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The Headbanger
The bus driver is a grown man with whom the narrator has his first sexual experience. At first, the bus driver thinks the narrator is a passenger who wants to go to New York City, so he tells him to come back in the morning because it’s too snowy to drive at the moment. When the narrator tells him that he’s come to the bus station to use the public bathroom, though, the driver tells him not to go in there at night. However, he then begins to understand that the narrator wants to have sex with another man, at which point he invites the boy to board the bus to use its bathroom. Once the narrator comes in, the driver stands and says, “You want me to make you, I’ll make you,” while reaching into the narrator’s pants. Walking home afterwards, the narrator proudly repeats, “He made me! I’m made!”
The Bus Driver Quotes in We the Animals
The We the Animals quotes below are all either spoken by The Bus Driver or refer to The Bus Driver. 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. The Night I Am Made
Quotes
“You want me to make you,” the driver said. “I’ll make you. I’ll make you.”
And I was made.
I trudged back in the predawn. The winter sky was clouded over, all pink gloom. I wanted to look at myself as he had; I wanted to see my black curls peeking out from under my ski cap. What did he make of my thin chest? What did he make of my too-wide smile? He had blasted the heat, but the cold clung and hovered at the back of the bus. The cold gathered in the tips of those fingers, so everywhere he touched me was a dull stab of surprise. I wanted to stand before a mirror and look and look at myself. I opened my mouth and stretched my voice over the buzz of passing cars.
“He made me!” I screamed. “I’m made!”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
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Explanation and Analysis:
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The Bus Driver Quotes in We the Animals
The We the Animals quotes below are all either spoken by The Bus Driver or refer to The Bus Driver. 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. The Night I Am Made
Quotes
“You want me to make you,” the driver said. “I’ll make you. I’ll make you.”
And I was made.
I trudged back in the predawn. The winter sky was clouded over, all pink gloom. I wanted to look at myself as he had; I wanted to see my black curls peeking out from under my ski cap. What did he make of my thin chest? What did he make of my too-wide smile? He had blasted the heat, but the cold clung and hovered at the back of the bus. The cold gathered in the tips of those fingers, so everywhere he touched me was a dull stab of surprise. I wanted to stand before a mirror and look and look at myself. I opened my mouth and stretched my voice over the buzz of passing cars.
“He made me!” I screamed. “I’m made!”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
