…class is still a powerful force in American life. Over the past three decades, it has come to play a greater, not lesser, role in important ways.
-- Author (chapter 1 paragraph 2)

Importance: The author makes the point that class is playing an increasingly growing role in American society.

I think the system is as fair as you can make it. I don’t think life is necessarily fair. But if you persevere, you can overcome adversity. It has to do with a person’s willingness to work hard, and I think it’s always been that way.
-- Ernie Frazier (chapter 1 paragraph 17)

Importance: Ernie Frazier is a 65-year-old real estate investor who thinks that even though the system is unfair that one can succeed through hard work.

There is not one decisive break saying that the people below this all have this common experience. Each step is equal-sized. Sure, for the people higher up this ladder, their kids are more apt...
-- Paul Kingston (chapter 1 paragraph 24)