# Oil! — Chapters explained

> Chapter companions for Oil! by Upton Sinclair.

- [Oil!](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/oil.md): The opening chapter introduces the Ross family and their move to California, where Bunny Ross begins to navigate the world of oil speculation, class dynamics, and family morality. The chapter sets the stage for the centr
- [I: The Ride](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/i-the-ride.md): J. Arnold Ross drives with his son Bunny through California, reflecting on his rise from teamster to oil operator. Bunny's mind wanders, observing nature, poverty, and the harshness of life. They stop at a filling statio
- [I](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/i.md): The chapter opens with a detailed description of a father and son driving along a perfectly paved concrete road. The father, Dad, is a methodical and disciplined driver who adheres to a strict speed of fifty miles per ho
- [II](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/ii.md): Bunny and Dad Ross drive through the Guadalupe Grade in a powerful roadster, with Dad rushing to meet Ben Skutt at the Imperial Hotel in Beach City. The chapter describes the landscape, the engineering marvel of the road
- [III](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/iii.md): Bunny and his father drive through fog and treacherous mountain roads, facing delays from weather and a speed trap. Dad's meticulous nature and defiance of authority are highlighted, as is his past confrontation with Jud
- [IV](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/iv.md): Dad and Bunny stop at a roadside filling station, where Dad tips generously and shares his philosophy of treating machinery with respect. They continue driving, encounter a speed cop chasing another car, and Dad accelera
- [V](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/v.md): Bunny Ross, at age thirteen, rides with his father J. Arnold Ross through the California landscape, observing the world with a child's curiosity and moral sensitivity. The chapter contrasts Bunny's imaginative, empatheti
- [VI](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/vi.md): Bunny and Dad Ross travel through Southern California, stopping in Santa Ynez for a meal. Dad discusses oil prospects and the local economy while Bunny observes the town's commercialism and speed traps.
- [VII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/vii.md): Bunny and his father drive through the rapidly developing Southern California landscape, observing the proliferation of subdivisions, real estate schemes, and roadside advertising. They arrive in Beach City for a busines
- [II: The Lease](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/ii-the-lease.md): Bunny Ross is heartbroken after Paul Watkins runs away, refusing his father's money. Meanwhile, J. Arnold Ross gives a persuasive speech to landowners about signing an oil lease on Prospect Hill, using threats of taking 
- [I](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/i.md): The chapter describes the transformation of a cabbage field on Los Robles Boulevard into a booming oil field after D. H. Culver's Prospect No. 1 strikes oil. The gusher erupts violently, drawing massive crowds and specul
- [II](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/ii.md): The chapter describes the diverse group of property owners gathering at the Groarty home to discuss an oil lease. Each character represents a different social and economic background, from the wealthy Walter Blacks to th
- [III](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/iii.md): A meeting of leaseholders descends into chaos as a last-minute legal complication is introduced by attorney F. T. Merriweather, representing corner-lot owners. The proposed change—that oil rights extend to the center of 
- [IV](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/iv.md): The chapter details the formation and subsequent collapse of a community agreement among property owners in an oil-rich block. The owners, driven by greed and suspicion, struggle to agree on a lease, leading to factional
- [V](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/v.md): The chapter depicts a tense community meeting where J. Arnold Ross and his lawyer, Alston D. Prentice, arrive to negotiate oil leases. The local landowners, including Miss Snypp, Mr. Hank, Mr. Sahm, and Mr. Golighty, arg
- [VI](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/vi.md): Mr. J. Arnold Ross addresses a community meeting at Prospect Hill, urging landowners to sign a unified lease with him rather than fall prey to speculators. He emphasizes his expertise, ready equipment, and the urgency of
- [VII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/vii.md): Bunny Ross attends a lease meeting with his father, observing the contentious negotiations among landowners. He is drawn away by a whispered plea from Paul Watkins, a runaway boy hiding outside, and cleverly unlocks the 
- [VIII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/viii.md): Bunny Ross meets Paul Watkins, a runaway from a strict religious family, in the woodshed behind Mrs. Groarty's house. They discuss faith, family, and poverty, and Bunny offers friendship and money, which Paul refuses. Th
- [IX](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/ix.md): After a chaotic meeting at Prospect Hill where a fight breaks out between Mr. Sahm and Mr. Hank, Bunny's father decides to leave and pursue another lease. Bunny desperately searches for Paul Watkins, whom he had just met
- [III: The Drilling](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/iii-the-drilling.md): Dad Ross teaches Bunny the oil business, emphasizing practical knowledge over book learning. The Ross family moves to a new town with grandmother and Aunt Emma, who pursue genteel hobbies. Meanwhile, the Bonanza Syndicat
- [I](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/i.md): A fleet of trucks carrying drilling equipment makes its way through Guadalupe Grade to deliver a rig for Dad Ross, who has signed a lease and is rushing to start drilling. The convoy navigates treacherous roads with horn
- [II](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/ii.md): Dad Ross takes Bunny on a business trip to Beach City, where he negotiates with lumber company president Mr. Ascott and bribes county road superintendent Mr. Benzinger to secure materials and road improvements for his oi
- [III](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/iii.md): Bunny Ross grapples with the moral implications of his encounter with Paul Watkins, resolving to live truthfully and becoming acutely aware of his own privilege. He interacts with Mrs. Groarty, learning more about Paul's
- [IV](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/iv.md): Bunny Ross assists his father, Dad Ross, in the final preparations and spudding in of the Ross-Bankside No. 1 oil well. The chapter details the construction of the derrick, the arrival of machinery, and the teamwork invo
- [V](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/v.md): The Ross family moves to a rented beachfront mansion. Bunny observes his grandmother's artistic pursuits and Aunt Emma's vanity. Dad's wealth enables the family's leisure and consumption, while Bunny's tutor, Mr. Eaton, 
- [VI](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/vi.md): Bunny learns the gritty details of oil drilling through his father's daily struggles with equipment failures, dangerous workers, and costly delays. Dad Ross frets over a 'twist-off' caused by foreman Dan Rossiger, a lost
- [VII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/vii.md): Bunny observes the boom-and-bust cycle of oil speculation through the Groarty family's failed investment in the Bonanza Syndicate, while his sister Bertie returns from finishing school with a disdain for oil and a snobbi
- [VIII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/viii.md): Dad and Bunny oversee the final drilling and successful completion of Ross-Bankside No. 1, which comes in as a gusher, transforming them into local celebrities and confirming the oil boom on the north slope. The chapter 
- [IV: The Ranch](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/iv-the-ranch.md): Bunny and Dad Ross discover oil on the Watkins ranch, leading Dad to buy the land cheaply while concealing its value. Bunny meets Ruth Watkins and learns of Paul's anger over the sale, deepening his moral conflict about 
- [I](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/i.md): Bunny visits his mother, Mrs. Lang, and navigates the complex web of secrets and deceptions surrounding his parents' separation, his mother's financial complaints, and the unspoken rules of adult relationships.
