Chapters 10–12 Summary and Analysis
Chapter 10: The University
Bunny is enrolled in the Southern Pacific University. Soon, he starts dating Henrietta Ashleigh, a classmate who comes from a conservative, old-money family.
During the Christmas holidays, Bunny and Ross return to Paradise. After Ruth shows them a curt letter from Paul, Ross surmises that the brevity is due to the censoring of soldiers’ mail.
The Treaty of Versailles is reported in the newspapers, casting a wave of cynicism all over the country. Bunny receives a strange letter from Jeff Korbitty, one of Paul’s comrades in Siberia. The letter describes how the American troops in Siberia are forced to stay and fight for ill-defined reasons. Bunny brings this to the attention of his congressman, but this merely gets Korbitty detained.
Deeply troubled, Bunny approaches Daniel Webster Irving, a history professor at Southern Pacific University. After promising not to disclose their conversation to anyone, Bunny learns from Irving that the United States’ military presence in Russia is motivated by the interests of American big business. Bunny writes a letter defending the Bolsheviks soon after this, but the campus publication refuses to publish it.
In order to “protect” him, Bunny invites Irving to Paradise to meet his father. At Bunny’s behest, Irving plays the perfect guest and earns Ross’s approval.
At Bertie’s insistence, Bunny spends a week with the affluent Woodbridge-Rileys to meet eligible bachelorettes. There, he is introduced to sister’s lover, Eldon Burdick. When Burdick attempts to shame Bunny for his Bolshevik sympathies, Bunny defends his beliefs.
Bunny receives a censored letter from Paul, and he responds, “I am coming to agree with Tom Axton in everything.” While President Harding does his best to convince the people otherwise, more and more Americans realize that the troops have no business being in Russia. Finally, Bunny receives the news that the troops in Siberia are to be sent back home.
Chapter 11: The Rebel
Because of his political views, Bunny makes the acquaintance of like-minded students in the university, including Billy George, Peter Nagle, George Nikolaieff, and Rachel Menzies.
Upon learning that Paul has returned, Bunny rushes to Paradise. There, Paul describes to him how they were made to conquer Vladivostok and secure the Trans-Siberian railroad—all so American forces could undermine the Bolshevik revolution. He likens the revolution to the oil strike; oppressed workers attempt to rise up against the ruling class, while men like Vernon Roscoe do everything in their power to demonize and stamp them out. Eventually, Bunny is convinced that the Bolsheviks are right in their cause.
Soon, Bunny accompanies Paul to Angel City to meet with Harry Seager, an educated man who was also sent to Siberia during the war. He then brings his father to hear Seager speak at a socialist meeting. However, Ross merely ends up frightened of the prospect of socialism in America and fears that his own son may be against his business interests.
Bunny and his left-leaning peers from the Southern Pacific University publish an independent newsletter, the first edition of which features an interview with Seager. Merely ten minutes after distribution, the dean intervenes and orders for all the surviving copies to be burned. The media reports on this incident unfavorably, labelling it a “red college plot” and demonizing Seager.
The students behind the newsletter are questioned by everyone, from the school authorities to local law enforcement, resulting in the dismissal of Peter Nagle. Threatened with deportation, Rachel Menzies calls on Bunny, who promises the president of the university that they will stop making “propaganda” if the university leaves Rachel alone.
Soon after, Irving informs Bunny that the university...
(This entire section contains 1227 words.)
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has terminated his contract. He tells Bunny that there is likely a state spy in their midst, whom Bunny deduces to be Billy George.
Chapter 12: The Siren
The Ruscum ranch is rumored to have become a “Bolshevik nest,” a result of Paul’s efforts to educate Ross’s workers on the labor struggle. Meanwhile, Bunny feels torn between his socialist ideals and his privileged position in the world.
During the Easter holidays, Vernon Roscoe visits Ross and Bunny in Paradise. He asks Ross to pledge money to the Republican candidate he and other American businessmen wish to back in the presidential election. Before leaving, Vernon chides Bunny for his political views and insists that he visit him and his mistress sometime.
Bunny criticizes the Republican convention’s underhanded plan to buy the United States presidency, but Ross asserts that such political maneuvers are necessary in order to preserve one’s business interests. Even though he firmly believes financing Senator Harding to be wrong, Bunny’s fear of hurting his father’s feelings prevents him from challenging him outright.
In the summer, Bertie drags Bunny to the “Siren,” a luxury yacht belonging to her current boyfriend, Charlie Norman. There, Bunny bonds with Charlie’s mother, who eventually expresses romantic feelings for him. Bunny rejects Mrs. Norman gently, as he only thinks of her as a friend.
Ross Consolidated is unable to escape the postwar recession, leading to the dismissal of over one hundred employees. At some point, Eli Watkins asks Ross for help with his second mortgage, in exchange for “blessing” the first Paradise oil well all those years ago. Ross agrees to give Eli the money, because he predicts that Eli will be useful to him in the future. Finally, Bunny tries unsuccessfully to pitch the idea of a labor college to his father.
Analysis
Bunny’s experiences in the Southern Pacific University can be read as an implicit criticism of most higher education institutions as nests of wealth and privilege. And the presence of state spies such as Billy George is a reference to how student activists of the University of Southern California were detained during the First Red Scare.
When Paul finally comes back from Siberia, he is a changed man, deeply disillusioned with politics and American big business. In order to make Bunny understand, he likens the Bolshevik revolution to the oil strike. Bunny is eager to explore and disseminate his newfound perspective, unwittingly creating a rift between himself and his father. Despite the fact that Bunny’s efforts in student activism end badly, Irving points out that Bunny’s privilege protects him from the real consequences of political dissent:
Mr. Irving smiled. “Well, Ross, you’ve seen the white terror in action! You’ll find it helps you to understand world history. Fortunately, you’re rich, so it was just a joke. But don’t forget—if you’d been a poor Russian Jew in the slums, you’d be in jail now, with ten thousand dollars bail, and ten or twenty years in state’s prison for your destiny. If you had happened to live in Poland or Finland or Roumania, you and all your little bunch would have been buried in one muddy trench a week ago!”
Finally, chapter twelve contains one of the most significant events of the novel: Ross agrees to join Roscoe in funding Senator Harding’s bid for presidency. Given that he has bribed countless public officials in the past, it is unsurprising that Ross’s corrupt ways have escalated to such a degree. For his part, Bunny loves his father too much to stand his ground and persuade him to back out of Roscoe’s scheme—something he will come to regret.
