The Bonfire of the Vanities Lesson Plan

The chapter that delves into the life story and eventual demise of Arthur Ruskin can be considered the most darkly comedic in the novel. Arthur's character is portrayed with vivid detail. While we've heard from Maria that Arthur can be verbally abusive, during dinner, he appears as a charming and intriguing figure from an era before political correctness.

He appears deeply enamored with the materialistic aspects of life, which adds a layer of irony to the remarkably unkind staff at La Boue d'Argent. Their cruelty is a stark caricature, meant to highlight the callousness of capitalism in the 1980s. To...