Bonfire of the Vanities is a book whose theme is brought out by characteristics exhibited by the various characters. These themes include social segregation, politics, greed, race, hypocrisy, animalism, and justice. The book has significant characters such as Sherman McCoy, Rev. Reginald Bacon, Maria Ruskin, Peter Fallow, Shelly Thomas, Henry Lamb and Larry Kramer. Sherman McCoy is an entrepreneur who is at the peak of his career. He is married but maintains an adulterous life with a mistress, Maria Ruskin, who is after the money of her elderly husband who is on the verge of his death. Sherman faces destruction one night as they were driving with his mistress where they lost track and ended up in the slums. A garbage heap blocked their way, and Sherman is forced to remove it, but he sees two black young men and concludes that they are man-eaters. Frightened, he hits a young black man by the name Henry Lamb.
Peter Fallow, an alcoholic and journalist, is manipulated by Rev. Bacon to pursue the case and write and publish about Sherman. The story leads to demonstrations that are after Sherman’s arrest. His arrest ruins his reputation, takes up all his money and his family leaves. Shelly Thomas tries to take up the case and release his boss where Krammer agrees to the hearing. After the release, Sherman is harassed by demonstrators at his home. Fallow continues to follow up the incidence where he doubts that Maria Ruskin was driving the night that the accident happened and had fled away. He plots an interview with her husband who falls into a seizure while recalling his past. This forces Maria to come back for his funeral which gives Fallow an opportunity to manipulate her into admitting the truth.
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Fallow overhears her admission and publishes it. This raises questions and Krammer is forced to take action by asking Maria to bring in witnesses. He talks to Sherman about the issue, and a private investigator concludes that her statements contradicted hence the case is overthrown. Later, after a series of trials, Sherman loses to the Lamb’s family where he has to compensate them for Henry’s death. Krammer, on the other hand, is removed from the jury for being sexually involved with Shelly (Wolfe, 1987).
Capitalism and entrepreneurship have been explored all through the text. Sherman McCloy is seen to be a successful businessman earning the name ‘Master of the universe.' He is at the zenith of his career. He is a bond trader and a salesman who is seen to deal with rich clients. His wife describes him as one who ‘picks up all the crumbs.’ McCloy has followed his father's aggressiveness in business which has led him and his employees to run a couple of business levels. His entrepreneurial skills have brought billions of dollars into the New York state.
Capitalism, on the other hand, has been depicted by Rev. Bacon. A capitalist economy is where private owners of the property have the freedom to dispose the property at their convenience for their interests. Edward Fiske decides to inquire more about the money that has been allocated for daycare that is to be recognized under Rev. Bacon's authority. The license has not been approved since the reverend has incorporated members that had been in the board before. The church reproves Bacon to have other people on board, but he revokes the order saying that the money had already been apportioned to the contractors hence not irreversible. He also brings up racist claims where he says that those people who did not fit some level of social class were being undermined as being partners.
He further explains to them that they were starting a new type of capitalism where they would satisfy the needs of the minority. He described the investment as a ‘steam capital' where steam represented the disappointment that the minorities had and the pressure they inserted for the daycare to run as required. He concluded by saying that the investors were doing it all for their interests which would be fueled by the minorities' fury. This is different from the traditional types of capitalism that have been encountered in the economy.
Tom Wolfe’s theme on capitalism and entrepreneurship matches Richard Wolff’s perception in his videos. Richard’s view on capitalism is that since the economic system has failed to reach people’s expectations, they tend to seem oppressed hence opt for a way to resist the movement and advocate for a better social and economic system. He further explains that capitalism has been linked with moves to earn profits and expand companies. This is all entrepreneurial. The rich are trying their best to exploit the poor for their interests by acquiring more and getting significant shares in significant projects (Wolff, 2012).
