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
Andrew thinks constantly about Sasha and knows that he should visit them, but he can’t bring himself to go. Sasha has been a great friend to him, in fact the best, and he worries that he hasn’t returned the favor. He can’t imagine how Sasha must look in their hospital bed, burned and wrapped in bandages. “This is how it is for people like us,” Andrew says. “This is the reality.”
As a transgender man, Andrew too fears physical violence because of his gender identity, and this highlights the widespread discrimination of the trans and agender community within American society. By making this discrimination more visible, Slater ultimately seeks to correct this social injustice.
Themes
