Delinquents: Difference between revisions

Line 2:

{{quote|''Ricky was a young boy, he had a heart of stone...'' |'''[[Skid Row]]''', "18 and Life" }}

The formal adjective definition of the word "delinquent" describes something or someone who fails in their duty. This sums up its more popular usuage quite nicely; a delinquent is someone (generally a young person) who fails in their "duty to society" by being anti-social. They won't be plotting to take over the world or rob banks and they're more likely to be an [[Asshole Victim]] of [[The Aggressive Drug Dealer]] than an example. They are, however, likely to refuse to turn up to school (or are [[Class Clown|disruptive]] of they do), harass people in the street, [[Five Finger Discount|shoplift]] and [[Arson Murder and Jaywalking|drink or smoke]] ([[And That's Terrible|possibly even both!]]).

The formal adjective definition of the word "delinquent" describes something or someone who fails in their duty. This sums up its more popular usuage quite nicely; a delinquent is someone (generally a young person) who fails in their "duty to society" by being anti-social. They won't be plotting to take over the world or rob banks and they're more likely to be an [[Asshole Victim]] of [[The Aggressive Drug Dealer]] than an example. They are, however, likely to refuse to turn up to school (or are [[Class Clown|disruptive]] of they do), harass people in the street, [[Five Finger Discount|shoplift]] and [[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking|drink or smoke]] ([[And That's Terrible|possibly even both!]]).

If the protagonist encounters them, they're probably going to either be bullied by them, or fall in with them. In the later case they'll serve as [[Poisonous Friend|Poisonous Friends]] who use [[Peer Pressure Makes You Evil|peer pressure]] to encourage the protagonist to join them in their misdeeds (naturally this "friendship" will be short lived, as the protagonist [[Can't Get Away With Nuthin|will be caught the moment they try it]] and subsequantly be abandoned by them at best or made their [[Scapegoat]] at worst). Alternatively, the trope can be played more lightly, with a delinquant acting as a sort of [[Token Evil Teammate]], or as an outright [[Anti Hero]].

If the protagonist encounters them, they're probably going to either be bullied by them, or fall in with them. In the later case they'll serve as [[Poisonous Friend|Poisonous Friends]] who use [[Peer Pressure Makes You Evil|peer pressure]] to encourage the protagonist to join them in their misdeeds (naturally this "friendship" will be short lived, as the protagonist [[Can't Get Away With Nuthin'|will be caught the moment they try it]] and subsequantly be abandoned by them at best or made their [[Scapegoat]] at worst). Alternatively, the trope can be played more lightly, with a delinquant acting as a sort of [[Token Evil Teammate]], or as an outright [[Anti-Hero]].

Delinquents have come in many types in different times and places, but the stereotype tends to attach itself to whatever scary new subculture the kids have come up with recently: greasers in 50s America, mods and rockers in 60s Britain, punks everywhere since the 70s.