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Part 3: The Interview, Part 2
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 police show Richard “a short snippet of the video,” and then they ask him why he did it. He tells them he was “being stupid.” They ask him what he was thinking, and he tells them “nothing.” The police continue. “Was it because the dude was wearing a dress?” they ask. Richard answers, “I’m homophobic. I don’t like gay people.” The police ask Richard if his friends influenced him. He says no, but he didn’t think the skirt would catch fire like that, either. As the officer fills out the paperwork, he writes “DURING SUSP INTERVIEW, THE SUSP STATED HE DID IT BECAUSE HE WAS HOMOPHOBIC.”
Richard’s lawyer later discovers that Richard doesn’t fully understand the meaning of the word homophobic; however, Richard still targets Sasha because of their skirt, and this reflects the widespread discrimination of LGBTQ individuals. Still, the police care very little whether Richard understands or not, and this further proof that Richard should not be treated like an adult.
Themes
