The Bonfire of the Vanities

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1987

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Prologue-Chapter 6

Chapters 7-12

Chapters 13-18

Chapters 19-24

Chapter 25-Epilogue

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

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Discussion Questions

Symbols & Motifs

Masters of the Universe and Masculinity

Masculinity and its performance are a running motif in the novel, with characters like Sherman and Kramer constantly trying to assert their manliness and power. Sherman thinks of himself as a Master of the Universe, referring to bulked-up hypermasculine action figures. Sherman mocks the toys, modeled "like Norse gods who lifted weights […] [with] names such as Dracon, Ahar, Mangelred" (11). However, he is susceptible to their adolescent allure, imagining himself as a similar figure, conquering the universe. Sherman frames his trip to the Bronx as a heroic mission, deciding that he ended up saving Maria, a woman, and thus proving his manhood. At Maria's sublet that night, he makes love to her, thinking “the time had come to act like a man, and he had acted and prevailed. He [is] not merely a Master of the Universe; he [is] more, he [is] a man” (104). Sherman’s black Mercedes too can be seen as a symbol of his manly pride. That the Mercedes leads to his downfall shows the limits and perils of toxic masculinity.

Kramer's body language changes every time he sees a woman he deems attractive, whether it be Shelley or Maria. He pushes out his chest and stands up tall in a performance of masculinity. When he sees Black teenagers on the subway, he tenses up to appear “an ox, a stud […] he’d be the last person in the world they’d choose to tangle with” (37). Kramer also admires Detective Martin for confronting a Black man twice his size. The irony that the Black man is threatened not by Martin’s bravado but by his misuse of power is lost on Kramer. Sherman’s and Kramer’s behavior shows that these characters try to assert their masculinity to gain control over others around them, whether it be women or people of color. However, the text shows this quest for control as well as male vanity can often end in disaster, as it does in the sequence in which Kramer listens to the tape of Maroa describing his visit. Maria refers to Kramer as a “creep” in the tape, which destroys all the notions of his masculine power Kramer had attributed to Maria.

New York City

The city of New York, with its varying landscapes, serves as a central symbol in the novel. New York City symbolizes the American Dream and its perils, highlighting the theme of the Disparities of Race and Class. On the one side, the city represents the American melting pot of races and cultures, and the American myth that anyone can rise to dizzying heights here. On the other, it is a metaphor for the excess of greed and ambition and the persistence of inequality. While the towers of Manhattan represent the world of those whom Sherman calls “the victors,” the sprawl of the Bronx symbolizes those left out of the myth of relentless progress.

The novel explores this multifaceted symbol by prominently featuring New York addresses such as Park Avenue, Fifth Avenue, restaurants in SoHo, the Bronx Courthouse, and the Edgar Allen Poe Projects. When Sherman drives in New York City, he gloats, “[T]here it [is], the Rome, the Paris, the London of the twentieth century, the city of ambition, the dense magnetic rock, the irresistible destination of all those who insist on being where things are happening” (81). However, his New York does not include the Bronx, which is why when he loses his way there, he has to “look twice to make sure he [is] in fact still driving on a New York street” (86). Sherman’s predicament shows that the American dream represented by New York can best be realized when it includes people of all races and classes.

Animals and Jungle

The novel frequently uses animal metaphors to symbolize the ruthlessness of human beings and the jungle-like world of New York City. When characters use animal metaphors, they are also often belying their sexism and racism. Sherman often thinks of beautiful women as young and frisky animals, the term referring to their seemingly wild sexuality. When he spots a good-looking young woman on the road, he gives her a look that implies, “Hi! We’re a couple of good-looking animals, aren’t we!” (74). The text also uses animal metaphors frequently, such as when it compares the crowd outside the courthouse when Sherman is brought in to a “huge, filthy sprawling dog” (490). After the Bronx hit-and-run, Sherman and Maria think of the episode as a trip to the jungle that they managed to survive.

The animal symbolism also represents the survival-of-the-fittest tenet of the urban jungle. Toward the end of the novel, Sherman notes that dogs are made vicious when they are starved of resources and love. Similarly, Sherman has let go of his scruples about lying to the court to survive. Like those dogs, Sherman too knows “when it’s time to turn into an animal and fight” (682).