Social Mobility and Wealth

Where it surfaces

• I: The Ride

  Dad's rise from teamster to wealthy oilman, and his desire for Bunny to inherit his success.

• IV

  Dad's generous tipping and reflection on his own past poverty highlight his rise from poor to wealthy, and his empathy for those less fortunate.

• VI

  Dad's generous tip and his interest in land and oil illustrate the pursuit of wealth and social mobility.

• VII

  The landscape is filled with speculative real estate ventures and advertisements promising quick wealth, reflecting the era's pursuit of upward mobility.

• I

  The sudden oil discovery creates opportunities for immense wealth, as speculators and landowners rush to profit from the gusher.

• II

  Mrs. Groarty's purchase of a satin gown and etiquette book symbolizes her desire to ascend socially through potential oil wealth.

• V

  The family's rapid rise from poverty to opulence is evident in their rented mansion and grandmother's late-life artistic pursuit.

• VIII

  Bunny and Dad's sudden rise to fame and fortune illustrates the intoxicating promise of quick wealth, while Dad's warnings about losing it all underscore the precariousness of such mobility.

• I

  High school social strata mirror adult wealth hierarchies; Bunny's money and car grant him status, but his oil knowledge sets him apart.

• II

  Dad's rise to the biggest independent operator shows the potential for wealth accumulation.

• III

  Paul Watkins rises from farming to a well-paid carpenter job, and the Watkins family sees improved living conditions.

• IV

  Dad's transformation from storekeeper to oil magnate driven by his wife's departure and desire for financial success.

• V

  Tommy Hoyt's sudden fortune from war contracts exemplifies the era's get-rich-quick ethos, while Eunice flaunts her father's wealth.

• XI

  The conversation underscores how wealth (twenty million dollars) enables Bunny to consider college, yet also creates pressure to preserve and manage that wealth through the family business.

• II

  Bunny's new oil money makes him a target of social climbers, yet he feels inferior to old-money families like the Ashleighs.

• IX

  Bunny discusses the Ross oil tract and wealth, while Mrs. Norman critiques materialism yet embodies its luxuries.

• V

  Bunny's tour of the estate highlights the extreme wealth and opulence of the upper class, contrasting with his own background.

• VI

  The conversation highlights the pursuit of Hollywood real estate as a means to retire and escape the demanding profession, reflecting the desire for financial security.

• XII

  The contrast between Tessie Thatcher's immense wealth and her miserable, paranoid existence illustrates the isolating and dehumanizing effects of extreme riches.

• IV

  Vee's story illustrates how money can provide freedom from having to lie, but also how the pursuit of wealth and success in Hollywood forced her into compromising situations.

• V

  Bunny acknowledges his privilege and lack of struggle compared to Vee's hard-won success.

• VI

  Vee Tracy's success as a movie star and her financial acumen in investing in oil stock illustrate the theme of wealth and social mobility.

• XII

  Bunny's status as an 'oil prince' and the opulent display of furs, pearls, and diamonds underscore the intersection of new oil wealth and Hollywood glamour.

• V

  The power of money to transcend social norms, as seen in the ease with which Bunny and Vee travel and the vicarious enjoyment of the masses.

• VI

  Vee's showy lifestyle, Bunny's mother's new wealth through marriage, and the diamond rings highlight the role of money.

• V

  Vee's pursuit of wealth and status through Hollywood is critiqued as a vicious circle, paralleling Dad's oil wells and the Wobbly song.

• VI

  The O'Reillys' transformation from a poor prospector to a millionaire family with a yacht and private car illustrates the dramatic social mobility enabled by oil wealth.

• IV

  The Ross family's rise from mule-driver and storekeeper to oil millionaires is contrasted with their attempts to secure aristocratic marriages.

• V

  Eli's rise from shepherd to wealthy prophet, funded by a banker, illustrates how religious entrepreneurship can lead to financial success and social influence.

• II

  Rachel's fear that Bunny should marry a 'tall, fair woman' from a drawing-room reflects class and social mobility anxieties.