capitalism comrad

The first two stories gave different perspectives of coming to America but one of the many similarities they shared was when they first arrived, they started spending money in a way that they were not accustomed to. The first thing the friends of the man does is make him buy a fancy suit. He needs to look rich despite the fact he isn't. When the girl is trying to live cheap, she still feels the need to buy nice tea, even though she knows she can get cheaper tea. It doesn't take long for either of them to become accustomed to the capitalistic life style of America. Is this because this is a part of the "American Dream" and it is what they want, or is this all an attempt to fit into a class structure?