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
Bill Du Bois thinks restorative justice “is a distraction.” He “loves their program,” but in Richard’s case the suggestion is “absurd.” They can all complete restorative justice, Du Bois says, but it will do nothing to lessen Richard’s sentence. The DA, Nancy O’Malley, refuses as well. “We cannot ignore what he did,” she says.
Slater argues that the true absurdity is adhering to a legal process that is largely ineffective and excessively expensive. Restorative justice does not “ignore” what Richard has done—it forces him to face his actions, and his victim, head-on.