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Melanie
Quiet, “exotically handsome” Rodolpho is Beth’s favorite driver—until Cliff comes to town. She has a serious crush on him and often spends hours talking to him. Even though he doesn’t say much in return, he appreciates her company. But in the past, Beth became so obsessed with Rodolpho—and told him so many explicit stories about her sex life—that he kicked her off his bus. Eventually, though, they reached an agreement that Beth can ride with him three times per week. Rodolpho dreams of becoming a pilot and isn’t particularly committed to driving the bus. However, he worked so hard to save up for flying lessons that he ended up ruining his marriage. This taught him that relationships are more important than his dreams for his career. Still, at the end of the book, Rachel helps him try out acting, and he eventually becomes a police officer. Beyond showing how Beth’s obsessiveness gets her in trouble, Rodolpho’s story also reminds Rachel that she’s foolish to completely sacrifice all of her relationships for the sake of her career.
Rodolpho Quotes in Riding the Bus with My Sister
The Riding the Bus with My Sister quotes below are all either spoken by Rodolpho or refer to Rodolpho. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
18. July: The Optimist
Quotes
Beth has sought out mentors in places where others might not look, and, moreover, taken the time, and endured the pain, to weed out those drivers who are decent and kind and reflective from those who are indifferent or hostile. The ones I’m meeting are, I realize as I quickly do the math, only about a sixth of the whole bus company. That took Beth a huge amount of trial and error—and, yes, determination. I shake my head, amazed at how much I’d somehow missed, and then, with a surge of optimism, wonder if one out of six people in any profession or community would also be exceptionally thoughtful. How could I really know? Have I ever spent this much time exploring the worldviews of my colleagues at school or the bookstore? Do I have a clue about whether my neighbors feel committed to the Golden Rule?
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28. October: The Hunk
Quotes
With a jolt, I know what scares me.
It’s not just the same old crush with a new face, or the same old song with the same wrong words. It’s not just the pattern she doesn’t see, or care about, and therefore cannot or will not change.
It’s that Beth seems to need a cataclysmic event for her to change in any way—an event like our mother’s complete abdication of her responsibility to protect her own child, Juanita’s rejection, or Rodolpho’s abandonment. This seems true whether she’s being called upon to develop resourcefulness, assertiveness, or just basic self-restraint. I look at her and feel a clutch in my throat. What will it take now?
Is this all there will ever be to her life?
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Rodolpho Quotes in Riding the Bus with My Sister
The Riding the Bus with My Sister quotes below are all either spoken by Rodolpho or refer to Rodolpho. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
18. July: The Optimist
Quotes
Beth has sought out mentors in places where others might not look, and, moreover, taken the time, and endured the pain, to weed out those drivers who are decent and kind and reflective from those who are indifferent or hostile. The ones I’m meeting are, I realize as I quickly do the math, only about a sixth of the whole bus company. That took Beth a huge amount of trial and error—and, yes, determination. I shake my head, amazed at how much I’d somehow missed, and then, with a surge of optimism, wonder if one out of six people in any profession or community would also be exceptionally thoughtful. How could I really know? Have I ever spent this much time exploring the worldviews of my colleagues at school or the bookstore? Do I have a clue about whether my neighbors feel committed to the Golden Rule?
Related Characters:
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Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
28. October: The Hunk
Quotes
With a jolt, I know what scares me.
It’s not just the same old crush with a new face, or the same old song with the same wrong words. It’s not just the pattern she doesn’t see, or care about, and therefore cannot or will not change.
It’s that Beth seems to need a cataclysmic event for her to change in any way—an event like our mother’s complete abdication of her responsibility to protect her own child, Juanita’s rejection, or Rodolpho’s abandonment. This seems true whether she’s being called upon to develop resourcefulness, assertiveness, or just basic self-restraint. I look at her and feel a clutch in my throat. What will it take now?
Is this all there will ever be to her life?
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
