The 57 Bus tells the true story of two California teens, Sasha and Richard, who meet by chance on an Oakland bus. The way the content is organized, LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in, Compare and contrast themes from other texts to this theme, The ThemeTracker below shows where, and to what degree, the theme of Gender and Sexuality appears in each chapter of. A 7-year-old boy was run over by his school bus moments after he got off it earlier this year, according to attorneys representing his family Illinois State Fair announces 2023 theme days The . Get Annual Plans at a discount when you buy 2 or more! They and their friends regularly play a game called 1001 Blank White Cards, where each of the participants has made their own cards, full of in-jokes and silly rules. heavy bird in the storm somebody to rise having labored on through joy and sorrow hope the golden crown it will all be glorious the beautiful city forever love those having by will look upon the beauty many precious loved ones will be waiting just across the river in this lonesome valley no more to roar no every heart will then be all be By ; 23. helmi 2023; how to hear bellagio fountain music; 0 . By entering your email address you agree to receive emails from SparkNotes and verify that you are over the age of 13. Richard meets Kaprice Wilson, a school guidance counselor. Among the binaries listed are "Victims and Villains," "Cruel and Kind" and "Guilty and Innocent" (215). They would rather focus on accountability and forgiveness. After Sasha finally receives the letters of apology Richard wrote them fourteen months ago, they find Richards perspective really moving. Debbie and Karl also observe that had they read the letters during Richards trial, they would have been more engaged in what was going on with Richard. Though Richard is sentenced to juvenile jail rather than adult prison, this is a mixed blessing, as Slater notes that the process of incarceration is itself dehumanizing. While the DAs office decides to try Richard as an adult given the shocking, public nature of the crime, and popular opinion brands Richard as akin to a sociopath, Slater notes that Richard in in fact neither an adult nor a proven sociopath. Trouble signing in? Because I fall neatly within the binary, I feel comfortable right now, he explained. Through the story of Sasha's journey towards figuring out the terms they feel most comfortable identifying themselves with, and the story of Andrew's gender transition, Slater demonstrates how limiting socially constructed binaries can be to those who fall somewhere else on the gender spectrum. Richard, a black teenage boy, sits near the back of the 57 Bus in Oakland, CA, with his cousin Lloyd and a friend Jamal. The 57 Bus tells the true story of two California teens, Sasha and Richard, who meet by chance on an Oakland bus. Your privacy is important to us. Andrew's sexuality has never changed, although his gender has. The 57 Bus tells Richards story, covering both the events leading up to the senseless attack on Sasha and his subsequent arrest and prosecution. Already a member? Divert Richard. Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. The author, a journalist, describes the character of Oakland and the criminal justice system's typical treatment of underage offenders at the time. All languages embody the obsessions of the people who speak them, and so Sashas language was meant to reflect the interests of people whose world was dominated by growing seasons, grains, and harvests. On a dare from the two other boys, Richard takes a lighter to Sashas skirt, intending to prank them, like on the Ashton Kutcher show, Punkd. Ironically, Richard himself, who is black, is seen as an other by white society. The beginning of the book expresses the desire to do something to stop the events that are about to take place. Purchasing TEENS & YOUNG ADULT BIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR | Renew your subscription to regain access to all of our exclusive, ad-free study tools. My students love how organized the handouts are and enjoy tracking the themes as a class., Requesting a new guide requires a free LitCharts account. Instant PDF downloads. In the fall of 2013, on a bus ride home, a young man sets another student on fire. However, paired with Nemos asexuality, Sasha and Nemo complement each other, becoming the others most important person. Sasha describes Nemo as a soul mate, maybe, but not in the romantic sense. While Sasha is also quick to point out that they are not with Nemo simply because they both identify as gender nonbinary (gender is simply another thing they have in common), Slaters close examination of LGBTQ identities highlights the diversity that exists within the gender spectrum and implicitly advocates for more thoughtful and nuanced consideration of these differences. The second date is today's . Its per capita rate of violent crime made it the second most dangerous city in America, but its citizens still paid some of the highest rents in the country" (7). Thanks for creating a SparkNotes account! Further, the brain does not reach adulthood even at eighteen, becoming fully formed only in a persons mid-twenties. TEENS & YOUNG ADULT FAMILY | Your group members can use the joining link below to redeem their group membership. The fire was becoming a more distant memory, even though Sasha still wore compression stockings. Sometimes it can end up there. developer salary near bandung, bandung city, west java . Richard, a light-skinned Black teenager, is a junior at Oakland High School. Lastly, Nemo identifies as asexual and doesnt do sexual relationships; Nemo is not physically attracted to anyone, regardless of sex or gender, and as such, they completely avoid sex and sexual relationships. Sasha's advocacy works on a large, national scale, but also on a smaller, local scale, as demonstrated by her father Karl's decision to stop organizing his kindergarten line ups by gender, and instead doing it by alphabetical order of his students' last names. Inspirational travel lists, galleries, and videos. Part 4 begins with a section titled "BINARY," which challenges the false premise that "there are two kinds of people in the world" (215). Richard claims he did not intend to light the skirt on fire. Nemo, on the other hand, identifies as gender fluid, which means that at any time they may identify with either gender. / What was Sasha doing as a senior in high school? Sexuality was the category for who you were physically attracted to. (one code per order). In both cases, this discrimination