Juvenile delinquents during that time were usually seen as poor, uneducated, and homeless. However, this is not the case for Jim, Judy, and Plato. .
Rebel Without a Cause presents teen anger as legitimate and serious. It shows that although one may have wealth, education, and status, such things do not exempt one from anger, sin, and misfortune. In contrast, conventional entertainment handles adolescence and its emotional turmoil as either a phase that is to be grown out of, or a dysfunction that is to be treated carefully with the help of programs and or counseling. These attitudes are addressed in the film. In the first scene, the cop says to Jim, "You wanna bug us till we have to lock you up!" And later, Judy's mother exclaims, "It's just the age when nothing fits." The film continues, challenging both of these theories. It is obvious that Jim and Judy are not trying to bother their parents, are not just being confrontational, but are reacting naturally to difficult situations. Jim is frustrated with his parents because neither of them seem happy or willing to face their own problems; they are "chicken." Also, Jim is especially discontent with the fact that his father is not strong nor is he capable of running his own household with authority and posing as a proper role model for his son. Because of this Jim uses his freedoms to in a sense gain some of the attention that his family lacks to provide for him. Because Jim's parents let him do whatever he wants, not imposing consequences for his actions, and simply leaving the misconduct of their son in the previous town of their residence, Jim is almost forced to rebel against no cause except that of freedom; freedom that teens his age should not have. Judy's father is rude and abusive, unable to deal with the womanhood of his daughter. In one particular scene, when Judy returns home from the chicken run, her younger brother can mimic appropriate fatherly behavior, while her father cannot.