Name : Hastin Xirera

Reg Num : 1610117220029

Class : Advanced Reading A1

Group :7

Novel 4

Title : The Wayward Bus

Author : John Steinbeck

Total Pages : 212

Summary :

This novel tells about a crossroad named Rebel Corners, forty-two miles below San
Ysidro, California. It is a store-restaurant-garage and service station. Usually, many
passengers visit it, buy some snacks and take a rest. The owner are Juan Cihocoy, an half
Mexican and a half Irish, he is a mechanic and a bus-driver from Rebel Corners to San Juan
de la Cruz, the bus named is ‘sweetheart, together with his wife, Alice Cihocoy.

Alice Cihocoy is an alcoholic, bad-tempered and does not like any other women,
including their waitress in Rebel Corners, named Norma. Norma is obsessed with film star
Clark Gable. She writes long fan letters, but never get answers. Besides Norma, there is also
another person who helps Cihocoys, his name is Ed Carson, but many people call his Pimples
because of his extreme facial acne. He is Juan's assistant mechanic and general helper.

Alice gets angry to Mildred because of Mildred’s letterto Gable. Alice slaps Mildred
and ask Mildred to go away; meanwhile Juan sees this event and gets angry to Alice and
decides to leave Alice. He suddenly turns on his bus and goes with passangers. There are
several passangers in the bus, they are Ernest Horton, a traveling salesman for a novelties
company. Horton makes a very colorful entrance in this novel: he offers his products by
doing magic. He likes a woman, this woman claims to be a dental nurse employed by Dr. T.S.
Chesterfield and her name is Camille Oaks. In fact, she is a stripper who earns her living
performing. The other passangers are a family, consist of father, mother and daughter, named
Mildred, she is a college student who likes Juan and always try to seduce Juan during in the
bus. Pimples and Norma also join the bus.

In their journey, the heavy rain is falling and causes landslide. The bus can not pass it,
so Juan asks the passengers to decide whether to return to Rebel Corners or attempt to reach
their destination via an old dirt road. Juan tried another way, but they must pass the bridge
with overload water, it makes a bridge unsafe. With great efforts finally they can pass the
bridge and continue their trip. Another obstacle happens, the brake of the bus can not be used
and the bus stuck in the mud. They stay there for several days, until they find people than can
help them to pull out the bus and repair the brake. Juan drives the bus, eventually they see the
San Juan up ahead.

According to my opinion, this novel is really interesting to read this novel serves
variety problems from different characters. They gather in one place, namely in a bus.
Human are different, so do they. They get into the bus, so they can arrive at the next stop and
as soon as possible do their bussiness. Each of them has ego and each of them wants to arrive
quickly. Meanwhile, the destiny has another plan, they are stuck in the bus and they are
panick. In situation and condition like this they should cooperate and help each other, thus
they can together arrive at the next stop.

So, this novel teaches us how to be patient and how to act in an emergency situation.
How can we respect another’s interest and find the solution together, because we can not be
egoist and just think about our interest. We need another person, we also need to help another
person.