47 pages 1 hour read

John Steinbeck

The Wayward Bus

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1947

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Character Analysis

Juan Chicoy

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

Juan Chicoy is one of the central characters in The Wayward Bus. He runs the bus service that operates out of Rebel Corners. He is bored of his life and his wife, Alice. He is homesick for the country of his childhood, Mexico. Juan’s appetite for other women is indicative of his dissatisfaction with life, despite its relative stability. Juan is bored and feels oppressed by his attachment to Alice, even though he also knows that her love for him is now a part of his identity: “It’s a structure and […] you can’t leave it without tearing off a piece of yourself. So if you want to remain whole you stay no matter how much you may dislike staying” (119-20). Juan thus represents People’s Resentful Dependence on One Another.

As the driver of the bus, Juan is the symbolic director of the path through waywardness. Juan’s life is in a rut, and he ironically directs the bus into a rut to free himself. Juan concocts a fantasy in which he’ll leave

blurred text

blurred text

Related Titles

By John Steinbeck

Study Guide

logo

Cannery Row

John Steinbeck

Cannery Row

John Steinbeck

Study Guide

logo

East of Eden

John Steinbeck

East of Eden

John Steinbeck

Plot Summary

logo

In Dubious Battle

John Steinbeck

In Dubious Battle

John Steinbeck

Study Guide

logo

Of Mice and Men

John Steinbeck

Of Mice and Men

John Steinbeck

Plot Summary

logo

Sweet Thursday

John Steinbeck

Sweet Thursday

John Steinbeck

STUDY + TEACHING GUIDE

logo

The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights

John Steinbeck

The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights

John Steinbeck

Study Guide

logo

The Grapes of Wrath

John Steinbeck

The Grapes of Wrath

John Steinbeck

Study Guide

logo

The Harvest Gypsies

John Steinbeck

The Harvest Gypsies: On the Road to the Grapes of Wrath

John Steinbeck

Plot Summary

logo

The Log From The Sea of Cortez

John Steinbeck

The Log From The Sea of Cortez

John Steinbeck

Plot Summary

logo

The Long Valley

John Steinbeck

The Long Valley

John Steinbeck

Study Guide

logo

The Moon Is Down

John Steinbeck

The Moon Is Down

John Steinbeck

Study Guide

logo

The Red Pony

John Steinbeck

The Red Pony

John Steinbeck

Study Guide

logo

The Winter Of Our Discontent

John Steinbeck

The Winter Of Our Discontent

John Steinbeck

Plot Summary

logo

To a God Unknown

John Steinbeck

To a God Unknown

John Steinbeck

Plot Summary

logo

Tortilla Flat

John Steinbeck

Tortilla Flat

John Steinbeck

Study Guide

logo

Travels With Charley

John Steinbeck

Travels With Charley

John Steinbeck