Money and power have always gone hand in hand in the American society. When you have money, you have power. When you have no money, you become powerless and unvalued. In Bonfire of the vanities, this takes an interesting turn. Sherman McCloy is a very influential person with a lot of wealth dealing with a lot of wealthy clients. Maria Ruskin is also married to a wealthy man. When they hit Henry Lamb, it is expected that they will get away with it now that they have the money and power to do so automatically. Peter Fallow, an alcoholic journalist, manipulates them by publishing the issue which mobilizes a mob with the majority of the people being from a low social status from the slums to demand justice for their fallen one. The issue takes a turn. Moreover, when Sherman is released on bail, demonstrators harass him at his home demanding that justice must be done and he should not be free.
They demonstrate and push for Sherman’s arrest which eventually takes place. When the word came that Maria might have been driving the car when Henry was hit, Peter Fallow is also able to threaten Maria to admit the truth which is a rare thing for someone with so much wealth to face threats from a person with no much of a high social class. After the trials, Sherman loses to the Lamb's family, a poor black family living in the slums. He even had to compensate them for their relative’s loss. Everything goes against the wealthy and favors the poor.
This turn is also experienced through the daycare project. Fiske and other high officials from the human resource administration want to take up the project by claiming that Rev. Bacon had not involved new members in board hence the denial of a license. Bacon can gather mass attention and explain the issue to the population which was to benefit from the project which encompassed the minority in the society. They demonstrate and push for construction of the daycare hence overshadowing the interests of the rich.
The turn in Tom Wolfe's book is backed up by Karl Marx's social revolutionary theory. He developed a method called socialism which advocated for any political and economic system to be guided by the community as a whole. This meant that every significant development in the society would have to be agreed upon by both the high and the low class in the society. Everything would be based on communism and socialism. This was after he learned how the social gap had become so broad that the poor felt intimidated by the rich through the oppression and misery that they faced from them. He thought that a social revolution was the answer hence came up with socialism.
Richard Wolff also came out as a social revolutionist by advocating against capitalism. He explained that for the society to avoid the social differences, change is supposed to take place in the capitalist world. He does not strike the issues directly, but by the way, he answers the different question posed to him, he explains that workers should be given some more powers within their vicinities. Marx's and Wolff's movements are a danger to the capitalist economy. This is because exploitation of the poor by the rich for their interests is being fought against in their theories. They are both in favor of decision making being done by everyone and not by those in power solely. This means that capitalism has no place in their advocacies hence posing a threat to capitalists.
More connections can be made among power, toys, plays and the book Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe. To get the book more informative, systems such as democracy and the mixed economy could have been incorporated. Democracy is where the majority population is to make significant decisions. This could have best been explored during the daycare project where it is the people benefitting from it could have chosen the members they wanted to be on the board. Mixed economy, on the other hand, is where the property is owned by both individuals and the state. This could also have been brought out where Sherman McCloy was a famous bond trader enriching himself by dealing with wealthy clients only. This could have been regulated by the state of New York to avoid this type of greediness.
Plays such as Cosmopolis could have also been incorporated. It is also acted in Wall Street, and the flow of the story matches that of Bonfire of the vanities. It consists of a billionaire entrepreneur who drives around Manhattan just like Sherman McCloy. He has a wife and a mistress as well as employees running his business. He meets tragedy when the currency speculations become uneven and from then on his life becomes a mess (Branco & Cronenberg, 2012). Incorporation of such themes and plays would create a connection with the book in a more described manner.
This understanding is useful in management since it helps them in providing the audience with more detailed, intriguing and fascinating information. It also makes them understand the texts more deeply, distract boredom while reading and help them connect and get the picture more explicitly. It shifts the dynamics of collaboration in such a manner that interconnections are created, and the world of writing and plays is enriched.
References
Branco, P. (Producer) &
Cronenberg, D. (Director). (2012). Cosmopolis [Motion Picture]. United States: eOne Films.
Wolfe, T. (1987). Bonfire of the Vanities. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux.
Wolff, R. D. (2012). Democracy at work: A cure for capitalism . Haymarket books.
