# The Turmoil — Chapters explained

> Chapter companions for The Turmoil by Booth Tarkington.

- [The Turmoil](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_turmoil_se/chapters/the-turmoil.md): The chapter introduces the Sheridan family and the industrial city, focusing on Bibbs Sheridan's return from a sanitarium and his struggle to fit into his father's world of business and ambition.
- [I](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_turmoil_se/chapters/i.md): The chapter describes the transformation of a midland city from a leisurely, neighborly town into a dirty, industrial metropolis driven by the relentless pursuit of bigness and wealth. It contrasts the old, clean, and un
- [II](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_turmoil_se/chapters/ii.md): This chapter introduces Bibbs Sheridan, the 'disappointment' of the Sheridan family, a frail and nervous young man who failed in the machine shop and was sent to a sanitarium. His father, James Sheridan, a self-made indu
- [III](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_turmoil_se/chapters/iii.md): Bibbs Sheridan returns home from the sanitarium, met at the station by his sister Edith. During the car ride to the New House, Edith discusses family dynamics, social climbing, and the Sheridans' desire to be accepted by
- [IV](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_turmoil_se/chapters/iv.md): Bibbs Sheridan returns home to the New House, a grand but impersonal mansion built by his father. He is greeted by his sister Edith and the household staff, and after resting, he observes the neighboring Vertrees house f
- [V](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_turmoil_se/chapters/v.md): Mary Vertrees returns with her mother from a visit to the Sheridan home, where they were invited to dinner. Mary humorously recounts the encounter, revealing the Sheridans' social climbing and their interest in her as a 
- [VI](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_turmoil_se/chapters/vi.md): The Sheridan family hosts a grand banquet at their home, showcasing their wealth and social standing. Bibbs sits quietly among the less important guests, while his father James Sheridan dominates the table with boisterou
- [VII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_turmoil_se/chapters/vii.md): Mrs. Vertrees waits up for Mary after the Sheridans' housewarming. Mary returns and recounts the evening in detail, describing the ostentatious display of wealth, her interactions with the Sheridan family, and her observ
- [VIII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_turmoil_se/chapters/viii.md): Edith confronts Bibbs about a framed poem she wrote as a teenager, revealing her embarrassment over it. Bibbs, recovering from his illness, discusses his improved appearance with her. Later, Bibbs interacts with the serv
- [Chapter IX](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_turmoil_se/chapters/ix.md): Bibbs Sheridan is summoned to his father's office, where Sheridan berates him for his lack of ambition and dreams of writing poetry and essays. Sheridan extols the virtues of business, progress, and the city's growth, co
- [Chapter X](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_turmoil_se/chapters/x.md): Bibbs reflects on his transient life in his room, surrounded by photographs and books, while a quarrel erupts in the hallway between Edith, Sibyl, and Mrs. Sheridan over Robert Lamhorn's reputation. Later, Sibyl visits M
- [XI](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_turmoil_se/chapters/xi.md): Sheridan gives Herr Favre a tour of the city, extolling its industrial might while the visitor criticizes the smoke and grime. After the tour, Sheridan goes to a barbershop where the atmosphere is strangely subdued; he p
- [XII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_turmoil_se/chapters/xii.md): Three days after Jim's funeral, Bibbs Sheridan takes charge of the arrangements and becomes the master of the household. At the cemetery, after the service, he encounters Mary Vertrees, who has been left behind by her ca
- [XIII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_turmoil_se/chapters/xiii.md): Bibbs returns home after the funeral, disturbed by Sibyl's laughter. He manages visiting relatives, including Uncle Gideon who quotes Bildad the Shuhite to the grieving James Sheridan. After the relatives leave, Bibbs re
- [XIV](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_turmoil_se/chapters/xiv.md): Bibbs undergoes a medical examination by Dr. Gurney, who finds him improved but warns that his father will likely send him back to the machine shop. Bibbs decides to accept the risk. That evening, the Sheridan family gri
- [XV](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_turmoil_se/chapters/xv.md): Bibbs Sheridan and Mary Vertrees meet by chance and walk together, sharing a deeply personal and awkwardly honest conversation. Mary invites Bibbs to listen to organ music played by her friend Dr. Kraft at a church. Duri
- [XVI](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_turmoil_se/chapters/xvi.md): After a church concert, Bibbs and Mary walk home discussing the meaning of music and its power to evoke courage and personal reflection. Mary invites Bibbs to hear her play piano that evening, as her piano is being sent 