- [II](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/ii.md): Bunny persuades his father to help the struggling Watkins family by buying their mortgage, using the excuse of a quail-hunting trip to the San Elido valley. Meanwhile, Dad Ross expands his oil operations after bringing i
- [III](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/iii.md): Bunny and his father travel to the San Elido valley, crossing the desert and navigating rough roads to reach the Watkins ranch. They camp out, and Bunny is thrilled by the landscape and the encounter with a cowboy. They 
- [IV](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/iv.md): Dad and Bunny Ross camp on the Watkins ranch, where they meet the Watkins family. Dad skillfully navigates a tense religious conversation with Abel Watkins by claiming membership in a fictional church, then shares a meal
- [V](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/v.md): Bunny and Dad camp out in the cold, experiencing an earthquake that terrifies the Watkins family, who respond with fervent religious incantations. Bunny reflects on his father's moral code and the contrast between scient
- [VI](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/vi.md): Bunny and Dad go quail hunting, but Bunny's discovery of oil on the Watkins ranch sets off a moral dilemma about fairness and exploitation. Dad plans to buy the land cheaply, hiding the oil's value, while Bunny wrestles 
- [VII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/vii.md): Bunny meets Ruth Watkins, Paul's sister, while she tends goats. He shares news of Paul and reveals he sent anonymous money to the family. Bunny struggles with guilt over his mixed motives—helping the Watkinses versus pur
- [VIII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/viii.md): Dad Ross buys the Watkins ranch through a combination of financial pressure and religious manipulation, then proceeds to Paradise to enlist local real estate agent Mr. Hardacre to secretly acquire extensive land options,
- [IX](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/ix.md): Bunny and Dad Ross return to camp, encountering Paul Watkins on the road without recognizing him. Later, Bunny learns from Ruth that Paul had visited, angry about the sale of the ranch and suspicious of Dad's oil interes
- [V: The Revelation](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/v-the-revelation.md): Bunny navigates high school and his father's wealth amid World War I, grappling with Dad's double standards on morality and business. A trip to Paradise reunites him with Paul Watkins, now a mature, educated young man es
- [I](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/i.md): Bunny Ross begins high school in Beach City, navigating the social hierarchies of the education-factory while balancing his father's pragmatic warnings about money, smoking, drinking, and women. He falls in love with the
- [II](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/ii.md): Dad Ross continues to expand his oil operations, with six wells at Lobos River, four more drilling, and a pipeline flowing wealth. He has become the biggest independent operator in the Prospect Hill field, but refuses to
- [III](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/iii.md): As World War I rages in Europe, Bunny and his father Dad Ross observe the conflict from peaceful, prosperous California, where Dad profits by selling oil to both sides. During Christmas holidays, they go quail hunting at
- [IV](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/iv.md): Bunny and Dad visit the Watkins family home, witnessing their extreme poverty. Dad attempts to introduce the idea of a Third Revelation, suggesting that the Watkins' eldest son Paul might be its bearer. This provokes a f
- [V](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/v.md): On Sunday, Dad and Bunny explore their newly purchased land, encountering the Watkins family at church and Eli's fiery preaching. Bunny proposes a plan for Ruth to live on the Rascum ranch with Paul, but Ruth fears her f
- [VI](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/vi.md): Dad and Bunny visit the Rascum ranch, where they find Paul Watkins has reunited with his sister Ruth. Paul and Dad negotiate a sharecropping arrangement, and Paul shares his scientific knowledge and plans for self-educat
- [VII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/vii.md): Bunny and Dad Ross negotiate the purchase of the Bandy ranch for oil drilling, while Bunny worries about the ethical implications of drilling on the Watkins property. Dad skillfully acquires the land and later, upon hear
- [VI: The Wildcat](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/vi-the-wildcat.md): Bunny and Dad celebrate the Paradise well catching fire, realizing it signals a massive oil strike. Dad hires Paul Watkins to build a modern bunkhouse with amenities, reflecting Bunny's reformist ideals. Dad manipulates 
- [I](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/i.md): Dad Ross decides to drill the Ross Junior-Paradise No. 1 well on the Watkins ranch, hiring a geologist and a water-well contractor. He then visits Mr. Carey, a county supervisor, to secure road improvements, offering an 
- [II](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/ii.md): Dad Ross negotiates a corrupt deal with political boss Jake Coffey to secure a road to the Paradise tract for oil drilling, explaining to Bunny the realities of how business and government actually operate behind the sce
- [III](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/iii.md): Dad Ross plans living quarters for the oil crew, starting with a bunkhouse, and convinces Paul Watkins to work as a carpenter for five dollars a day instead of farming. Dad and Bunny buy supplies in Roseville, where Dad 
- [IV](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/iv.md): Bunny returns to school after visiting his mother, who is divorcing her second husband and hints at wanting to reunite with Dad. Bunny learns from his sister Bertie about their mother's past abandonment of Dad, which dro
- [V](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/v.md): The Ross family's new road and bunkhouse are completed, and Paul Watkins works on the derrick. Bunny Ross is allowed to skip school to start the drilling of the Ross Junior-Paradise Number One well. At the ceremony, Eli 
- [VI](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/vi.md): Bunny and Dad Ross deal with a tragic accident at the oil well when a roughneck named Joe Gundha falls into the hole and drowns. Dad retrieves the body and gives Bunny the dead man's letters from his family, which deeply
- [VII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/vii.md): Bunny and Dad Ross rush to Paradise after learning that Excelsior Pete's well has struck a gusher. Amidst the excitement, Bunny's own well hits oil sands just before Christmas, leading to frantic preparations to secure t
- [VIII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/viii.md): Bunny's wildcat well comes in spectacularly, erupting oil and then catching fire. The crew works desperately to extinguish the blaze with dynamite, ultimately succeeding. Dad reassures Bunny that the well is a success an
- [VII: The Strike](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/vii-the-strike.md): Bunny Ross grapples with the realities of class conflict as a strike looms in the Paradise oil field. His father, Dad Ross, is bound by the Employers' Federation and unable to meet workers' demands for an eight-hour day 
- [I](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/i.md): A year has passed in Paradise, now transformed by the oil boom. Bunny Ross, nearly eighteen, grapples with the responsibilities of inherited wealth and the practical realities of the oil industry, contrasting the idealis
