Oil!
First mentioned as a local figure connected to the oil fields, hinting at future alliances and conflicts.
II: The Lease
Appears outside the window, whispering to Bunny; has run away from home and asks for food.
VII
Appears outside the window, whispering to Bunny for help getting food; a runaway from home.
VIII
A 16-year-old runaway from a Pentecostal family, struggling with faith and poverty, who bonds with Bunny over their shared sense of alienation.
IX
Disappears after the meeting, leaving Bunny distraught; he had refused Bunny's offer of money.
II
Mentioned by Bunny as a counterexample to Dad's cynical view of people, having refused Bunny's money.
III
Absent but central to Bunny's thoughts; described as a proud, hungry anchorite who later sends stamps to repay Mrs. Groarty for stolen food.
VII
Mentioned as a legendary figure who refused Dad's money; sends a five-dollar bill to his family and is idealized by Bunny.
IV: The Ranch
Angry about the sale of the ranch, believing the Rosses are taking advantage of his family; has become a freethinker under a lawyer's tutelage.
II
Mentioned as the boy Bunny met; his family is in trouble and he is away.
III
Born and raised on the ranch; Bunny feels a thrill approaching his birthplace.
VII
Mentioned as Ruth's brother who ran away; Bunny shares what little he knows.
VIII
Mentioned as Bunny's friend; Dad secures a share of the trust for him.
IX
Paul visits Ruth secretly, angry about the ranch sale and suspicious of the Rosses' oil interests; he is now working for a freethinking lawyer and reading critical books.
V: The Revelation
Returns to Paradise as a grown man, estranged from his father, speaks like an educated man, and has a somber demeanor.
III
Mentioned as having visited Ruth months ago and given her 'The Age of Reason'; has 'traveled far' in his thinking.
IV
Absent but central to the discussion; Dad identifies him as the potential bearer of the Third Revelation.
V
Mentioned as the potential tenant for the Rascum ranch, but Ruth says he would not accept charity.
VI
Returns to see Ruth, has broken with his father, shares his self-education in science, and agrees to work the ranch on shares.
VII
Acts as boss-carpenter for the cabin, fries fish for supper, and is present when the news about Excelsior Petroleum arrives.
VI: The Wildcat
Hired to build the bunkhouse and later works on the derrick, earning $5 a day and gaining respect from his father.
III
Agrees to work as a carpenter, hires local men, and benefits from Dad's money.
V
Working on the derrick, keeps in the background.
VI
Works as a utility man at the well; is mentioned as the one who knew Joe Gundha had a family; aspires to be a scientist.
VIII
Helps evacuate his family and assists in digging the shaft for the dynamite blast.
VII: The Strike
Paul has joined the carpenters' union and discusses unionization with Bunny, representing the workers' perspective and pushing Bunny to question the status quo.
I
Now boss-carpenter, Paul explains to Bunny the harsh twelve-hour shifts of oil workers and their lack of time for reading.
II
Has joined the carpenters' union, argues with Dad Ross about labor rights, studies labor issues, and introduces Bunny to union organizer Tom Axton.
III
Mentioned as a force in Dad's consciousness, providing firsthand knowledge of the workers' perspective and influencing Dad's decision to help the men.
V
Has resigned from his job to support the striking oil workers; works long hours at union headquarters and gives a powerful speech about democracy and the three-shift day.
VI
Mentioned as an agitator in the strike; Bunny's friendship with him causes family tension.
VII
Active on the strike committee, editing 'The Labor Defender' and using his savings to support hungry families, while evading arrest.
VIII
Confronts Bunny about his sister Ruth, accuses Bunny of being soft, and challenges him to oppose his father.
VIII: The War
Stationed in the army building barracks for low pay; contrasts his situation with war profiteers; a moral force Bunny turns to but cannot confess to.
IV
Returns as Dad's boss builder but is drafted; refuses exemption, argues with Bunny about the war.
VI
On furlough, building barracks for the army, contrasts his pay with war profits.
IX: The Victory
Working at army cantonment, discusses Russian Revolution with Bunny and Dad, offers a sympathetic view of the Bolsheviks.
I
Working at the cantonment, discusses the Russian Revolution and secret treaties, challenges Dad's views.
V
Expected home for furlough before being shipped to Vladivostok to build barracks and Y.M.C.A. huts along the Trans-Siberian railway.
VIII
Serving in Siberia, building barracks and Y huts; no word has been received from him for weeks.
Chapter X
Reported to be alive and well in Irkutsk, Siberia, after five months of no communication.
X: The University
Serving in Siberia; sends a brief, censored note to Bunny that raises questions about the war.
III
Sends a brief, censored letter from Siberia, which Bunny finds cold but Dad explains as necessary for military censorship.
IV
Mentioned as being in Siberia, he arranges for a letter to be sent to Bunny describing the dire conditions.
V
Imprisoned after Bunny's letter is intercepted; sends a bitter reproach.
VI
Bunny's friend and strike leader; Bunny seeks to help him by writing about Siberia.
Chapter X
Sends a cold, matter-of-fact postcard from Siberia; Bunny writes a coded reply.
XI
Mentioned as the one returning from Siberia; his fate is the focus of Bunny's excitement.
III
Returns gaunt and sick from Siberia, reveals he was used as a strikebreaker for bankers, and describes the Allied intervention in Russia.
