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Part 3: Fire
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
Immediately after Richard jumps off the bus and sees Sasha in flames, he begins running after the moving bus, and it isn’t long before it pulls over again and coughing passengers file out onto the street. Richard watches as Sasha sits on the sidewalk, their legs a “charred” mess. Lloyd and Jamal get off the 57 bus too, and the three board another waiting bus. Later at home, Jasmine notices that Richard is “sad,” but he doesn’t tell her why.
Richard is truly surprised to see Sasha busts into flames, and this is apparent when he immediately begins running after the bus. Richard’s actions and his “sad” behavior later at home are evidence of his genuine remorse. Richard feels badly that his adolescent prank has caused Sasha to sustain real injuries, and this implies that he is not a bad kid.
Themes