is the result of ignorance; Richard is ignorant and does not understand gender identity. Families can talk about how The 57 Bus deals with growing up agender, which means not identifying with a specific gender. Genderqueer, as Sasha explains it, means that a person is questioning their identity and does not know whether they identify as male or female. Test. The book also argues that gender and sexuality are both different terms and different issues entirely. Call an ambulance, he croaks. Start your 48-hour free trial to get access to more than 30,000 additional guides and more than 350,000 Homework Help questions answered by our experts. He is eventually released before his twenty-first birthday. If you chose to provide an email address, it will only be used to contact you about your comment. He pulled pranks like putting ketchup on peoples faces while they slept or ambushing them with water balloons when theyd just woken up. Dashka Slater It was in every report, as if Sasha had been on the way home from bagpipe practice. They're like having in-class notes for every discussion!, This is absolutely THE best teacher resource I have ever purchased. Dashka Slater Of course, the English language relies on binary words and definitions, and Sasha is frequently at, As Slaters book follows Sasha, a genderqueer teen who is set on fire for wearing a skirt, and Richard, the African American teenager who commits the assault, it becomes clear that discrimination is front and center in both teens narratives. When she tells him about the program that she runs for underperforming students, he asks if he can join the program voluntarily. Sydney Hanson, by Sexual orientation is a major theme, and the author . He gives Richard a lighter. She writes that "in 2013, the year Sasha was burned, Oakland ranked seventh among American cities in income inequalityjust below New York. The citation above will include either 2 or 3 dates. Have you read any other books about someone who's gender-nonconforming? A New York Times Bestseller It is especially useful when applied to crimes within families or committed by juveniles. The band regrouped in 2003 to record its fifth studio album, infusing experimentalist elements into its usual pop punk sound, inspired by lifestyle changes (the band members all became fathers before the album was released) and side projects. Its free and takes less than 10 seconds! 20% Please wait while we process your payment. Sasha is aromantic, meaning they do not feel romantic attraction, and they see little difference between romantic and platonic love. Sexuality is different from gender, and relates to the category of people one feels physically attracted to. The musical explores how the lives of these two children are changed forever. Sasha's exploration of gender and self-expression is also a likely catalyst for Richard 's attack, for which they are targeted because they are wearing a skirt. Behind him, Sashas mustached rescuer paces the aisle. Categories: The Article. When Richard, an African American junior from nearby Oakland High School, boards the bus and sees Sasha, a genderqueer kid in a skirt, Sasha quickly becomes the object of Richards misguided prank. Sasha decides to leave all of the cards that reference Luke in the deck, and they digitally scan the cards to preserve them forever. An outstanding book that links the diversity of creed and the impact of impulsive actions to themes of tolerance and by On a smaller scale, Maybeck and Oakland High schools came together in solidarity with Sasha, playing basketball games in their honor and starting a No H8 campaign to raise money for their medical costs. Thus, the refusal to subscribe to a gender identity, and the implications and consequences of this refusal, are central to the book. I dont want for people to think of me as a he, and when they say he, not only does it reinforce in their brains that I am a he, it also reinforces in the brains of the people who are listening, Sasha explains. Dont have an account? As Baliga observes, however, restorative justice is not lenient; rather, it is about dispensing with punitiveness for its own sake and changing the paradigm of the criminal justice system. LitCharts Teacher Editions. The three boys see Sasha sleeping on the backseat, wearing a skirt. The book also aims to promote a non-discriminatory kind of justice, called restorative justice, in which both the victim and the perpetrator try to reconcile and are given a chance to try to find a solution through remorse and contrition that will help both of them heal. Get the driver to stop the bus. Leo Baker I would highly recommend this book to any high school level reader (or kid with high school level of maturity). Divert Richard. In these online conversations, the word sex referred purely to biologythe chromosomes, organs, and anatomy that define male and female from the outside. Further, boys like Richard are more likely to be arrested for alleged crimes: When Richard is arrested for assaulting Sasha, his racial identity plays a part in the decision to try him as an adult. Sasha is genderqueermeaning they question their genderand considers their identity as agender. suggesting a diversity update. for a customized plan. Sasha, who chose their name because of its gender-neutrality, identifies as agender and uses the pronouns they and them, eluding binary gender roles and perplexing many teens and adults in Dashka Slaters The 57 Bus. You'll also receive an email with the link. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. Breasts burst from her chest like twin cannonballs, but they didnt feel sexy and good, they just felt heavy. At the end of every year, we build a thesis on why India is the place to be. If there are two dates, the date of publication and appearance Categories: Print Word PDF This section contains 2,805 words (approx. In a community where their peers were fatherless, Coates and his six siblings viewed their father as flawed but with the aura of a prophet. He understood how Black boys could get caught in the crosshairs of the world and was determined to save his. GradeSaver, Different Perspectives on the 57 Bus Fire: The Book vs. By signing up you agree to our terms and privacy policy. Samantha knew it was important to be pretty and cute, but she had no idea how to be those things, or even why she was supposed to want to be. eNotes.com, Inc. In the novel itself, Slater (the author) stays in that moment preceding the attack. Slater observes that, in mainstream consciousness, there are two kinds of people in the world: Male and Female.