Peer pressure causes many people to perform actions they would not normally choose to do on their own. Whether performing an act to gain a higher social status or just to look cool, the risk is often not worth it. In the short story “The Dare” by Roger Hoffman, Roger runs the risk of death when he dives under a moving train all because his friends dared him to do so.

Hoffman received dares, that he refused to turn down, from the boys. The dares started off simple: “shoplifting, sugaring teachers’ gas tanks” and “dropping lighted matches into public mailboxes,” but even these small acts were not worth acquiring a higher social status. If caught Roger could have been arrested or faced serious trouble for shoplifting. If arrested, Hoffman