# XX: The Dedication explained — Oil! > Chapter companion for Oil! by Upton Sinclair. ## What happens 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 a thousand dollars a month from his inheritance to Dan's labor press. Later, Bunny gathers a group of old friends—including Rachel, Jacob, Harry, Peter, Gregor, and Dan—to propose a labor college where students live and work communally, aiming to build socialist discipline. The chapter also explores tensions between Bunny's socialist ideals and the practicalities of running a publication, as well as Bertie's aggressive pursuit of her inheritance. ## Themes in this chapter ### Corruption and Power Dan Irving explains that American big business men purchase government as a system, and the business world seeks to suppress exposés of crime. ### Idealism vs. Pragmatism Bunny's plan for a labor college clashes with Chaim Menzies' pragmatic criticism of colonies, and Rachel's insistence on democratic methods versus Communist tactics. ### Class Struggle and Labor The labor college is designed to train workers for the class struggle; Ruth's class-consciousness and the strikes she witnessed are highlighted. ### Deception and Truth The capitalist publicity machine glorifies Coolidge while hiding the truth; Dan's labor press struggles to expose corruption. ## Character check-ins ### Bunny Ross Alone in New York after his father's death and the oil fire; meets Dan Irving in Washington; proposes a labor college funded by his inheritance; clashes with Rachel over editorial direction. ### Daniel Webster Irving Consoles Bunny in Washington; discusses systemic corruption in American business; accepts Bunny's monthly donation for his labor press service. ### Rachel Menzies Hosts the dinner party where Bunny presents his labor college plan; defends her editorial stance against Communist influence in The Young Student. ### Chaim Menzies Attends the dinner party; criticizes Bunny's colony idea as a trap for the movement; smokes a cigar despite Bunny's anti-tobacco stance. ### Paul Watkins Mentioned as sending a cablegram of sympathy; his work in Russia influences Bunny's thinking but creates tension with Rachel's anti-Communist position. ### Ruth Watkins Mentioned as sending a cablegram; her class-consciousness and anxiety about Paul's work are noted; she is angry at Rachel's paper for supporting Social-revolutionaries. ### Aunt Allie Arrives in Angel City to claim her inheritance; hires a lawyer and interrogates Bunny about Dad's affairs and the will. ### Vernon Roscoe Mentioned as likely to try to keep Bunny lean; Dan Irving's press has been exposing Roscoe's foreign concessions. ## Key lines > Dan could assure him that he didn’t have to think of his father as a bad man; Dan had made it his business to know, and could confirm Bunny’s judgment, American big business men all purchased government, they all justified the purchase of government. Dan Irving reassured Bunny that his father was not uniquely corrupt; all American big businessmen buy government influence as a standard practice. _Dan validates Bunny's understanding of systemic corruption in American capitalism._ > “That’s what I want to talk to you about,” said Bunny. “Before I left France, Dad gave me a million dollars in Ross Consolidated stock. I don’t know what it’ll be worth since the fire, but Verne says there’s full insurance. I’m not going to touch the principal till I have time to think things over, but I’ll put a thousand dollars a month of the income into your work, if that will help.” Bunny tells Dan he will donate a thousand dollars monthly from his inherited stock income to Dan's labor press, despite uncertainty about the stock's value after the fire. _Bunny commits to funding radical journalism with his inheritance._ > “What we’re doing⁠—Rachel and Jacob and the rest of us Ypsels⁠—is trying to work on young minds; but the trouble is, we only get them a few hours in the week, and the things that count for most in their lives are the enemy’s⁠—I mean the schools, the job, the movies⁠—everything. So I want to get some students together for a complete life, twenty-four hours a day; and see if we can’t build a Socialist discipline, a personal life, with service to the cause as its goal.” Bunny proposes a labor college where students live and work communally to build socialist discipline, countering the influence of capitalist institutions. _Bunny outlines his vision for a transformative educational community._ > “De people vot are going to help de movement has got to be in it every hour. You git dem out vun mont’ and ... Chaim Menzies argues that isolating people in a colony will distract them from the daily class struggle. _Chaim criticizes Bunny's plan as a retreat from real activism._ ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters/xx-the-dedication - Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se - All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/oil_se/chapters