van Ommeren-Egberts 1 Saskia van Ommeren-Egberts Ms.

Gardner Honors English 10 1st 19 November 2013 The Harsh Reality Behind his Words Boswell, Marshall, and Carl Rollyson, eds. "Wolfe, Tom." Bloom's Literature. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 26 Nov. 2013. In the biography of Tom Wolfe, Boswell explains to readers Wolfes purpose behind his controversial writing pieces and the many elements and themes that apply to his novels. Including Wolfes famous writing styles and his beliefs, he gives readers a preview of what is to be expected from Wolfe. Boswell intrigues people to get wrapped up in one of his novels, while explaining the many relationships Wolfes themes have with one another. Written for a variety of readers with and without knowledge of Wolfes books, Boswells informational background on Wolfe sheds to light his overshadowing philosophical themes in his own life. Allowing readers to understand what the overall themes involved in Wolfes career clarifies questions about his many novels. The correlation between Wolfes beliefs and the themes that are involved in his book foreshadow one another and only then creates an understanding of the connection between Wolfe, his novels, and his readers.

van Ommeren-Egberts 2 Conroy, Frank. "Urban Rats in Fashion's Maze." NY Times. New York Times, n.d. Web. 27 Nov. a 2013. Although impressed with Wolfes writing technique and amount of success in his first novel, The Bonfire of the Vanities, Conroy warns Wolfe that he is on the edge of crossing the line when it comes to how much information is provided. Conroy includes a passage and summary of the novel while deeply explaining the view of how to much of unnecessary information can spoil a scene. Admiring his work, Conroy engulfs himself in this novel, but remains connected to reality as he points out Wolfes annoying quirks in the novel. Conroys review persuades readers to read Wolfes novel and become in awe of his work. Created for readers who have a large vocabulary, Conroy has very little flaws to point out, perhaps just to allow readers to be persuaded. Looking at the literary devices that Conroy points out allows readers of the novel to see the precise academic language used in Wolfes novel and to appreciate both Conroy and Wolfes connection with knowledge of these devices. Elam, Harry J., Jr. "African-American drama." Bloom's Literature. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 26 a Nov. 2013. In classic New York style, Elam reports on the history of racism in New York, particularly in the 1960s. At the height of its racism, the society was getting turned upside down as key African-American scholars created African American characters with appropriate situations and dialect in theaters everywhere. The realistic portrayal of how African Americans were treated like in the 1960s caused uproar in New York, creating

van Ommeren-Egberts 3 racial feuds and slowly starting a revolution of how African Americans would be treated in the future. By seeing the reactions and treatment of African Americans in Elams article, readers of The Bonfire of the Vanities have a clearer understanding of the true reality behind Wolfes work. Elams specification when explaining the racial feuds whites and African Americans had over theater allows readers of both Wolfe and Elams work to draw and conclude that the characters in The Bonfire of the Vanities were like the true characters that were involved in New York plays. These works allowed readers to analyze, compare, and contrast to reality and fiction, clarifying for the readers the reality behind Wolfes words. McClinton-Temple, Jennifer. "Justice." Bloom's Literature. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 27 Nov. a aa 2013. With a deep description of what exactly justice is, McClinton-Temple explains the relationship society has with justice. Clarifying the true meaning of justice, McClintonTemple advises her readers to stand up for themselves when placed in an injustice situation. McClinton-Temple defines justice and briefly goes over situations involving our system in society, and mentions the role our rights play in having justice. Including a few allusions to other books, readers of this article will have a clear understanding of how justice is illustrated in books, and where the commonalities are among them. Through this article people understand how common of a theme justice is and what the typical pattern the theme follows throughout the novel. Knowing how this theme is represented, allows readers to follow it in Wolfes books. Readers will have a

van Ommeren-Egberts 4 better understanding of this theme that is often mentioned in The Bonfire of the Vanities, and will have a clearer image of how this is applied in not only fiction but in the contemporary world. Murg, Stephanie. "The Bonfire of the Vanities." Bloom's Literature. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 18 Nov. 2013. Murgs criticism of The Bonfire of the Vanities, elaborately summarizes the novel and spoils away the key points of the book. With feelings of no interrelation, the criticism follows many tones that express the idea of incomplete portions of the book. Murg associates these feelings to curious emptiness- leaving the readers empty with information, yet curious for more. Murg criticizes Wolfe for the lack of information, relative to how the book does undeniably have an imaginable ending; however, it was the way the author intended the book be finished. Murgs frustrated lack of use in women and an ending with closure is obvious, and is only there to warn curious and eager readers to engage in this novel, but not to become attached. If attached, the open ended closing of the book will leave others frustrated like Murg. In a superb summary of the novel, Murg educates her readers on the plot and offers warning to those readers that appreciate drawn out endings. Wappler, Margaret. "Interview with Tom Wolfe." Goodreads. N.p., Nov. 2012. Web. 26 Nov. a a 2013. Frustrated with unreliability of journalists nowadays, in Wapplers interview, Wolfe talks of the downfall of journalism nowadays. Finding reliable sources using different methods

van Ommeren-Egberts 5 is missing from todays journalists, and Wolfe and Wappler discuss differences between the past and present of these varying forms of reliability when writing. Wolfe summarizes his passion for writing and finding reliable sources as he had much research to do when writing his many novels. Wolfes novel work is verified in this interview as being true and accurate information when related to the time period, overall political issues, and the genre of people in the setting of his novels. Readers of Wolfes work will receive reassurance with the honesty of his novels through Wapplers interview. Although the interview is based off of other books, readers of The Bonfire of the Vanities will be taken aback with his pure honesty behind all of his novels, and the harsh reality behind his words.