The pursuit of success and its discontents : A study of ambition, corruption, and moral decay in Tom Wolfe's The Bonfire of the Vanities

Abstract

This thesis deals with the theme that is displayed through the analysis of Tom Wolffe' s "The Bonfire of the Vanities (1987)” as a viciously satirical light spotlight on the ambition, corruption and moral decay of modern Capitalist system in the US in general; its centre spot New York in particular during the 1980s. The book, in detail shows a period of economic excess, racial antagonism inequality and also, corruption of the system through its institutions. The book by juxtaposes a point of his sharp satiric eyes and his technique in journalistic realism and portrays effectively the moral costs of the relentless chase to acquire more and more wealth and power and maintaining their social standing. Through out the discussion a close scrutiny is placed primarily on the theme of ambition, which is shown as equally a damaging force and as a contributor to further compromise the legal, political and financial institutions. An attempt is made to trace out, where at times systems that are corrupt distort not the only the dreams but, the personalities of individuals which ultimately lead to the downfall of the individual as do the collapse of the society. Sherman McCoy becomes an in-focus character whose roller coster story of rise and fall describes the illusion of meritocracy, the fragility of the social as an elite privilege and the hollow promise of the American dream through the hard hitting Capitalistic system. While discussing the interface of personal ambition vs the systemic corruption this paper is of the view that, " The Bonfire of the Vanities" , delivers on one hand a broader moral and indicting remark on 1980's America on the ground that it displays the mode through the institutional forms of power both sustain inequality and further compromise the means of ethical accountability