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Part 3: The Ten O’clock News
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
The next morning at school, Kaprice gets a call from one of Richard’s teachers. Richard is requesting to talk to her, and she tells the teacher to send him up during lunch. When Richard arrives, Kaprice’s office is full of other students, and he can’t get her alone. He quickly turns and leaves.
Ostensibly, Richard wants to talk to Kaprice about Sasha’s attack, which further suggests that he is remorseful for his actions and wants to try to correct them. Richard is not trying to hide or deny what he has done and is instead trying to actively seek help from an adult he trusts and respects.
Themes
Later, Kaprice must escort another student out of her office, and she accidentally locks her keys inside. As she walks around to another door, Kaprice sees Richard “being led away in handcuffs by two uniformed police officers.”
Because of Kaprice’s heavy workload, she can’t see Richard soon enough. While talking to Kaprice surely would not have stopped Richard from being arrested, it would have demonstrated his remorse, which would have likely served him well in his case early on. The fact that Richard does not have this opportunity further reflects the widespread discrimination and inequalities present in lower-class communities.
Themes
