In Section 3 of Rereading America, edited by Gary Colombo, Robert Cullen, and Bonnie Lisle (260-261), the editors present a series of readings that explore the relationship between money, culture, and race in the United States. They make the point that while Americans do subscribe to the idea that the country is a land of unequaled opportunity "where hard work and smart choices yield big rewards, where no one is stuck on the lower rungs of the economic ladder" (260), the reality is that America is very much a polarized society with elites, a middle class, and a large and seemingly permanent underclass of the poor. The idea that America is a land of equal opportunity is patently untrue. As Horatio Alger suggested well over 100 years ago, the working class and the poor were at a distinct disadvantage vis-à-vis more affluent Americans. Alger's characters are very much informed by their accents, their occupations, their education, and their capacity for getting ahead (268). However, Alger's thesis was that hard work, ambition, and a willingness to learn could overcome these disadvantages and make even a "ragged Dick" into a success. Alger's character "Richard Hunter" does succeed in moving from being a shoeshine boy to a well paid member of corporate America, but he does so at the cost of leaving behind his friends and moving into a new social strata.
Toni Cade Bambara (276), in a short story, "The Lesson," raises an important issue: "Imagine for a minute what kind of society it is in which some people can spend on a toy what it would cost to feed a family of six or seven." Bambara's protagonists are mostly African-American children who, on a visit to FAO Schwarz feel ashamed because of their race and poverty and who become conscious that they are unlikely to ever be in a position to spend $35 for a birthday clown when this amount of money would pay for bills instead. The point is being made that it is highly unlikely t...