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In Steinbeck’s The Wayward Bus, an assorted group of people, from respected company presidents to erotic dancers, find themselves in a lunchroom all waiting for the same bus that will take them to San Juan de la Cruz. Their presence in the lunchroom and on the bus brings about their sexual desires in an otherwise sexually inhibiting situation. Both the bus and the lunchroom, especially in the 1940’s (about the time that this book was written), are common social places where sexual desires go suppressed, or unseen, but Steinbeck brings to the surface his character’s sexual desires in this potent theme that runs throughout the novel. Juan Chicoy, the main character in the novel, is married to Alice Chicoy, and together they run a shop at “Rebel Corners”, which takes on the roles of: garage, restaurant, and store. In addition to running the garage, aided by the help of his apprentice, “Pimples”, Juan drives a bus from “Rebel Corners” to San Juan de la Cruz. Alice runs the restaurant because Juan is to busy with the bus and the garage, and she is helped by a young employee named Norma. Norma’s sexual desires are illustrated in the beginning of the novel with her obsession over movie star Clark Gable. Norma