# II explained — The Turmoil

> Chapter companion for The Turmoil by Booth Tarkington.

## What happens

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 industrialist who embodies the city's gritty optimism, dismisses Bibbs's illness as laziness and contrasts him unfavorably with his successful siblings, Jim, Roscoe, and Edith. The chapter also paints a vivid portrait of Sheridan's love for the city and its smoke, which he sees as a sign of prosperity.

## Themes in this chapter

### Bigness and Industrialization

Sheridan is the city incarnate, loving its smoke and skyscrapers; his identity is tied to industrial growth and the Sheridan Automatic Pump Works.

### Family and Legacy

Sheridan contrasts Bibbs's failure with the success of Jim, Roscoe, and Edith, revealing his obsession with family reputation and legacy.

### Mortality and Health

Bibbs's nervous dyspepsia and physical frailty are central; Sheridan's inability to understand illness reflects the era's attitudes toward health and work.

## Character check-ins

### Bibbs Sheridan

Introduced as the family's 'odd one,' physically frail and nervous, with a puzzling expression that hovers between tears and laughter. He failed in the machine shop and was sent to a sanitarium, much to his father's disappointment.

### James Sheridan

The powerful, self-made patriarch who dismisses Bibbs's illness as laziness and imagination. He is fiercely proud of his other children and the city, which he sees as a reflection of his own success.

### Roscoe Sheridan

Mentioned as a successful son, married and ready to build his own house, held up by his father as a model of hard work and business acumen.

### Edith Sheridan

Praised by her father as the 'prettiest and talentedest girl,' who won a poetry prize and persuaded him to build the New House.

### Dr. Gurney

Referred to as 'Ole Doc Gurney,' the family physician who diagnosed Bibbs and recommended the sanitarium, dismissed by Sheridan as a 'nutty alarmist.'

## Key lines

> He was a 'disappointment' to his father. At least that was the parent's word—a confirmed and established word after his first attempt to make a 'business man' of the boy.

Bibbs's father considered him a failure, a label that stuck after Bibbs failed to become a businessman.

_Establishes the central conflict between Bibbs and his father's expectations._

> Smoke's what brings your husbands' money home on Saturday night... Smoke means good health: it makes the people wash more.

Sheridan argues that industrial smoke is essential for prosperity and even health, dismissing housewives' complaints.

_Illustrates Sheridan's unapologetic embrace of industrialization and his contempt for environmental concerns._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_turmoil_se/chapters/ii
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_turmoil_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_turmoil_se/chapters