Objection: Penates & Lares

This topic goes back to my first blog about Invisible Cities, where I mention the tension between the poor and the rich. There are two interpretations: Either the rich or the poor can be "Penates" or the "Lares." Calvino portrays the tension between these two social classes in the city of Leandra.

"The true essence of Leandra is the subject of endless debate. The Penates believe that they are the city's soul, even if they arrived last year; and they believe they take Leandra with them when they emigrate. The Lares consider the Penates temporary guests, importunate, intrusive; the real Leandra is theirs, which gives form to all it contains, the Leandra that was there before all the upstars arrived and that will remain after all have gone away. (79)  Both the elite and the working class se each other as intruders, which doesen't make sense at all because they both work together for the wealth of the "whole community." But is that wealth distributed fairly? This is where power takes place, giving the elite class the most privileges in society. The elite class sees the lower class as intruders because they have different hair cuts, fashion style and language. This are all material things that separate these two classes. From the point of view of the lower class, they also see the elites as intruders because they are the ones responsible for their misery.

FAIR?

"The two species have this in common: whatever happens in the family and in the city, they will always criticize." (79) This is very true, we are very demanding with certain things that we want in life. As I mentioned in my last blog, we have too high expectations. The rich will always criticize the manners of the poor and the poor of the rich.
"The Penates bring our the old people, the great-grandparents, the great-aunts, the family of the past; the Lares talk about the environment before it was ruined. But this does not mean they live only on memories; they daydream of the careers the children will follow when they grow up (the Penates), or what this house in the neighborhood might become (the Lares) if it were in good hands." (79) The Penates have the status they have because of their past relatives, not because of their accomplishments in life. In the other hand, the Lares critique the system of society they have created in order to benefit themselves. The Penates parents dreams of the future of their sons, of their status and most importantly; their fortune. Instead, the Lares day dreams of what their lives was if these leaders (Penates) would take their future into account when managing the money of the country.

I strongly believe in social equality. I don't think that the ones who have had rich relatives from the past deserve all the power and fortune unless they have done something for the progress of everyone. The Lares deserve so much more, sadly most of them are the ones that really struggle for accomplishing their dreams, not having a penny. If you think about it, it is ironic in a sense because the rich should be the leaders, almost like Gods for the whole community. Unfortunately, this is not true and fortune makes them ambitious and self- conscious. This attitude has made the poor self-conscious as well. As a result, both attitudes make of our society a very competitive one.