Multiethnic Literatures in the U.S.

Set in a future that is much like in the Parables, there is a great divide between the wealthy and the poor. The economic division that exist in In The Heart of The Valley of Love, seems to be a more of a present and driving a force in the book compared to in the Parables. In the beginning of the book, the economic divide is first pointed out through the descriptions of richtown. The rich live in forted communities (i.e. richtown) much like those in the Parables, while the poor and struggling live in crowded neighborhoods or ghettoes. Along with this first glimpse into the economic divide in the book, there is also a glimpse of the racial divide that goes along with it. The people who are rich and live in huge houses in their forted communities are white, while the other majority of the population made up of nonwhites are struggling to barely get by in the crowded neighborhoods or ghettos.
In addition to the racial divide, the economic divide fosters a further division involving education. The rich get to go to universities and the less fortunate go to a two year college if they can, which has only an age requirement of 18 and knowing how to read. This extension of the economic divide further divides the rich and struggling individuals. The division is also further emphasized when Francie talks about the people she meets at the school paper. In the book she describes the people she meets at the paper to a have a cunning that she envied and feared. However, she eventually realized the cunning that the people in the paper had she had too, and that the cunningness she was drawn too was actually hope.
This connection of hope that she shares with the other individuals in the school paper she uses to expose another division that is driven by the economic divide within the book. In Francie’s eyes, there seems to be a distinct difference in mindset between the students who go to universities and those who go to the two-year college. The difference between the two groups of students is that the rich students have expectations of the world and the students who struggle have hope and expected nothing. This expectation verses hope attitude difference driven by the economic separations, is also discussed further later on the book on page 121 when she talks about the poor that live on the street. She describes their living arrangements on the street as being harder then hers, and having a lesser chance of survival. Acutely aware of this harshness that they endure, the poor, Francie describe, still are able to wake up in the morning and continue on with their lives, which can be seen as a demonstration of unspoken hope.
This economic division that extends and drives the other divisions of race, education, livelihood, and attitude toward life in the book is a direct reflection of the world around us today. The division between the wealthy and the struggling in America also leads to other divisions. There is the division between the upper class, wealthy whites and struggling, middle/lower class predominantly nonwhites. There is also the division between those who are able to attend college and those who cannot. Plus the division between those who live in huge houses in wealthy gated communities and those who struggle to survive in the ghetto or homes, struggling to be kept. The attitude of the privileged and those who are not can also bee seen in America today. The wealthy have the money and the statues to move through life with ease, which in turn also allow their children to do the same and in some cases expect it from the world. However, for the others in the country who do not have the ease to move through life with out thought expect nothing, and in turn their children also expect nothing of the world. All that the struggling can do is work hard and hope to achieve what they are reaching for, much like the individuals in the book.