Somehow it seemed to wake Joe up, and excite his ambition, to give him a sense of power which he had never felt before.
"If I could only get a foothold here," thought Joe, "I should be willing to work twice as hard as I did on the farm." This was what Joe thought.

I don't say that he was correct.

There are many country boys who make a mistake in coming to the city.

They forsake quiet, comfortable homes, where they have all they need, to enter some city counting-room, or store, at starvation wages, with, at best, a very remote prospect of advancement and increased risk of falling a prey to temptation in some of the many forms which it assumes in a populous town.

A boy needs to be strong, and self-reliant, and willing to work if he comes to the city to compete for the prizes of life.