- [II](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/ii.md): Bunny Ross spends his Christmas holidays at Paradise and becomes embroiled in a debate about labor unions when Paul Watkins reveals he has joined the carpenters' union. Bunny and Paul discuss the issue with Dad Ross, who
- [III](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/iii.md): Bunny learns from his father, J. Arnold Ross, about a secret meeting of the Petroleum Employers' Federation where the 'Big Five' and their allies, including Ben Skutt, steamroll opposition to union demands. Dad explains 
- [IV](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/iv.md): Bunny Ross confronts the harsh realities of the oil strike, grappling with the conflict between his ideals and the practical demands of protecting family property. He questions his father about the necessity of hired gua
- [V](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/v.md): Bunny visits the Watkins family and learns about Paul's commitment to the striking oil workers. Paul has resigned from his job to help the strikers, while Bunny struggles with his own conflicted loyalties. He attends a u
- [VI](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/vi.md): Bunny faces family conflict over the oil strike, as his sister Bertie and Aunt Emma criticize his sympathy for the workers and his friendship with Paul and Ruth Watkins. The chapter contrasts the family's wealth-driven l
- [VII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/vii.md): Bunny grapples with the moral and economic turmoil of the oil strike, witnessing the suffering of workers and their families while his father pressures them to end the strike. The chapter contrasts the national excitemen
- [VIII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/viii.md): Bunny spends time helping Ruth and Meelie Watkins with strike relief work, but is confronted by Paul Watkins who warns him to stay away from Ruth and accuses him of being a weakling for not opposing his father's role in 
- [IX](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/ix.md): Bunny returns to school as America enters World War I. Congress passes measures for a liberty loan and military draft. Rumors of a truce with labor emerge, particularly regarding railway workers, and the federal governme
- [VIII: The War](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/viii-the-war.md): Bunny struggles with his intense and manipulative relationship with Eunice Hoyt, a wealthy and sexually forward girl, while visiting his father in Paradise and witnessing Paul Watkins's disillusionment with army life. Th
- [I](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/i.md): Bunny Ross, a serious young man, is pursued by Eunice Hoyt, a sharp and impatient girl from a troubled home. After winning a school race, she insists on taking him for a drive. They have supper at a scenic café, then par
- [II](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/ii.md): Bunny Ross is initiated into adult life through his relationship with Eunice Hoyt, exploring new ideas about love, sex, and morality. He stays out late, causing concern from his family, while his sister Bertie hints at h
- [III](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/iii.md): As America enters World War I, Bunny Ross experiences the mingling of patriotic fervor and sexual excitement. He drills at school, absorbs propaganda about the 'War to End War,' and debates with his pragmatic father, who
- [IV](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/iv.md): At Paradise, oil production booms with all men back at work, including blacklisted ones, and 'four minute men' promote patriotism. Paul Watkins is drafted despite Dad Ross's offer to exempt him, leading to tension with B
- [V](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/v.md): Bunny's summer is torn between his wartime oil work and his intense, demanding relationship with Eunice Hoyt. Eunice resents his devotion to the oil fields, calling him a 'little oil gnome,' and pressures him to join her
- [VI](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/vi.md): Bunny visits Paradise and finds Paul on furlough, contrasting military pay with war profits. He struggles with his obsession for Eunice and his moral conflict, feeling unable to confess to Paul.
- [VII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/vii.md): Bunny returns home late in the first rain of the season to find Eunice experimenting with mental telepathy. She eagerly pulls him into an affair, dismissing concerns about her mother, servants, or social norms. Bunny sug
- [VIII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/viii.md): Bunny and his father discuss the Russian Revolution and its implications for World War I, leading to a sobering realization about idealism and Bunny's decision to focus on his studies before joining the war effort.
- [IX](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/ix.md): Bunny tries to enlist Eunice in his serious mission to save civilization, but she is distracted by frivolous social concerns and the attentions of Billy Chalmers. Their relationship suffers through a cycle of conflict an
- [IX: The Victory](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/ix-the-victory.md): Bunny finishes his first term of school and goes on a family excursion to visit Paul at an army cantonment. He discusses college with Dad, who reluctantly accepts Bunny's desire for more education. During the visit, Paul
- [I](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/i.md): Bunny finishes his first school term and Dad organizes a family excursion to visit Paul at a military cantonment. During the visit, Dad and Paul engage in a heated debate about the Russian Revolution and Bolsheviks, reve
- [II](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/ii.md): The family attends a revival meeting led by Eli Watkins, where he preaches against the Hun and performs baptisms. Bunny anticipates summer camp life, while Eli claims his prayers caused rain to save the British in the Ba
- [III](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/iii.md): Bunny encounters Nina Goodrich, a classmate, and they go swimming and have supper together. Later, they drive to a secluded beach where Nina makes romantic advances, but Bunny hesitates out of loyalty to her absent boyfr
- [IV](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/iv.md): Amidst the massive German offensives in Flanders and the Aisne-Oise, the first American troops prove their mettle at Belleau Wood, sparking exultation at home. Bunny faces a pivotal decision: stay and help his father wit
- [V](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/v.md): Bunny and Dad visit Paradise and learn that Paul is expected home for a furlough before being shipped to Vladivostok, Siberia, as part of the Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War. The chapter explains the geopoli
- [VI](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/vi.md): Bunny returns to Beach City and faces a trial with Grandma, who locks herself in her studio after learning of his enlistment. She warns him he is a victim of old men's crimes. After her death, Bunny attends her funeral, 
- [VII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/vii.md): Bunny returns home on furlough to find that his father has moved the family to a lavish mansion in Angel City. Dad Ross and Mr. Roscoe are finalizing the creation of Ross Consolidated, a massive oil corporation. Dad expl
- [VIII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/viii.md): Bunny Ross, training as an officer in World War I, follows the Allied advance in France while anxiously awaiting news from Paul Watkins, who is serving in Siberia. Bunny reassures Paul's mother Ruth that no news is good 
- [IX](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/ix.md): Bunny experiences the false armistice celebration and the real end of World War I, then returns home to learn about the success of Ross Consolidated and his father's plans for his future in the oil business.
