The Last Rung on the Ladder

Although this story was published in the late 1970s, it hints at the economic prosperity, individualism, and consumerism that would come to define the 1980s in the US and criticizes the mindset of valuing material success over familial relationships. The conflict of Family Ties Versus Financial Success is first illustrated through Larry’s father, whose career as a tractor salesperson begins to overshadow his role as a father, and then more strongly in Larry, as his dedication to his law career prevents him from maintaining his relationships with his sister, his wife, or any other people in his life.

Larry’s employment has brought him material success, as indicated by his clothing: “I wear expensive suits and my shoe-leather is the best” (295). However, he seems to get little joy or satisfaction from his work, and the metaphors he uses to portray his profession indicate its dehumanizing and even degrading nature. Describing his fellow law students, Larry says, “Those guys are greyhounds. If you lose sight of the little mechanical rabbit, it’s gone forever” (304). This metaphor conveys the speed and single-mindedness of his classmates, but it also offers a bleak view of the law students as animals exhausting themselves in a meaningless race for others’ profit.