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9. How a Boy Can Become a Grease Fire
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Look Both Ways, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Perspective and Assumptions
Independence, Freedom, and Identity
Joy, Resilience, and Childhood
Fear, Friendship, and Support
Bullying
Summary
Analysis
A school bus is all sorts of things, from a teacher’s lounge for students to the nurse’s cot. It can be an office, a command center, or “a tank reshaped,” since “hot dogs and baloney are the same meat.” It can be a science lab, a war zone, a safe zone, or a concert hall. It can be a courtroom, a stage, or a spelling bee. In some neighborhoods, a school bus is a spaceship. Mail passes through it in the form of notes on candy wrappers and middle fingers. It’s a recliner in the kitchen—uncool, but sensible. It’s a dirty fridge, cheese, and a ketchup packet with a hole in it on a seat. School buses are delightful and uncomfortable, they’re talent shows, recording booths, and orchestra pits. They’re movie sets and masterpieces that people pretend to understand.
Finally, the collection begins to crystallize its insistence that school buses can be anything, based on a person’s perspective. For some kids, the bus is a refuge where they can sleep and hang out with their friends in a comfortable space. But for others, it’s a weapon in and of itself, or a place where they’re bullied or humiliated. The narration implies that the only people who really understand what a school bus is are the kids who ride it every day, and the school bus can be something different to each kid each time they ride. It’s not just one thing; its significance is constantly changing.
Themes
Canton has heard kids talk about their wondrous journeys to and from school on the school bus, but to him, school buses are also weapons. One almost destroyed him and took his mom. His mom, Ms. Post, has been the crossing guard at Latimer Middle School since before Canton was born. He’s been running around in her vest and blowing her whistle since he was tiny. He believes crossing guards, his mother in particular, are magic: they can stop moving things and create a safe spot for people to cross the street.
While the previous passage demonstrated many of the different things that buses can be, buses are something very specific to Canton: weapons. They’re not fun for him, since they almost turned his life upside-down. As in stories like “The Low Cuts Strike Again,” this shows how fear can rule kids’ lives and change how they see the world. If a bus almost killed Ms. Post, it follows that her crossing guard “magic” couldn’t actually protect her.
Themes
Canton thought that until a year ago, when a blue ball bounced into the street and a small boy named Kenzi Thompson ran after it. Ms. Post had turned her back for a moment and Kenzi was already halfway across the street before she turned around. There was a school bus heading for him. Ms. Post chased after Kenzi, who stopped when he noticed the school bus. She threw herself at him, pushing him out of the way of the bus. The bus barely bumped her, but buses are big. She broke her shoulder and bruised her hip.
Canton essentially lost some of his innocence a year ago when the bus hit Ms. Post. Now, he realizes his mom is fallible and can die, just like any other person. But this also ignores the fact that Ms. Post was injured doing something extremely noble and selfless: saving Kenzi from certain death. The fact that she’s able to save him, meanwhile, drives home the importance of figures like crossing guards in kids’ lives. They might not hold the same sway that a teacher or a parent does, but they still protect and guide kids.
Themes
This was devastating for Canton. He usually helped the custodian, Mr. Munch, clean things after school (though mostly, Canton just listened to Mr. Munch complain that boys make such a mess in the bathroom). But on that day, Jasmine Jordan and TJ ran back into school shouting that Ms. Post was hit by a bus. Canton felt like his brown skin was turning yellow, the color of a school bus.
Noting that Canton’s brown skin feels like it’s turning yellow speaks to how life-changing it is for Canton to almost lose his mom. His skin color is a huge part of his identity—as is his relationship with his mom—and in an instant, it feels to him like both of these things could be taken from him.
Themes
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Ms. Post returns to work a week later, normal except for the sling on her shoulder. But Canton can’t go back to normal. Mr. Munch finds Canton in the bathroom that afternoon, sitting on the disgusting floor with his head on his knees. Mr. Munch realizes Canton is crying, and that he can barely breathe. So Mr. Munch squats next to Canton and walks him through breathing exercises until Canton can breathe and stand. They walk outside to the crosswalk, where Canton throws his arms around his mother and doesn’t let go. Realizing Canton isn’t going to let go and let Ms. Post work, Mr. Munch takes over, uses his fingers to whistle, and glares at the cars while he ushers kids across.
