Within every society, there are borders that separate all citizens of the population into different classifications . Among these boundaries are race, class, and gender. Crossing any of these boundaries represents a great achievement for the person undertaking the challenge. Unfortunately, however, any feat of crossing a boundary – whether in terms of race, like WEB Du Bois in The Souls of Black Folk, class, like Dalton Conley in Honky, or gender, like Jenny Boylan in She's Not There – is considered a threat to the surrounding population. Crossing a racial border is generally perceived as the greatest threat to those in the vicinity of the crossing. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Refuting the belief that anyone can "get ahead" in life by moving up a different class, Conley writes in his memoir, Honky, that only wealth can help someone move up in class. Living among minorities while associating with the white population, Conley witnessed first-hand life in both the lower-middle and upper-middle classes. As a teenager, Conley's best friend, Michael Holt, and his family were wealthy and could live upper-middle class: “Honesty and domestic morality were a given that the Holts could move on to a more ambitious agenda . They often went, talked, and even organized political rallies, and not just on the PS 41 schoolyard” (Conley, 83). Because they were financially well-off, the Holts were able to move in and bask in the upper-middle class. This proved that the only way someone could move up to another class was to be financially sound; since very few would ever earn enough to move up in class, those who already belonged to the upper classes were less vulnerable to the threat of crossing the border. In The Souls of Black Folk, Du Bois states his belief that education would be the key to African Americans joining the same class as the white population. The founding of universities would help the South educate its citizens, "but [the South] lacks that vast knowledge of what the world knows and knew about human living and doing, which [the South could] apply to the thousand problems of life real today before her” (Du Bois, 70). Du Bois argues that receiving an education from any of the Southern universities would help revive the distinct diversity of African Americans along with their history and culture. However, that education would also create a threat to the white class, because African Americans would have the same education and would also be in the same class. In her autobiography, She's Not There, Jenny Boylan describes how others felt somewhat threatened when she crossed the border. the boundary between male and female. All his life Jim Boylan knew he was a woman inside, but he always wondered if others around him felt threatened by his desire to be a woman: "I thought I looked good [dressed as a woman], if you didn't look too close. However, I stayed in the house. I didn't want to jeopardize the program or my professional integrity by risking intrigue” (Boylan, 115). as we continue to explain ourselves, the less similar we become to others" (Boylan, 250). Jenny tried to tell others that they should not be threatened by her crossing the gender boundary, and because of this she became.