Neville recalls life in New York during the Great Depression, which he dates as starting in 1929. He illustrates the era's low prices with anecdotes -- inexpensive Tiffany glassware as a wedding gift, and a $12 suit that was once the most he could afford -- and contrasts this with a later time when he could spend far more, $250 on a suit, with less inner strain, using the comparison to argue that one's inner state, not the price itself, determines what feels affordable.