The Sweet Hereafter | Themes

The Sweet Hereafter Themes

Perception

By using four points of view, Banks shows readers how the same events are interpreted differently by different people. He also demonstrates how a person's background influences the way he or she understands and reacts to a situation. For example, Dolores prides herself on taking good care of the bus. From her perspective, she does the best job of maintaining it because she is personally committed to her role as a bus driver. On the other hand, Billy questions her ability to properly oversee the maintenance of the bus. This is not surprising, given that he is the mechanic who maintains all of the other school buses.

Banks relates the scene in which Billy and Mitchell first meet at the garage from both men's points of view, which enables the reader to experience a single exchange from two very different perspectives. Another example of Banks's presentation of the theme...
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