IV
Explains the Russian Revolution to Bunny, drawing parallels to the Paradise oil strike and recounting traumatic experiences in Siberia.
V
Defends the Bolsheviks, describing their dedication to education and the workers' cause.
VI
Returns to tell Bunny about the Russian Revolution and the workers' takeover of industries; is weak and exhausted but full of revolutionary fervor.
VII
Recovers with rest and home cooking, then comes to Angel City to meet Bunny and Harry Seager.
Chapter X
Bunny's best friend, a soldier returned from Siberia; Bunny defends his character and recounts his experiences.
XII: The Siren
Returned to work as a boss-carpenter; deeply involved in labor activism, leading classes and discussions on the class struggle; his cabin is a center for radical thought.
I
Returned to work as boss-carpenter, leading labor study classes and spreading radical ideas.
V
Referenced as part of the 'Bolshevik bunch' that Bunny sympathizes with, highlighting Bunny's internal conflict.
XIV: The Star
Endorses Tom Axton's position of saving the union; debates with Socialists and Communists.
II
Endorses Tom Axton's position of saving the union above all else.
XV: The Vacation
Arrested with others on charges of criminal syndicalism; Bunny receives a telegram from Ruth Watkins pleading for bail.
II
Mentioned as a union organizer whose friend Eddie Piatt is jailed; Paul knows stories of prison brutality.
III
Listed by Roscoe as a known labor agitator under surveillance.
VII
Arrested with others on charges of criminal syndicalism during a strike; bail is set at ten thousand dollars.
VIII
Arrested on suspicion of criminal syndicalism; Bunny defends his character and motives.
IX
In jail again for contempt of court; remains a central figure in the strike.
I
Out of jail, in Angel City with Ruth; oil workers were tricked into surrender by operators.
II
Out looking for a job; has been arrested twice and is bitter.
IV
Mentioned as a key figure among the eight defendants, committed to organizing oil workers.
V
Bunny is plotting and scheming with Paul, which worries Vee and strains their relationship.
XVII: The Exposure
Planned as principal speaker at the protest meeting; his case is part of the political prisoner situation.
I
Mentioned by the jailed workers who ask Bunny about Paul's thoughts on their situation.
II
Principal speaker at the planned protest meeting; his case is central to the chapter's conflict.
III
Decides to join the Workers' party and openly become a Communist, arguing that only revolution can break capitalist power.
IV
Bunny longs to argue with him about the Workers' Party and radical politics.
VIII
Pulls Bunny toward radical Communism, arguing capitalists will never allow peaceful transition.
IX
A Bolshevik organizer, shell-shocked from war, argues for revolutionary action against capitalism.
XVIII: The Flight
Arrested as a delegate at a secret Workers' party convention in Canada.
V
Reported arrested in a federal raid on a Workers' party convention.
IX
Out on bail after being arrested at the Communist convention; travels to Moscow amid factional disputes.
XIX: The Penalty
Mentioned as a Bolshevik; Bunny admires Ruth's loyalty to him.
II
Referenced indirectly through Bunny's continued correspondence and commitment to radical causes; Bunny sends letters home for Rachel to publish.
IV
Returns from Russia, haggard but fanatical, describing the Soviet experiment and the Third International.
V
Describes Soviet oil trusts, workers' unions, and cultural revolution; recounts his arrest and plans to organize in California; draws parallels between the Prospect Hill lease fight and world diplomacy.
VI
Discusses Eli's hypocrisy, reveals Ruth already knew about Bunny's actress, and shares his pragmatic views on love and radical commitment.
VII
Arrested by French police and expelled from France before he can speak at a Communist meeting.
VIII
Deported from France as a Bolshevik agitator; sends a coded message to Bunny from the steamer.
IX
Referenced as a Bolshevik, contrasting with Bunny's path.
XX: The Dedication
Mentioned as sending a cablegram of sympathy; his work in Russia influences Bunny's thinking but creates tension with Rachel's anti-Communist position.
I
Sends a telegram of sympathy to Bunny.
III
Not yet home; is traveling and speaking, having gained prominence from his arrests.
XXI: The Honeymoon
Expected to return from Russia; speaks at a meeting about the Russian Revolution and is sought by Bunny for college discussions.
III
Returns from Russia and speaks at a Labor Temple; plans to address longshoremen at the harbor.
IV
Mentioned as the speaker at the lease meeting; his voice was first heard through Mrs. Groarty's window.
V
Bunny fears Paul has been taken by the lynching party during the raid.
VI
Lying unconscious with a severe head injury, diagnosed with a skull fracture.
VII
Paul is in the hospital with a fractured skull, the victim of a brutal attack; his influence on Bunny is central to the chapter.
VIII
Lies unconscious and gravely injured, breathing hoarsely, with uncertain chances of survival.
IX
Lying injured in the hospital, the focus of the vigil.
X
Lying in a stupor, injured, unable to respond to the false broadcast about his repentance.
XI
In a coma, muttering revolutionary slogans in Russian.
XIII
Delirious and speaking Russian, reliving revolutionary experiences.
XIV
In a violent, maniacal frenzy, he is restrained and dies, with Ruth believing he tried to speak to her.
XV
Deceased; his funeral is the central event of the chapter.
