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Chapter 27
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
Sherman goes to Killian’s office. It’s the day of Arthur Ruskin’s funeral, and Killian has a plan. He wants Sherman to wear a wire to try and get evidence from Maria that she was the one driving the car that hit Henry Lamb. Sherman is reluctant to go through with the plan and says that they shouldn’t do it at Arthur’s funeral. Killian says this is the only time that Sherman will be guaranteed to see Maria, and eventually Sherman agrees to wear the wire.
This passage shows the moral dilemma that Sherman faces when deciding to wear a wire or not, and the stakes of that dilemma are heightened because he’s planning to wear it to Arhtur’s funeral. In essence, Sherman has to decide whether he cares about Maria as a person or whether he is willing to betray her by resorting to underhanded means to try and prove he wasn’t driving the car during the hit-and-run. Eventually, Sherman decides on the latter, reinforcing the idea that Maria is only valuable to Sherman insofar as she can help prove that he wasn’t the one driving during the hit-and-run.
Active
Themes
Fallow also attends Arhtur’s funeral service. Fallow is put off by the sentimentality of the service, which he identifies as distinctly American. After the service is over, Fallow rushes toward the front to speak to Maria, but Sherman reaches Maria before him. While Fallow is standing directly behind Sherman, he hears Sherman ask her about the night they hit Henry Lamb with the car. Fallow can’t believe what he’s hearing. Maria doesn’t deny that she was with Sherman, which, for Fallow, amounts to confirmation that Maria is the unknown woman who was in the car with Sherman.
Fallow catches another lucky break in this scene when he overhears Sherman and Maria discussing the hit-and-run, confirming the lead Caroline gave Fallow that Maria was the unknown woman with Sherman at that time. It remains to be seen, though, whether Fallow will follow up that breakthrough with further investigative work that might lead him to discover that Maria was driving the car during the hit-and-run.
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Themes
Maria tells Sherman that she doesn’t want to talk about any of this at Arthur’s funeral, and Sherman rushes away. After Sherman leaves, Fallow speaks to Maria. He says that he was with Arthur when he died, and his death was not painful. Maria thanks Fallow for saying that, and Fallow says that he knows Maria was in the car with Sherman when they hit Henry Lamb. Maria rebukes Fallow for asking about that during Arthur’s funeral and tells Fallow to leave at once. Fallow leaves, and he’s ecstatic to have another exclusive story about the McCoy case.
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Themes
