Dashka Slater's The 57 Bus Analysis Essay Example

The 57 Bus is a book written by Dashka Slater. It’s a book about a resident of Oakland California, getting into drama after their skirt was lit on fire while riding a bus. It gives a perspective of both the victim and the attacker. The victim, Sasha is agender, meaning they don’t identify as a male or female. The attacker is named Richard. As the book progresses, you are introduced to new points of view of Richard. There’s more to the story than it may seem. At the same time, Sasha is dealing with the trauma of not only the incident but the misleading comments online about their gender. Both Sasha and Richard were being treated unfairly. Richard was getting unfair punishment from the Judge. And instead of the news trying to cover Sasha’s situation, they made the situation significantly worse with the use of their platform.

I believe that one of the central themes in The 57 Bus is that “If you can’t say it without guilt, don’t say it online.” People are identified online in a different way than in person. The internet can almost make you feel invisible. And in this case the media were trying to modify the story in which it would seem less harmful.

A reason I believe this is because News outlets were calling Sasha’s skirt a kilt. During the interview, Sasha explained it was a skirt, but when it was released online, it was said to be a kilt. The news report also used incorrect pronouns, which again were explained when being interviewed. Sasha right away knew that the News was trying to twist up the story. Sasha grew up in Oakland California, the crime rate is high there. 

On page 266, Sasha explains that college made the fire “A distant memory”. Implying that college has helped them get away from all the drama. It was a chance to start a better life there. As much as Sasha wanted to forget about it back in Oakland, it wouldn’t go away. 

This issue didn’t only happen to Sasha. Richard, the “attacker”, was also getting hateful comments online. He was accused of things 

The theme of The 57 Bus is that “If you can’t say it without guilt, don’t say it online”.