Just like crossing guards protect kids from cars, Mr. Munch demonstrates that custodians can also play a big part in students’ lives. He’s around to offer Canton much needed support as he talks Canton through his crushing anxiety and delivers him to his mother. Taking over for Ms. Post is also how Mr. Munch offers Canton (and Ms. Post) support. Nobody wants to make Canton let go of his mom, so the only option is to step in and allow Canton to stay right where he is. That way, he feels safe, and the kids crossing the street are safe as well.
Themes
Mr. Munch meets Canton outside his last class the next day and invites Canton to walk with him. As Mr. Munch sweeps up dust, hair, hair ties, coins, and candy wrappers with his push broom, he tells Canton about his wife, Zena. She got so nervous and afraid when their daughter Winnie went to college. Zena was afraid Winnie was going to get into trouble and need help. She was up all night, terrified. Mr. Munch says he eventually bought her a dog. By this time, he’s at the custodian’s closet. As he unlocks it, he explains how he started to research emotional support animals after Winnie suggested it. Emotional support dogs are supposed to make people feel better.
By telling Canton about Zena and Winnie, Mr. Munch helps Canton realize that he’s not alone. He’s not broken for feeling so much anxiety about his mom, and there are perhaps ways that Canton can get a grip on his fear. Moreover, suggesting a way that Canton can begin to move on from his fear offers hope that Canton, unlike Satchmo, won’t simply let a fear rule his life. So, while Satchmo couldn’t get past seeing dogs as terrible violent beasts, perhaps Canton will have the support he needs to realize buses are more than just weapons, and that his mom is safe.
Themes
Inside the office-sized closet, Mr. Munch shows Canton pictures of Zena, Winnie, and the dog, which is so ugly it’s cute. Canton thinks the dog is cute, but he can also think of lots of things he likes better than dogs, like ice cream, skateboards, and good jokes. Canton asks what Mr. Munch’s point is. He wonders if Mr. Munch is trying to be an “emotional support human” and just take Canton’s mind off his worries that a school bus is going to run Ms. Post over. Mr. Munch opens a locker and says he made Canton an emotional support dog. He explains that dogs aren’t allowed in school, and Ms. Post might not be okay with a real dog, but he thought this might help.
Canton is happy to let Mr. Munch talk to him and to admire pictures of Zena, Winnie, and the dog. But he understands completely that Mr. Munch has an ulterior motive here, and he’s right: he wants to give Canton his own emotional support dog. The fact that an emotional support dog exists in the collection shows again how important perspective is. Dogs terrified Satchmo, but here, dogs are presented as a source of comfort that can help people get over their fears.
Themes
Mr. Munch pulls out a broom head, detached from a broomstick. It’s straw, and it’s mangled, and Mr. Munch has drawn eyes, a mouth, and then glued dustcloth ears on top. Canton says it’s a broom, but Mr. Munch assures Canton he cleaned it. Canton is confused and asks if this is really going to help. Smirking, Mr. Munch says that the worst thing that could happen is that Canton sweeps the street with it. So the next day, Canton takes his broom dog to the corner to watch Ms. Post work, to “guard the crossing guard.” Sitting against the stop sign, he runs his fingers through the broom dog’s hair every time Ms. Post steps into the street. Strangely, it works. Canton names the broom dog Dusty.
At first, Canton struggles to take Mr. Munch seriously—he’s not willing to use his imagination and see the broom as a dog. But to his surprise, Canton finds that the broom dog, despite being a questionable approximation of a dog, is actually really effective. This suggests that Canton has been able to look at the dog through a different lens and see it as something capable of helping him face his fears. This allows Canton to let go of his fear, trust that his mom will be okay, and concentrate on other things.
