. Adam decides to flick his cigarette butt at a car. Seth was worried the car would come back but Adam wasn't. It isn't till later that the car comes back and three big guys come out. At that point, Seth gets really scared and so does Adam. When the guys ask who threw the cigarette at their window, Adam points at Seth indicating that he threw it. The guys get angry and go after Seth. At the end of the story Seth realizes that Adam wasn't a true friend because he didn't have his back, and because he blamed Seth for throwing the cigarette. Seth goes home by himself, knowing he just wants to be himself, not someone he's not. "He looked down at his denim jacket. The spots of blood had turned dark. If he took it home and washed it now, the stains would probably make it look pretty cool. Like a jacket that had been worn in tons of fights. Seth smirked. He took it off and threw it in the garbage can". This quote shows that he had the choice of still trying to be cool or just returning back to the real person he is on the inside, and he chose to be himself.
         The main idea of this story is that true friends don't get you into trouble or make you do things you don't want to do. I thought this was a good short story because the turning point really gives a taught lesson, which is to never change who you are for someone who doesn't appreciate you as a friend. The thesis relates to people's life because  there are people who hang out with the wrong group or people, and those people get them into trouble. That's the point where many people realize who their true friends are.