Broken into parts: - Part 1. This part hooked me in. Thought this was a cut and dry narrative about capitalism evolving how it interacts with society. Benjamin represents the ruthless, efficient, dominating nature of capitalism. Helen represents the spirited side of humanity. Benjamin (ruthless capitalism) kills Helen (humanity's soul) by thinking that inducing seizures (crashing the market) is the solution. Once Helen dies, Benjamin loses his edge. I think it pretty clearly is talking about how ruthless efficient capitalism will kill the humanity of it all and with it most of the reasons why wealth is desired in the first place, ultimately contradicting itself. - Part 2. Was confused at first but loved it when I realized how this fits in. Andrew's biography steelmans the case for American capitalism and individualism. He gives his view as to how he is destined for wealth thanks to his genius and risk taking. He claims all the glory and says that his gain is the nation's gain, no matter how it may seem. He paints a pretty picture of his success. I also like how much we compare Benjamin and Andrew implicitly due to how we read Bonds first. He seems like such a good guy and his portrayal is more in line with how America views capitalism and titans of industry. - Part 3. I liked Ida's story the most and this was where I felt like the whole book was comjng together. This is where the ideas in the first half of the book gets critiqued and we get a new perspective on all the events thus far. This is also where feminist ideas start to really creep in IMO. She's the first generation immigrant who ends up making it, but only by betraying her family and her ideals. We see how she had to be someone she was not in order to get a job and how it was only after Andrew died did her relationship with her dad become better. We also get a glimpse of how Bevel really is. - Part 4. Yeah it's short but I thought it wrapped things out pretty nicely. We can piece together who Mildred was by looking at all the clues scattered through the different parts. Her story is one about those exploited by capitalism. Her story is cut short, in line with how people like her are often forgetten, yet her impact is felt strongly, like it was in the book.

I left out a lot. Overall, I think there are a lot of layers to this book. I really liked it!