The Wayward Bus by John Steinbeck - Review

The Wayward BusThe Wayward Bus by John Steinbeck
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

One thing I love about Steinbeck is his ability to take an incredibly simple situation, within a very limited setting (both in respect to place and time) and elaborate upon the many complexities of character among those he has placed within the setting. The characters in The Wayward Bus are infinitely simple, but at the same time have a limitless complexity that’s elaborated in Steinbeck’s descriptions of their inner thoughts and personal histories that define who they are.

These personal characteristics, prejudices and anxieties are magnified as the story’s characters all begin to approach a disorder in their situation as the bus that they expect and demand to be consistent, orderly and reliable is not at all that. As the character Camille Oaks enters the scene, these character flaws become even clearer and more difficult to conceal, especially among the men. The blonde’s presence symbolizes a counterbalance, parallel to the bus itself that causes confusion and difficulty with its habit of breakdown along with its unorthodox appearance.

The journey brings each character a personal realization with themselves as each are taken out of their environment of choice and placed among characters that strongly annoy, offend or arouse them. In the end, personal growth and triumph is expressed, along with a newfound trust in others that inspires hope for Juan and many of the other passengers as they are delivered from their momentary troubles and delivered back again to a calm road towards a new future.

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