- [XVII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_turmoil_se/chapters/xvii.md): Mr. and Mrs. Vertrees discuss their financial ruin and Mary's sacrifices, including selling her piano and considering selling her furs. Mrs. Vertrees seeks information from Sibyl Sheridan about Bibbs's mental stability, 
- [Chapter XVIII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_turmoil_se/chapters/xviii.md): Sheridan finds and reads Bibbs's philosophical scribblings comparing the lives of wealthy businessmen to roosters, dismisses them as foolish, and later discovers Roscoe drunk in his office. He helps Roscoe home and hears
- [XIX](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_turmoil_se/chapters/xix.md): Bibbs Sheridan faces the imminent prospect of returning to work in his father's machine shop, a fate he dreads. In a heartfelt conversation with Mary Vertrees, he confesses his fear of the crushing, monotonous labor and 
- [Chapter XX](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_turmoil_se/chapters/xx.md): Bibbs returns home and tells his father he is ready to go back to the machine shop. Sheridan, worried about Roscoe's drinking and the future of his business, agrees but remains grim. Later, Sheridan confides his fears to
- [Chapter XXI](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_turmoil_se/chapters/xxi.md): Bibbs advises his parents to let Edith see Robert Lamhorn freely, arguing that opposition will only strengthen her resolve. At a tense Sunday dinner, the family is strained by unspoken conflicts, with Bibbs appearing unu
- [XXII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_turmoil_se/chapters/xxii.md): Bibbs Sheridan, now working in the machine shop, reflects on the nature of love and friendship in a letter, concluding that friendship offers a quieter, more transcendent happiness than the turbulence of love. He lives i
- [XXIII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_turmoil_se/chapters/xxiii.md): Bibbs remains detached in his dreamlike state while the Sheridan household erupts in turmoil. Sibyl, under Dr. Gurney's care, hysterically reveals her grievances and the change in Bibbs. Roscoe, broken by overwork and do
- [Chapter XXIV](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_turmoil_se/chapters/xxiv.md): Bibbs Sheridan defends his happiness working in the machine shop and rejects his father's offer to enter business, arguing that wealth and industrial growth have made the city ugly and dehumanized. James Sheridan counter
- [XXV](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_turmoil_se/chapters/xxv.md): Bibbs Sheridan spends a peaceful evening reading Maeterlinck with Mary Vertrees, sharing intimate and tender moments. Their quiet happiness is shattered when Bibbs returns home to find his father, James Sheridan, in a vi
- [XXVI](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_turmoil_se/chapters/xxvi.md): Bibbs is summoned by his father, Sheridan, who is in a rage over Edith's elopement and Bibbs's refusal to enter the family business. Dr. Gurney mediates, defending Bibbs's choice to work in the machine shop and pursue wr
- [XXVII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_turmoil_se/chapters/xxvii.md): Mrs. Sheridan tries to convince her husband that Bibbs will eventually become a successful businessman if he marries Mary Vertrees, but Sheridan dismisses the idea. Later, Bibbs and Mary set out for church but get lost i
- [Chapter XXVIII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_turmoil_se/chapters/xxviii.md): Bibbs, having overheard Sibyl's cruel revelations about Mary Vertrees's motives, confronts his family and agrees to take the job his father offered, signaling his surrender to the family's expectations. Meanwhile, Sibyl 
- [XXIX](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_turmoil_se/chapters/xxix.md): Bibbs, having given in to his father's demands, visits Mary and unexpectedly proposes marriage. Mary, realizing he was influenced by Sibyl's cruel words about her poverty and motives, is deeply hurt and rejects him, tell
- [Chapter XXX](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_turmoil_se/chapters/xxx.md): Bibbs announces to his family that Mary Vertrees refused his marriage proposal, confirming Sibyl's earlier taunt. Sheridan reveals that Mary had previously rejected Jim in a letter. Bibbs then demonstrates his business a
- [XXXI](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_turmoil_se/chapters/xxxi.md): Bibbs Sheridan immerses himself in the world of business and industry, serving the 'temple of Bigness' with bitter energy. He learns the corrupt and competitive nature of the city's politics and commerce, while his fathe
- [XXXII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_turmoil_se/chapters/xxxii.md): James Sheridan visits Mary Vertrees to plead for Bibbs, revealing that Bibbs has fully committed to the family business out of love for her, not ambition. Mary confesses she cannot see Bibbs because she believes he only 
- [Chapter XXXIII](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_turmoil_se/chapters/xxxiii.md): Bibbs, alone in his office, contemplates the industrial city's ugliness and the god of 'Bigness,' questioning the purpose of relentless toil and progress. He envisions a future beautiful city born from the present chaos.

HTML index: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_turmoil_se/chapters