Oil!

Years and years ago I read Upton Sinclair's novel about the meat packing industry in Chicago called The Jungle. I loved that thick book. I also loved Oil! much more than I thought I would because it wasn't nearly as popular as The Jungle. I admire Upton Sinclair for his writing and also for his activism and his inspiration for us to uncover societal wrongs and do better. This book is about the Teapot Dome Scandal where money bribes to the cabinet of President Harding were made to keep money in oil business executives and to destroy the unions that protect oil workers. The Tea Pot Dome scandal is ranked right up there with the Watergate scandal. I liked the first chapter the best. The first chapter is written in the first person narrative while subsequent chapters are written in the third person narrative. The first chapter is about a little boy and his Dad. Bunny (James Arnold Ross, Jr.) is riding with his father (James Arnold Ross) across tarred roads in southern California on their way to a meeting. His father likes to ride at 50 miles per hour even when the speed limit is 30 miles per hour. His Dad shows Bunny how to avoid the speed traps. The story happens after 1900. The love between Bunny and his Dad is very evident. Bunny admires his businessman father. The father is rich and divorced. He has an older daughter who is a society girl, his mother (Bunny's grandmother), and his aunt to help him raise his children. Rather than Bunny going to school, Bunny accompanies Dad on all business. A tutor is hired to help Bunny with his studies between meetings.  When Bunny and his Dad arrive at the meeting in California, Bunny takes a seat on the windowsill while his father tries to convince a room full of landowners to sign a contract with his oil company so he can install oil derricks on their property. Bunny hears a voice of a boy names Paul through the window. Paul convinces Bunny to open the kitchen door so he can grab some food from his aunt who owns the house. Paul convinces Bunny that he will only take what is necessary and will pay his aunt back in the future. To me this sounded like a scam but it turns out that Paul is honest and true. This makes a huge impact on Bunny. As Bunny matures and finishes college, the contrast between Dad and Paul is evident. To his father's dismay Bunny chooses to admire Paul more than his father. As it turns out his father is part of the "good old boys" system of bribes and corruption. What a great story!