- [Chapter X](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/x.md): Bunny and Dad visit Paradise and find Ruth Watkins deeply worried about Paul, who has been missing for five months. Dad uses his political connections to inquire about Paul through the War Department, and they learn Paul
- [XI](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/xi.md): Bunny tells Dad he wants to go to college instead of joining the oil business. Dad is disappointed and fears college will make Bunny lose interest in oil and become an impractical idealist, but Bunny insists he can live 
- [X: The University](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/x-the-university.md): Bunny Ross, now a university student, becomes increasingly radicalized under the influence of instructor Daniel Webster Irving, while his father grows suspicious of his son's political leanings. Bunny attempts to bridge 
- [I](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/i.md): Bunny Ross enrolls at Southern Pacific University, a Methodist institution funded by oil money and political corruption. His father visits and is reassured by the university's respectable appearance and the savvy Preside
- [II](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/ii.md): Bunny Ross enters Southern Pacific University, where his wealth and status as heir to the Paradise oil field make him a target of social attention. He is quickly recruited into a prestigious fraternity and becomes the su
- [III](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/iii.md): Bunny returns to Paradise for Christmas and receives Paul's first, heavily censored letter from Siberia. Dad explains the geopolitical situation: the Allies are backing Admiral Kolchak against the Bolsheviks, and censors
- [IV](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/iv.md): Bunny grapples with the disillusionment of post-war politics as the Treaty of Versailles perpetuates old injustices, and he struggles to explain the Allied occupation of Siberia to Ruth Watkins. A letter from a soldier r
- [V](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/v.md): Bunny, worried about Paul Watkins in Siberia, writes to his congressman about the U.S. military presence there. A suspicious visitor feigns interest in an oil concession, leading to Paul's imprisonment and a bitter lette
- [VI](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/vi.md): Bunny Ross, influenced by his instructor Daniel Webster Irving, begins to question American intervention in Siberia and the Russian Revolution. He writes a letter to the student newspaper expressing his views, which is r
- [VII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/vii.md): Dad Ross, concerned about Bunny's idealistic turn, suspects university influence and probes his son's mind. Bunny, anticipating exposure of his friendship with Daniel Webster Irving, arranges for Irving to visit the oil 
- [VIII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/viii.md): Bunny and Daniel Webster Irving arrive at Paradise, where Dad Ross proudly shows off the oil refinery and introduces Irving as 'the professor.' They discuss world affairs, oil politics, and the need for a business-minded
- [IX](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/ix.md): Bunny spends the summer socializing and studying international affairs, attending a fashionable mountain camp with his sister Bertie. There he meets Eldon Burdick, a patriotic military-minded suitor of Bertie, and they d
- [Chapter X](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/x.md): Bunny visits Henrietta Ashleigh at her beach home, but fails to convince her of his Bolshevik sympathies. He then meets with Mr. Irving, who shares a Socialist article detailing the dire conditions in Russia and the atro
- [XI](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/xi.md): Bunny learns of the impending return of American troops from Siberia, signaling Paul Watkins's possible return. The chapter details the global political situation: the Bolsheviks' resilience, the failure of Allied interv
- [XI: The Rebel](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/xi-the-rebel.md): Bunny Ross, a wealthy student at Southern Pacific University, defies social norms by associating with outcasts like Peter Nagle, Gregor Nikolaieff, and Rachel Menzies. He tries to bridge class divides but faces criticism
- [I](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/i.md): Bunny Ross navigates the social and ideological divisions at Southern Pacific University, caught between his wealthy background and his attraction to radical ideas and marginalized students like Rachel Menzies, Peter Nag
- [II](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/ii.md): Bunny Ross, supported by Billy George, attempts to form a student group to discuss Russian problems but faces reluctance from Mr. Irving and internal disagreements. Rachel Menzies proposes starting a student newspaper, b
- [III](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/iii.md): Paul Watkins returns from Siberia and reveals to Bunny and Ruth that his deployment was not to fight the Kaiser but to serve as a strikebreaker for Wall Street bankers, protecting supplies bought by Morgan and Company an
- [IV](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/iv.md): Paul Watkins explains the Russian Revolution to Bunny Ross, drawing parallels between the oil strike at Paradise and the larger forces of capitalism and imperialism. He recounts horrific atrocities he witnessed in Siberi
- [V](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/v.md): Bunny struggles to reconcile his upbringing with Paul's firsthand account of the Bolsheviks, who Paul describes as dedicated educators and workers fighting for justice, not the monsters portrayed in the press. Paul refut
- [VI](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/vi.md): Bunny's meeting with Paul Watkins revolutionizes his worldview, as Paul explains the success of the Russian Revolution and the idea of workers taking over industries. Bunny shows Paul the oil fields and refinery, and his
- [VII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/vii.md): Bunny returns to the university, electrified by new revolutionary ideas, and becomes a center of Soviet propaganda among his classmates. He introduces his father to Harry Seager, a former YMCA worker who witnessed atroci
- [VIII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/viii.md): Bunny and his fellow student radicals publish a newspaper called The Investigator, which exposes corruption and promotes socialist ideas. The paper causes a campus uproar, leading to the dean confiscating copies and the 
- [IX](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/ix.md): A bomb explosion on Wall Street triggers a nationwide witch-hunt for Bolsheviks, and the local press seizes the opportunity to link the incident to Harry Seager and the radical activities at Southern Pacific University, 
- [Chapter X](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/x.md): Bunny Ross confronts university president Dr. Cowper to prevent the deportation of Rachel Menzies' father, a socialist, amid a Red Scare crackdown at Southern Pacific University. Bunny defends his friend Paul Watkins and
- [XI](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/xi.md): Bunny faces the aftermath of the scandal, including a painful interview with Henrietta Ashleigh, family reactions from Aunt Emma and Bertie, and the quiet support of his father. He learns that Mr. Daniel Webster Irving h
- [XII: The Siren](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/xii-the-siren.md): Bunny finishes his second year at Southern Pacific, disillusioned with the institution's dull courses and lack of original thinking. He debates returning, finding more freedom at Paradise where Paul Watkins has returned 
- [I](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/i.md): Bunny Ross, finishing his second year at Southern Pacific, grows disillusioned with formal education and becomes increasingly drawn to the radical labor ideas of Paul Watkins and his circle. He struggles with the conflic
- [II](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/ii.md): Bunny spends his Easter holidays at Paradise, where Vernon Roscoe visits. The extreme desert heat is a central experience, and Roscoe's boisterous, crude personality contrasts with Bunny's more reserved demeanor. Roscoe 
- [III](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/iii.md): Vernon Roscoe visits the Ross home in the desert, where he discusses a corrupt scheme with Dad Ross to secure oil rights on government land by influencing the Harding administration. Bunny observes the conversation and l
- [IV](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/iv.md): Vernon Roscoe, after a hearty dinner, advises Bunny Ross to lighten up and find a girl, offering to introduce him to Annabelle Ames and promising a good time at his country place. Bunny politely declines due to college, 
- [V](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/v.md): Bunny confronts his father about the plan to fund a presidential candidate, leading to a heated discussion about the necessity of political influence in the oil business. Dad Ross explains the pressures of monopolistic c
- [VI](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/vi.md): Bunny returns to Southern Pacific and observes the Republican convention where Vernon Roscoe orchestrates Harding's nomination. His college friends scatter to work, leaving Bunny idle and disillusioned with a world divid
- [VII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/vii.md): Bertie Ross, having broken off her affair with Eldon Burdick, drags her brother Bunny into the high-society world of Charlie Norman, heir to Occidental Steel. Bunny reluctantly joins a lavish yacht party aboard the Siren
- [VIII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/viii.md): Bunny, while on a yacht, reads about the Volga famine and reflects on differing perspectives regarding its causes, contrasting newspaper editorials blaming Communism with Harry Seager's view that droughts and historical 
- [IX](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/ix.md): Bunny and Mrs. Norman converse on the deck of the Siren, discussing Bunny's life, family, and the Ross oil tract. Mrs. Norman reveals her Theosophist beliefs, comments on Bunny's golden aura, and laments her unhappy marr
- [X](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/x.md): Bunny Ross resists the seduction of Mrs. Norman (Thelma) aboard a yacht, reflecting on the temptations of wealth and the moral choices that define character. He later discusses the incident with Bertie, who assumes he ha
- [XI](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/xi.md): The chapter details the economic panic and its impact on the Ross family and their business. Dad Ross and Vernon Roscoe struggle to protect their assets from the 'Big Five' banks, while Eli Watkins reappears seeking fina
- [XII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/xii.md): Bunny confronts his father about money, revealing that Daniel Webster Irving is blacklisted from teaching due to his radical views. Bunny proposes using funds to start a labor college, but Dad is skeptical, seeing it as 
- [XIII: The Monastery](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/xiii-the-monastery.md): Bunny Ross grapples with the ideological divides within the labor movement, attending a Socialist local meeting with the Menzies family and later dining with film stars at the Monastery, where he encounters the sharp-ton
- [I](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/i.md): Bunny Ross grapples with the ideological divide within the labor movement, particularly the impact of the Russian Revolution on Southern California radicals, as exemplified by the Menzies family's internal conflicts.
