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Chapter 17
Themes
and Colors
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Bonfire of the Vanities, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Morality, Power, and Self-Interest
Stereotypes, Ignorance, and Racism
Wealth, Class, and Status
Transactional Relationships
Truth and Bias
Summary
Analysis
Kramer meets Daniel Torres, an assistant district from a different bureau at his (Kramer’s) office. Torres is overseeing the prosecution of Roland’s drug charges. Torres explains that this is the third time Roland has been arrested on drug charges. Martin and Goldberg then arrive with Roland, who is handcuffed. Hayden accompanies them. Kramer asks Roland to tell him what happened the night of the hit and run. Roland says that he saw Henry walking down the road and asked where he was going. Henry said he was going to get takeout, and Roland decided to go with him. Roland makes clear that he and Henry weren’t friends. They just knew each other from growing up in the same place.
This passage is arguably the third version of the story of the hit-and-run that has been relayed in the novel. One version is Henry’s fragmented recounting of the event (which Fallow then adapts for his newspaper articles). Another version is Sherman and Maria’s version of events. And Roland’s story marks the third version of events. The novel will then show how those stories change depending on the priorities and aims of the person who tells them.
Active
Themes
Roland says that on the way to get takeout, a car came up behind them. Roland saw it coming, so he jumped out of the way, but Henry didn’t, and the car clipped him. The car stopped about 20 feet away. A man got out of the driver’s seat, and a woman opened the door of the passenger side. Roland had a clear view of them, and the woman used the name “Sherman” to refer to the man. Roland then shouted for help because Henry was hit. The woman and man switched places in the car, so the woman was now in the driver’s seat. Roland walked toward the car, asking for help.
Roland’s story is markedly different from Sherman and Maria’s version of events. Notably, the novel does not seem to suggest that the most basic facts of the story are necessarily in question. Instead, the novel suggests that the basic facts largely correspond to Sherman’s version of events in which he came across a tire in the road, stopped, and then Maria got in the driver’s seat, accelerated, and hit Henry. However, the novel also suggests that Sherman’s version of events ascribes motives to Roland and Henry—namely, that they intended to rob him—that are based in Sherman’s racist fear, not in reality.
Active
Themes
Roland continues his story. He says that Henry got up too and walked toward the car. It was clear his arm was injured. Roland asked again for help, but the woman stepped on the gas, and the car drove off. Roland then helped find a ride for Henry to go to the hospital and helped take him there. After Roland has finished telling his story, Kramer asks if he (Roland) would be able to recognize the man and the woman. Roland says yes.
Active
Themes
Kramer shows Roland a series of photographs of different men, and Roland immediately points to a picture with Sherman in it. Judy is with Sherman in the picture, and Kramer asks Roland if Judy is the woman he saw that night. Roland says no. Kramer then asks Roland if he added any false details to the story or left anything out, and Roland says no. Kramer tells Roland and Hayden that he’ll have to talk to his bosses, but it seems like they’ll have a deal. In his head, Kramer can already imagine the adulation he’ll get for winning the case.
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