Ragged Dick is the story of an urchin child living in New York, who befriends an out-of-town rich country boy who, by degrees, convinces him to turn his life around. The story's themes center on the character traits and attitude one must have in order to achieve success, such as honesty, work-ethic, positivity, and a generally cool and collected head. All these traits, in Horatio Alger's opinion, are necessary to remove oneself from poverty and make one's way to the top. However, this book is not written for those persons struggling financially, as in the era Alger was writing, Ragged Dick would surely never have enough money left over for books, let alone the ability to read them. The book then, should not exactly be viewed as a "how-to" guide for getting out of poverty, but rather as an encouragement to people to be kind and charitable to those in need. Indeed, while the title of the novel may be Ragged Dick, its contents are much more centered around Frank, and his choice to befriend Dick.
In a period of time when there was most definitely some mistrust between the lower and middle classes, as evidenced by multiple appearances of thieves and conmen, such as the man who tries to sell the boys a wallet full of blank bills, throughout the story, Alger is advocating for the poor, it as if he is saying, "Give them a chance to prove themselves, they will surprise you!" To this end he creates Dick, by all accounts a well meaning and good individual, however with some unhealthy habits such as smoking and gambling, living in the city and desiring a better life, yet somehow totally unaware as of how to change his station. It is only when Frank appears and tells him that he could have a better life, and be a more respectable person, that Dick actually begins to contemplate the possibility that he could turn his life around. He seems not to have considered that he could go to night school, or get a cheap apartment so as to stay off the streets, thinking he is not good or smart enough to be able to succeed. Without the encouragement of Frank, without a person who believed he could improve himself, Dick would have remained in the same vicious cycle of poverty. It brings to mind the idea of learned helplessness in psychology, when one becomes so accustomed to a bad situation that they no longer see any way out of it, and no longer try to escape it, it is only with outside interference that one is able to break free. Perhaps this is what Alger refers to when he states that one part of success is "providential help."
The novel Ragged Dick is a compelling narrative encouraging brotherhood and kindness across class distinctions, it hopes to inspire young and likely well-off individuals to provide encouragement and aid to those fallen on hard times. Not only is cooperation between classes beneficial to the poor, as it is evident in the novel that the knowledge and aid of Dick is invaluable to Frank's journey across New York, and without Dick, Frank would surely have been swindled many times over. Alger also describes the way the boot-blackers suffer in winter, and shows through the relationship of Dick and Johnny how they are kind and uplifting to one another in an effort to procure sympathy for the struggling urchins of New York and to depict their humanity, so as to further impose the point: that we are all human, and at some point in every persons life, we need a little kindness and a little help to get along.
Horatio Alger’s attempt to bridge the gap between the lower and middle classes within the book, Ragged Dick, is very evident. There were multiple scenes to prove this statement such as the ones pointed out in the post. At the time the book was written, there was most likely a judgment placed on those in the lower class, especially those in unstable circumstances such as Dick at the beginning of the novel. Although he made many decisions that were considered immoral such as gambling and smoking, he had many good qualities that allowed him to be likable to those around him. One of them being Mr. Greyson who offered him the chance to return the change that was owed. “I’ll have you twenty-five cents, and you can leave the change at my office anytime during the day.” (Alger 5) Although it was thought that Dick might not return the change back to Mr. Greyson, the opportunity allowed for the gap between the lower and middle class to be drawn closer. The trust given from the middle class to the lower class enables those less fortunate to be given the chance to redeem a life that could potentially rid them of their misfortunes. It can even be seen that through Mr. Whitney’s generosity of giving Dick five dollars was able to further enable Dick’s generosity towards others even poorer than him. The help given to those in need of aid can spark the change that will continue on down the line.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your comments about how the book encourages people able to purchase the book to be kind and helpful to the less fortunate. As you said in your comment on the book, Dick is an honest and ambitious youth, but without help, he would not have been able to succeed in the way he did. Your mention of Mr. Whitney and Frank bring to my mind how many examples of figures who assist Dick in his pursuits there are in the book. Along with the aforementioned two, there are several other people in Dick’s adventures that help him move up the ladder. For example, there is Mr. Grayson, who invites Dick to Sunday school and to dinner, and treats him “just as if (Dick and Henry) were young gentleman” (Alger 85). There is also Henry Fosdick, who tutors Dick. Finally, James Rockwell gives him a job as a clerk in his counting-room after Dick rescued Little Johnny.
