Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The 57 Bus, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Gender and Sexuality
Adolescent Crime vs. Adult Crime
Binary Thought and Inclusive Language
Discrimination and Social Justice
Accountability, Redemption, and Forgiveness
Summary
Analysis
News coverage of Sasha’s attack “spreads quickly,” even to national and international outlets, and Reuters reports that “a man wearing a kilt-like garment was set on fire as he slept on a public bus.” The kilt report is everywhere, and “it feels wrong to Debbie.” So, when a news reporter knocks on their door, she responds, “My son considers himself agender. He likes to wear a skirt. It’s his statement. That’s how he feels comfortable dressing.”
While Debbie claims to support Sasha’s nonbinary gender identity, the language that she uses suggests otherwise. Sasha is not her child but her “son,” and “he” considers “himself” agender. Debbie’s language very clearly defines Sasha as a boy, and much like when the press refers to their skirt as a “kilt,” this language misrepresents Sasha’s gender identity.
Themes