Themes
It’s been a year since Mr. Munch gave Dusty to Canton, and a year since Canton had his first panic attack. Things are better now. Now, when the end of school bell rings, Canton stands up in Mr. Davanzo’s class. Simeon, a big kid, stands at the doorway giving high fives as usual, and Mr. Davanzo shouts for the kids to do their homework: to write about “Human environmental interaction.” Canton grabs Dusty from his locker, passes Ms. Wockley scolding Simeon and Kenzi, and notices a strange kid in a green suit sitting outside. Candace—Canton’s crush—is with her friends, so Canton won’t talk to her. And on the next bench, Bit and the Low Cuts are gathered. Trista, the toughest girl, greets Canton, but Canton just waves and keeps walking. He has to get to the corner before the first kids cross.
As Canton leaves Mr. Davanzo’s classroom, the collection draws connections between several different stories and shows how Canton’s perspective changes these people. Simeon is just a big friendly kid, while Trista is tough like the narrator described her in “The Low Cuts Strike Again.” However, recall that the narrator suggested that Canton walking past looked afraid—presumably, of Trista. Here, though, it becomes clear that if Canton is afraid of anything, it’s of not getting to the corner before his classmates.
Themes
At the corner, Ms. Post is just pulling on her vest and putting her whistle lanyard over her neck. She hugs Canton, asks how school was, and asks if he has homework. He explains Ms. Broome’s assignment to imagine themselves as an object, and Mr. Davanzo’s assignment to “record human environmental interaction.” Ms. Post asks what that is, but Canton just says that he’s going to work on it. They make faces at each other, and Canton sits down against the stop sign. He pulls out a notebook and puts Dusty in his lap.
This story continues to make connections between the other stories in the collection. The collection as a whole is about “human environmental interaction,” or how people engage with their worlds. In each story, readers have learned how kids see their neighborhoods, their classmates, and their teachers on their walk home. Now, readers get to see what Canton sees.
Themes
Canton makes notes of all the things he sees, including Portal Avenue, Ms. Post, cars, people going, hugging, laughing, and moving. He studies the people crossing the street and listens to bits of conversation. Gregory likes Sandra, Satchmo is afraid of a dog, and Cynthia is putting on a show later. Everyone is curious what Fatima is writing, and some kids are talking about boogers. Ms. Post seems like a ballet dancer, stepping into the street to get buses to stop and usher kids across.
This passage solidifies Portal Avenue’s symbolism: it’s a “portal” of sorts that ushers kids from school to their homes. Here, kids reach the point at which they’re independent once Ms. Post ushers them across the street and until they get home. And again, Canton gives his perspective on the protagonists of various stories, showing again how a person’s perspective influences how they see someone.
Themes
Finally, when all the kids have gone home, Ms. Post takes off her vest and asks Canton if he’s ready to go. Canton stands and Dusty falls from his lap—he forgot the dog was there. Ms. Post picks the broom dog up, observing that it’s in rough shape these days. The ears are gone now. She notes that it kind of looks like a school bus; the eyes are like headlights, and the mouth is the grille. Canton hasn’t noticed this. The broom dog has transformed into just a thing he has when he needs it. But Canton hasn’t needed it in a long time now. He agrees that it’s faded as he and Ms. Post look both ways before crossing the street.
As Canton has become less anxious over the last year, Dusty has transformed from a beloved emotional support animal into what it used to be: a broom. Now, Ms. Post is looking at the broom in a different way by suggesting it looks like a school bus. This realization drives home that Canton has healed from the trauma he experienced when Ms. Post was hit by the bus. Because he’s healed, he can look at the broom through new eyes.
Themes
Ms. Post asks Canton if he still wants the broom dog. Shrugging, Canton tosses the broom dog into the air and catches it several times. The straw from the broom comes loose and falls on them. Ms. Post laughs that a school bus is falling from the sky. Canton smiles. He knows school buses are many different things—just like a walk home.
As Canton tosses the broom/dog/bus into the air, a school bus of sorts falls from the sky—bringing the collection full circle (the collection opened with a school bus falling from the sky). Now, readers know that the school bus was never a real school bus—it was something else entirely, and it wasn’t at all dangerous. Noting that walks home can similarly be many different things shows again how important a person’s perspective is in dictating how they see their world.
Themes
