The Wayward Bus

Content Warning: This section of the guide contains references to domestic abuse, sexualization of racial “otherness,” sexual assault, self-harm, and depression.

The bus, dubbed “Sweetheart” by Juan, is a symbol of waywardness. The bus is itself a physical object of transition as it literally transports people from one city to another. In this narrative, it is also a symbolic space for the possibility of internal transitions. On the bus, characters grapple with their insecurities and internal conflicts and contemplate the external conflicts that heighten their lack of autonomy and freedom. The bus is characterized as being well-worn: “The ballooning sides of the bus, heavy and shining with aluminum paint, showed nevertheless the bumps and bends, the wracks and scratches, of a long and violent career” (18). The physical condition of the bus parallels the metaphorical scratches that exist within each character’s perception of their lives. The more the characters try to work on their lives, the more worn out they become, similar to the way Juan has kept up the bus. The bus is a space in which characters can potentially transform themselves, but because the bus keeps them near one another, they can’t help but be influenced and triggered by the other passengers.