- [II](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/ii.md): Bunny receives a letter from Rachel Menzies inviting him to a Socialist local meeting. He takes the Menzies family to dinner before the meeting, where he observes their working-class dignity and internal political confli
- [III](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/iii.md): Bunny Ross receives an invitation from Vernon Roscoe to visit his country estate, the Monastery, where he meets Annabelle Ames, a famous movie actress and Roscoe's mistress, as well as Harvey Manning, a friend from an ol
- [IV](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/iv.md): Bunny observes that Annabelle Ames, a movie star, has a literal mind and treats filmmaking as a business, much like Vernon Roscoe treats oil. She is a pious Catholic, superstitious, and genuinely kind, while also being t
- [V](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/v.md): Bunny Ross visits the lavish country estate of Vernon Roscoe, where he is given a tour by Harvey Manning and observes the opulent lifestyle of the wealthy. He meets various guests, including Annabelle Ames, Perry Duchane
- [VI](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/vi.md): Bunny Ross meets Viola Tracy, a movie star known for her fighting roles and sharp tongue, at a dinner in the Monastery. Their conversation reveals the harsh realities behind Hollywood glamour, including strict diets and 
- [VII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/vii.md): At a dinner party, the conversation inevitably turns to Prohibition, revealing the indignities and absurdities faced by the leisure class. The guests share stories about bootleggers and the scandal involving Koski, a mov
- [VIII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/viii.md): The chapter depicts a gathering at the Monastery where guests watch a screening of Annabelle Ames' new film, 'Pangs of Passion.' The evening is filled with cynical commentary on the movie industry, heavy drinking facilit
- [IX](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/ix.md): At a Hollywood party in a cathedral-like setting with a self-playing organ, Bunny dances with Vee Tracy and Bessie Barrie. He is approached by Tommy Paley, who drunkenly asks about the meaning of life and sex, and by Har
- [X](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/x.md): Bunny, now twenty-one, spends a reflective Sunday alone at the Monastery, exploring the coastal landscape. He encounters a Rhine castle with gardens full of shrouded marble statues, swims in the ocean, and observes the s
- [XI](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/xi.md): Bunny Ross, swimming nude at the beach, encounters Vee Tracy on horseback. She challenges him to a race, and he runs naked along the shore, embracing a pagan, Greek-inspired freedom. The chapter explores themes of social
- [XII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/xii.md): Bunny and Vee Tracy walk along the beach after her Greek costume prank. Vee recounts the scandalous story of Tessie Thatcher, the wealthy widow of 'Happy Hank' Thatcher, who lives in a castle-like estate, fights legal ba
- [XIV: The Star](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/xiv-the-star.md): Bunny returns to Angel City and becomes entangled in the struggles of the labor college and the oil workers' union. He hears Vee Tracy's candid account of her past in the film industry, confronting the harsh realities of
- [I](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/i.md): Bunny returns to Angel City and becomes involved with a labor college, facing the challenges of internal union politics, radicalism, and the fear of Bolshevism within the labor movement.
- [II](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/ii.md): Bunny Ross becomes entangled in the labor struggles of the oil fields, witnessing the persecution of Socialists and I.W.W. members under California's criminal syndicalism act. He confronts the hypocrisy of Ross Consolida
- [III](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/iii.md): Bunny Ross escapes his troubles by visiting the Monastery, a beautiful playground where he spends time with Vee Tracy. They ride horses, swim, and Vee shares wild Hollywood stories. Bunny becomes infatuated with her, and
- [IV](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/iv.md): On the beach, Vee Tracy candidly reveals her past struggles and the compromises she made to succeed in the film industry, including trading sexual favors for career advancement. She explains her cynicism about love and h
- [V](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/v.md): Bunny reflects on his privileged life compared to Vee's struggles, and their romantic relationship deepens during a dance at the Monastery. They share a passionate embrace and agree to a truthful, non-possessive relation
- [VI](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/vi.md): Bunny and Vee's relationship becomes public knowledge, bringing joy and celebration to the Monastery. Bunny's father, Dad Ross, approves of Vee, seeing her as a successful movie star and a good match. Bertie meets Vee an
- [VII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/vii.md): Bunny visits the Menzies family to persuade them not to let Rachel give up her education due to the clothing workers' strike. He offers financial help from his father, but Rachel initially refuses out of class-consciousn
- [VIII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/viii.md): Bunny returns to Southern Pacific, balancing his life as a wealthy student with his involvement in radical politics and his relationship with Vee Tracy, who is secretly starring in a film about the Russian Revolution. Me
- [IX](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/ix.md): Bunny takes on the task of securing bail for Chaim Menzies, a socialist agitator arrested during a strike. He consults his father's lawyer, visits the jail, and confronts the corrupt and squalid conditions of the Angel C
- [Chapter X](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/x.md): Bunny and his father intervene to secure the release of Chaim Menzies, a Jewish socialist facing deportation, through bribery and political connections, highlighting the corruption and power dynamics of the oil industry.
