Cause and Effects

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that there is a much larger pool of white americans to become successful or fail. Bambara talks about the inequality between the social classes in The Lesson, and the difficulty for the lower class to reach the ideal "success" level. Bambara uses one of the characters named Sugar to get her point across, "this is not much of a democracy if you ask me. Equal chance to pursue happiness means an equal crack at the dough, don’t it?" (258). all of these people are wealthy and thriving and the lower class is left to find out how the world works by themselves. race is a large portion of the argument against equal opportunity. Dalton disagrees with Alger in the instance that Dalton believes race, sexual orientation, and class all have to do with success. "There are countless circumstances... where none of this may matter, but that is the exception rather than the rule" Dalton explains that he believes that rather than judging people on their merits, they are judged by physical looks and stereotypes (261). Both of these pieces focus on the idea that you are automatically put ahead if you are born into the right family with the right features.

Alger and J. Hector both view the world as the glass half full, where as Bambara and Dalton see the this life as a dog eat dog world. though both have valid arguments, neither are willing to see the others point of view. America is in fact a land of equal opportunity, but whether or not it is put into play has to do with the individual and their own work ethic. if the individual works, nothing can stop him or her from becoming the best they can be.