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Stand By Me is the story of true friendship and the loss of innocence. It brings all childhood insecurities, fears, and dreams into sharp, crystal-clear focus. It begins, as childhood stories often do, with curiosity. Four friends, each with his own emotional belongings, decide to go on an adventure: to find the dead body of a boy who has mysteriously disappeared. The group of four, being young and adventurous, see the excitement as outweighing the possible dangers and risks.
The four boys were Gordie Lachance, Chris Chambers, Teddy Duchamp, and Vern Tessio. The boys had their own tree house with its special club rules, including a secret knock, and spent their time in meaningless arguments, playing games, or just hanging out. Although on the surface they are typical pre-adolescent boys, you soon find out that underneath their normal boasting and enthusiasm, each of them have problems at home to deal with. Gordie's older brother Denny was recently killed in an auto accident, and his parents have not handled it well. They mope around their house and continually ask Gordie (who is an aspiring writer) why he isn't more like his brother, who was a popular athlete in town. Gordie's best friend, Chris, who is intelligent, brave, and the natural leader of the group, has an alcoholic father, who constantly beats him, and an older brother who is a delinquent. Everyone in town figures that Chris will follow in their footsteps, so he is very much afraid of what his future will be. Teddy is the son of an emotionally disturbed war veteran who has abused him all his life. In his mind Teddy cannot accept his situation, so he has created a fantasy world in which his father is an All American war hero instead of an inmate in a mental hospital. Vern is on the chubby side, somewhat uncoordinated, and is constantly the butt of jokes. Vern's older brother likes to push him around when he is there, and so Vern spends a fair amount of time hiding out.
It’s the inside...