- [XI](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/xi.md): Dad Ross instructs Vee Tracy to take over managing Bunny's life to keep him away from socialist activities. Vee, already in love with Bunny, becomes his constant companion, and their romance deepens as Bunny abandons his
- [XII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/xii.md): Vee Tracy's new film 'The Devil's Deputy' premieres at Gloobry's Million Dollar Melanesian Theatre, with Bunny Ross as her public escort. The chapter describes the lavish spectacle of the premiere, the media frenzy aroun
- [XIII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/xiii.md): Bunny watches a propaganda film called 'The Devil's Deputy' starring Vee Tracy, which portrays a romanticized and anti-Bolshevik version of Russia. He recognizes the gestures and kisses rehearsed on him, and he comforts 
- [XIV](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/xiv.md): At the premiere of Vee Tracy's new film, Bunny Ross encounters his socialist classmate Rachel Menzies, who condemns the film as war propaganda. Vee Tracy slaps Rachel after her harsh criticism, and Bunny quickly pulls Ve
- [XV](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/xv.md): Bunny and Vee argue after Vee insults a Jewish clothing worker's daughter at a premiere. Vee breaks down, fearing their love will be destroyed by class conflict. They reconcile, but Vee insists the girl is in love with B
- [XVI](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/xvi.md): Bunny Ross encounters Rachel Menzies on campus, who apologizes for her earlier outburst but remains fiercely critical of Vee Tracy's role in a propaganda film about Russia. Rachel argues that the film is part of the 'whi
- [XV: The Vacation](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/xv-the-vacation.md): Bunny confronts Vernon Roscoe about a new wage cut, but Roscoe dismisses him with threats and boasts of buying labor leaders and politicians. Dad and Vee plan a vacation in Canada to keep Bunny away from the impending st
- [I](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/i.md): Bunny observes his father and Mr. Roscoe's involvement in the 1920 presidential campaign, where oil men manipulate public opinion and finance the election of Senator Harding through a massive propaganda machine. The chap
- [II](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/ii.md): Bunny grapples with his conscience after learning about the brutal treatment of striking oil workers, including his friend Eddie Piatt, who are jailed by the sheriff. He gives Ruth money for food but feels trapped by his
- [III](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/iii.md): Bunny Ross, now among the oil industry's elite, confronts Vernon Roscoe about a new wage scale that cuts workers' pay by 10 percent. Roscoe dismisses Bunny's concerns, revealing he monitors labor activists and can buy of
- [IV](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/iv.md): Bunny is pressured by Vernon Roscoe, Annabelle, and his father to leave for New York with Vee Tracy, ostensibly for a vacation and a business conference, but really to get him away from the impending oil strike. Bunny re
- [V](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/v.md): Bunny and Vee travel openly as a couple, following the example of Verne and Annabelle, with Dad Ross's approval and financial support. They enjoy the luxuries of wealth and fame in New York, attending a movie premiere. M
- [VI](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/vi.md): Bunny is on holiday in New York with his father and Vee Tracy, struggling to balance his desire for intellectual and political engagement with Vee's demands for constant entertainment and attention. He visits his mother,
- [VII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/vii.md): Dad Ross reveals to Bunny that he is in the East to set up a Canadian corporation for the purpose of legally bribing government officials to secure naval reserve oil leases, with the help of a top lawyer and connections 
- [VIII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/viii.md): Bunny learns of Paul Watkins' arrest on suspicion of criminal syndicalism and is torn between his desire to help and his vacation with Vee. Vee offers to secretly arrange bail through her connections, and Bunny grapples 
- [IX](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/ix.md): Bunny and Vee retreat to a luxury camp on a lake, but Bunny's guilt over the ongoing oil strike and Paul's imprisonment creates tension. Vee resists his radical sympathies, and Bunny realizes he cannot convert her. Ruth'
- [Chapter X](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/x.md): Bunny studies for his fall examinations with the help of a young Harvard instructor, Mr. Appleton Laurence, while Vee flirts with the tutor to practice her acting skills. Dad approves of the arrangement as a practical us
- [XI](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/xi.md): The strike ends, and the group returns west. Vee Tracy receives the script for a new film, 'The Princess of Patchouli,' and throws herself into rehearsals with intense energy, using Bunny and Appleton Laurence as stand-i
- [XVI: The Killing](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/xvi-the-killing.md): Bunny Ross struggles with his father's world of oil wealth and corruption, encountering an old rancher named Carberry who has been defrauded by Vernon Roscoe. Bunny's relationship with Vee Tracy becomes strained over his
- [I](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/i.md): Bunny passes his examinations and returns to find his friends in crisis: the Menzies brothers are jailed for Communist activities, Harry Seager's business college is failing, Dan Irving's labor college is in debt, and Pa
- [II](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/ii.md): Bunny visits Paul and Ruth in a dingy lodging-house. Ruth explains Paul's arrests and the ongoing legal troubles. Bunny offers financial help but is refused, and leaves feeling guilty about his own wealth derived from th
- [III](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/iii.md): Bunny Ross becomes disillusioned with the corruption he uncovers at Southern Pacific University, where the oil wealth of Pete O'Reilly has turned college athletics into a commercialized swindle, with bought athletes, far
- [IV](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/iv.md): Bunny Ross confronts his father and Vernon Roscoe over the prosecution of eight oil workers for criminal syndicalism. He threatens to testify for the defense and expose Roscoe's use of spies, while also appealing to Anna
- [V](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/v.md): Bunny and Vee's relationship strains under the pressure of their diverging interests and values. Vee is consumed by her Hollywood career and social connections, while Bunny becomes increasingly drawn to socialist ideas a
- [VI](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/vi.md): Bunny and his father visit the O'Reilly estate, where Dad negotiates with Old Pete O'Reilly about new oil leases. Bunny observes the opulent lifestyle of the O'Reillys and meets their daughter Patricia. Dr. Cowper questi
- [VII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/vii.md): Bunny receives a call from Bertie, who has undergone an operation for appendicitis, but reveals it was actually an abortion. She explains she deliberately became pregnant to trap Charlie Norman into marriage, but he refu
- [VIII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/viii.md): Bunny learns that the Navy Department has ousted a small company drilling on the Sunnyside naval reserve and sent in marines, a move that worries Dad and Verne. They plant propaganda to justify turning the reserves over 
- [IX](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/ix.md): Bunny Ross attends the trial of Joe and Ikey Menzies, members of the Workers' party, where the prosecution calls a surprise witness: Ben Skutt, Bunny's childhood friend, who has infiltrated the party and testifies about 
- [Chapter X](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/x.md): Bunny accompanies his father to Sunnyside to inspect new oil fields, but instead of feeling pride in the family's success, he becomes troubled by the plight of an old rancher named Carberry, who has been defrauded of his
