A large opinion separates americans nowadays. it is the fact that america is a land of equal opportunity, or that it is a land of opportunity for the rich and famous. recently people have begun to think that the way the world is set up only the wealthy can move up and the poor and middle class moves down. but perhaps it is just the fact that the only people willing to work their way up the fiscal ladder are the people who know how to do it. If more people knew how to move up the fiscal ladder, more people could pull themselves out of poverty and become a success. Many Americans still believe in equal opportunity. this is because either they have witnessed it, or they have experienced it personally. if someone has not seen success or even heard about a success story how would they know that the land of opportunity is thriving? Maybe nowadays there is not any proof of a real life rags to riches story. J. Hector St. John de Crevecoeur said "we are all animated with the spirit of an industry which is unfettered and unrestrained, because each person works for himself... We have no princes, for whom we toil, starve, and bleed: we are the most perfect society now existing in the world" (243). This country was founded on the principal that anyone can move up in life if you work hard for what you want. Horatio Alger carries this principal through out many of his stories. In Ragged Dick, Dick works to save his money and eventually move up in the work world. after saving a child from drowning, he is offered his dream job because his hard work and pure heart showed that he was worthy. "You have done me so great a service that I wish to be of some service in return." When you show you are of value to another person, they will reward you in some way to keep you happy (Alger, 250) Many people don't understand that to be valued, you must be the hardest working and the most dedicated. you will not be rewarded for showing up. both Alger and J. Hector believe hard work will get you to the place you want to be in the world. On the other hand, the idea of rags to riches doesn't have the motivating affect on some people like it does to others. people see other wealthier individuals and they become discouraged by the fact that they are not to that level yet. or that a certain percentage of white people are wealthier than a percentage of black. this has nothing to do with race, and everything to do with the fact 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.