- [XVII: The Exposure](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/xvii-the-exposure.md): Bunny Ross visits the jailed radical oil workers and is deeply moved by their plight. He pressures his father and Vernon Roscoe to secure their release, threatening to speak at a protest meeting and involve Annabelle. Ro
- [I](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/i.md): Bunny Ross, now a young oil prince, reluctantly returns to Paradise and is confronted by the wife of a jailed worker. He visits the county jail, where he sees the brutal conditions of imprisoned men who dared to dream of
- [II](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/ii.md): Bunny Ross, desperate and frustrated with the delay in freeing political prisoners, confronts his father and issues an ultimatum to Vernon Roscoe. He threatens to speak at a radical protest meeting and involve Annabelle 
- [III](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/iii.md): Bunny brings news of Paul's release to Paul and Ruth, but Paul reveals his decision to join the Workers' party and openly embrace Communism, arguing that only revolution can break the stranglehold of capitalist power rep
- [IV](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/iv.md): Bunny Ross struggles with his relationship with Vee Tracy as she becomes increasingly suspicious of his radical connections, particularly his association with journalist Daniel Webster Irving. Meanwhile, Bunny's sister A
- [V](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/v.md): Bunny observes that Eli Watkins, now a prophet of the Third Revelation, is the only perfectly successful and happy person he knows. Eli has built a grand tabernacle in Angel City with funding from banker Mark Eisenberg, 
- [VI](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/vi.md): Bunny receives a letter from Dan Irving detailing widespread corruption in the Harding administration, including the 'Ohio gang' looting government funds and the suppression of scandals by major newspapers. Bunny shares 
- [VII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/vii.md): Bunny feels uncomfortable attending the Monastery due to political tensions, but Vee insists he continue. At a dinner party, Bunny witnesses the denunciation of 'reds' and 'insurgent' senators, and hears about violent at
- [VIII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/viii.md): Bunny attends Young People's Socialist League meetings with Rachel, where he witnesses the ideological struggle between Socialists and Communists. He is torn between Paul Watkins' radicalism and Rachel's moderation, and 
- [IX](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/ix.md): Bunny attempts to reconcile his friends Rachel Menzies and Paul Watkins, but their ideological differences—Socialist vs. Communist—create tension. A debate unfolds over revolution, morality, and the role of the working c
- [Chapter X](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/x.md): Bunny tells his father he wants to leave home, take a new name, and work as a laborer in a big industry to understand working people. Dad is distressed, but Bunny explains he cannot be happy in the oil business and must 
- [XI](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/xi.md): Bunny's plans to leave with Gregor Nikolaieff are derailed when Dad falls severely ill with the flu, forcing Bunny to stay home and confront his guilt. After Dad recovers, he proposes a compromise: a monthly allowance of
- [XVIII: The Flight](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/xviii-the-flight.md): Bunny enjoys editing The Young Student with Rachel, while Vee works on a film. Dad recovers from illness but is troubled by the oil lease investigation. The family flees to Europe via Canada, where Bunny learns Paul Watk
- [I](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/i.md): In the summer of 1923, Bunny enjoys editing his socialist paper 'The Young Student' with Rachel Menzies, while his father recovers from illness and manages his oil business from home. Bunny's relationship with Vee Tracy 
- [II](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/ii.md): Bunny takes Dad for slow strolls to divert his mind from business, and they often hear Eli Watkins preach. Dad delights in the rivalry between Eli and Tom Poober, who exposes Eli's alleged frauds and orgiastic rituals. O
- [III](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/iii.md): President Harding dies, and Dan Irving shares Washington gossip with Bunny about the oil men's corruption, including Barney Brockway's 'fixing' and the discovery of liberty bonds by Harding's widow. The new president, Co
- [IV](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/iv.md): Bunny receives urgent instructions from his father to evade arrest and flee to Canada after their oil dealings come under Senate investigation. He successfully shakes off a tail, buys a car under an assumed name, and pic
- [V](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/v.md): Bunny and his father travel to Vancouver in a snowstorm, then cross Canada by train and board a steamer to Europe. Dad is in exile due to the oil scandal, and Bunny accompanies him. They plan to meet Verne in London and 
- [VI](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/vi.md): Dad Ross travels to London to meet Vernon Roscoe, who is evading a Senate oil investigation. Roscoe boasts about his international oil deals, including a project in Romania and conflicts with British oil magnates. Bunny 
- [VII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/vii.md): Bunny, traveling in England, becomes deeply involved in the British labor movement and radical politics, much to the dismay of his sister Bertie. He corresponds with Rachel Menzies about her editorial work for The Young 
- [VIII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/viii.md): Bunny takes his ailing father, Dad Ross, from London to Paris and then to the Riviera for his health. Dad is bored and contemptuous of European high society, preferring to spend time with other displaced American busines
- [IX](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/ix.md): The Ross family returns to Paris, where Dad enjoys the city's social scene and encounters Annabelle Ames, who discusses Verne's international oil dealings and the ongoing oil scandals. Bunny receives news from home about
- [Chapter X](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/x.md): Bunny and his father are in Paris, where Aunt Emma marries a Nebraska hardware merchant. Dad Ross becomes involved with Spiritualism through Mrs. Olivier, attending séances where he believes he communicates with his dece
- [XI](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/xi.md): The chapter details the mysterious disappearance of Eli Watkins, who is believed drowned after going swimming at the beach. As the search for his body unfolds, rumors emerge that he may have staged his own disappearance 
- [XIX: The Penalty](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/xix-the-penalty.md): Bunny Ross, now a millionaire after his father's wedding gift of stock, travels back to America. He receives news of his father's sudden illness and death from double pneumonia, experiencing deep remorse and grief. The c
- [I](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/i.md): Bunny Ross travels to Paris to meet Viola Tracy, the American star of Schmolsky's film 'La Couche d'Or.' They enjoy a second honeymoon as they tour Europe for premieres in Paris, Berlin, and Vienna, accompanied by Dad Ro
- [II](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/ii.md): Bunny Ross, on a second honeymoon in Europe, encounters a tortured victim of the Romanian White Terror, forcing him to confront the brutal realities of class warfare and the complicity of American capital in supporting o
- [III](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/iii.md): Bunny is back in Paris, receiving letters from Verne about legal troubles with the oil lands and the Sunnyside tract. Dad remains unconcerned, absorbed in spiritualist sessions with Mrs. Olivier and a new medium. Bertie 
- [IV](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/iv.md): Bunny receives a letter from Paul Watkins, now returned from Russia, and meets him in a hotel room. Paul describes the Russian Revolution and the building of a new workers' civilization, inspiring Bunny with his fervent 
- [V](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/v.md): Bunny and Paul meet at an outdoor café in Paris, where Paul describes the Soviet system's approach to oil, labor, and culture, contrasting it with capitalism. They reminisce about the chaotic lease meeting at Prospect Hi
- [VI](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/vi.md): Bunny tells Paul about Eli's disappearance, and Paul explains Eli's hypocrisy. Bunny then confesses his relationship with a movie actress, and Paul shares his views on love, radicalism, and the uncertainty of his upcomin
- [VII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/vii.md): Bunny plans to attend a Communist meeting where Paul is to speak, but must first divert Vee Tracy, who disapproves of his radical associations. He arranges for Dad to invite Vee to a séance, but Bertie calls to inform hi
- [VIII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/viii.md): Bunny learns that Paul has been deported from France and is returning to America, while simultaneously reading in the papers that Vee Tracy is engaged to Prince Marescu. Heartbroken, Bunny throws himself into Socialist m
- [IX](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/ix.md): Bunny receives a wedding gift of over a million dollars in stock from his father, who then marries Alyse. Bunny returns to Paris, learns of a massive oil fire at the Ross Consolidated fields in Paradise, and receives a r
- [Chapter X](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/x.md): Bunny Ross travels by steamer back to the United States, haunted by remorse over his strained relationship with his father. He receives wireless messages about his father's illness and eventual death, leading to a crisis
- [XX: The Dedication](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/xx-the-dedication.md): Bunny returns to New York after his father's death and the catastrophic oil fire, then travels to Washington to meet Dan Irving, who consoles him and discusses the systemic corruption of American business. Bunny commits 
- [I](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/i.md): Bunny Ross, alone in New York amid a presidential campaign and the fallout from an oil scandal, reads about a catastrophic oil fire in California that destroyed his family's oil field. He travels to Washington, where he 
- [II](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/ii.md): Bunny Ross returns to Chicago and then Angel City, dealing with the aftermath of his father's death. He learns there is no will, his father's estate is in disarray, and his stepmother Alyse claims her full rights. Vernon
- [III](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/iii.md): Bunny returns to find refuge in his newspaper, The Young Student, and reconnects with Rachel and the Ypsels. He visits Ruth, who is anxious about Paul's safety and angry at the Socialist paper for supporting a Social-rev
- [IV](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/iv.md): Bunny and Bertie grapple with the aftermath of their father's death, confronting the disappearance of over ten million dollars in securities. Bertie hires a lawyer to pursue the estate, but they realize Vernon Roscoe has
- [V](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/v.md): Bunny Ross, now inheriting a million dollars, gathers his socialist friends to discuss his plan for a labor college. He envisions a self-sufficient community where students work and study equally, rejecting bourgeois com
- [VI](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/vi.md): Bunny Ross proposes a radical college for training social revolutionaries, sparking a debate among his comrades about discipline, sex, and the role of Communists. The group argues over whether such a college would become
- [VII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/vii.md): Bunny and the young ones decide to move forward with a new institution, while Bunny deals with legal battles over his father's estate. Verne Roscoe maneuvers to take control of assets, leading to conflict with Bertie. Am
- [XXI: The Honeymoon](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/xxi-the-honeymoon.md): Bunny and Rachel, now married, search for a site for a labor college, visiting a potential property near Mount Hope. They also travel to the Prospect Hill oil field, where Bunny shows Rachel the discovery well and explai
- [I](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/i.md): Bunny Ross searches for a site for a labor college, accompanied by Rachel Menzies. They explore a property near Mount Hope, discussing its potential and the implications of their partnership, while Bunny reflects on memo
- [II](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/ii.md): Bunny Ross and Rachel Menzies confess their love for each other in a twilight grove, discussing marriage despite concerns about scandal, religion, and social class. Bunny proposes to Rachel, who initially hesitates due t
- [III](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/iii.md): Bunny and Rachel marry for practical reasons, then Bunny tells Ruth, who reacts with pleasure. Paul Watkins returns from Russia and speaks at a Labor Temple, causing outrage in the capitalist press. Bunny plans to attend
- [IV](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/iv.md): Bunny, at Bertie's urging, investigates Vernon Roscoe's reports on the Prospect Hill oil field, taking his wife Rachel to see the wells. He reflects on the waste and danger of capitalist oil extraction, visits Mrs. Groar
- [V](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/v.md): Bunny and Rachel, on what should have been their honeymoon, attend a dance but are disturbed by the sound of naval gunfire. Later, they drive to a working-class quarter where a mob raids an IWW hall, throwing children in
- [VI](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/vi.md): Bunny finds Paul beaten and unconscious after a violent attack. He arranges for medical help, and a surgeon diagnoses a skull fracture. Rachel and Bunny stay by Paul's bedside, and Ruth is brought to the hospital, where 
- [VII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/vii.md): After midnight, Rachel persuades Bunny to leave the hospital and rest at a nearby hotel. Bunny cannot sleep and confesses his deep devotion to Paul, describing how Paul gave him an ideal of self-sufficiency and independe
- [VIII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/viii.md): Bunny returns to the hospital with Ruth to watch over the unconscious Paul Watkins. The surgeon offers no certainty about Paul's recovery. Bunny sends a telegram to Abel Watkins to bring the family, but decides not to no
- [IX](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/ix.md): Bunny and Rachel keep vigil at Paul's bedside in a hospital room, surrounded by the chaotic noise of radio broadcasts and the indifference of the press. Ruth Watkins is consumed by grief. Eli Watkins arrives in a limousi
- [X](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/x.md): Bunny and Rachel watch over the injured Paul Watkins while listening to election returns on the radio. They hear Eli Watkins broadcast a false claim that Paul has repented and been saved, which Ruth Watkins overhears and
- [XI](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/xi.md): Bunny and Ruth listen to election returns on the radio while Paul lies in a coma, muttering phrases in Russian that reveal his revolutionary fervor. Ruth insists on deciphering his words, leading Bunny to summon Gregor N
- [XII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/xii.md): Bunny Ross listens to election returns on the radio, reflecting on the drunken celebrations of the ruling class during Prohibition. He recalls past revelries at the Admiralty Hotel with his father, Vee Tracy, Annabelle A
- [XIII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/xiii.md): Paul Watkins, delirious from illness, speaks in Russian about revolutionary scenes, while Bunny Ross reflects on the contrasting world of capitalist excess and jazz-age decadence in the Emperor Hotel ballroom.
- [XIV](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/xiv.md): Paul Watkins, in a state of violent delirium, is restrained by Bunny, Gregor, Ruth, and Rachel as he relives past traumas. Meanwhile, a raucous radio broadcast celebrating Calvin Coolidge's election victory contrasts sta
- [XV](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/xv.md): The chapter describes the aftermath of Paul Watkins's death, including the conflict over his funeral between the Communists and his family, Eli's insistence on a Third Revelation burial, and the tragic suicide of Ruth Wa

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