ReplyDeleteAll of these helpers also follow the turned you mentioned with Frank and Dick’s relationship- they are helping each other in turn, and both parties benefit from the friendship. For example, Henry Fosdick tutors Dick as payment for being his roommate. In James Rockwell’s case, he gives Dick a job as a reward for saving Johnny. These support your comments that the book is used as encouragement to help other people make their way. As Fosdick says, “We will both help each other, and I’m sure we can accomplish something.” (Alger 78).
-Emma Wiese
I strongly agree with your statements regarding Alger's view of generosity and charity to those in need. There was a cycle of charity throughout the novel that Alger strongly emphasized to the reader. Dick helped Frank out by showing him New York and protecting him from the dangers of the street; Frank helped Dick by becoming his first friend and teaching him that he could rise out of poverty. Dick helped Mr. Whitney by guiding his nephew on a tour of the city; Mr. Whitney gave Dick his first five-dollars for savings and taught him that rags-to-riches stories really can happen, as they did for Mr. Whitney himself. Dick aided Fosdick by giving him a place to stay; Fosdick tutored Dick so that he could be more educated. Dick saved Mr. Rockwell's son from drowning in the river, stating he, "didn't stop to think of the danger, but [he] wasn't going to see that little fellow drown without tryin' to save him" (Alger 128). Dick knew he could help the child and did so, without thinking of his own safety. For this, Dick receives the job position of a lifetime. Alger wishes to show the reader that anyone is capable of helping those in need, no matter their position in society; and that as one achieves success, rising from Dick's boot-blacking job on the street to a very respectable and rich man like Mr. Rockwell, you should continue to be charitable to those that are in need.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with the points made in your post. Alongside the narration of Dick's journey in to becoming a respectable person, there is an overarching theme of generosity and kindness. Starting from the beginning, the reader can see Dick buying fellow shoe shiner Johnny Nolan breakfast with the remaining amount of money that he had. From then on, there is Dick's encounter with Frank in which Dick gives up his free time to help someone else in need, Mr. Whitney's generosity towards Dick for giving the tour of New York to Frank, and so on and so forth. Throughout the entire story, Dick is either going out of his way to help someone, or someone is offering a hand to Dick in order to help him on his way to respectability. As Alger writes, "sometime when you are a prosperous man, you can repay it in the form of aid to some poor boy, who is struggling upward as you are now." (Alger 57) Generosity and the path to becoming successful are closely related and should be passed down from one person to the next. Even the act of saving the young boy on the boat led to Dick receiving a high paying job from the father of the young boy near the end of the story. As this book was most likely geared towards the middle/upper middle class, Alger seems to push this theme of charity and generosity in order to help those in need.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the idea that Alger is largely writing in order to convince the largely (at the time) middle class audience of the book to give the poor a chance and to be charitable to others, but I believe that the argument is weakened by the emphasis solely on Dick and his hardworking nature as opposed to the other poor and less fortunate characters. Throughout the book Alger focuses on Dick’s character on aspects such as his honesty, strong work ethic, “straight-forward manner,” and kindness (Alger 4). For example, when Johnny Nolan, a fellow poor boot-black, meets Dick in a restaurant Dick buys him a meal as he is unable to afford one himself (8). This good nature is what Alger uses in order to convince the audience that Dick is a character who deserves goodwill and a chance to succeed. However, many of the other poor characters in the novel are not shown in the same positive light that urges the readers to give them a chance. Johnny Nolan, for example, is characterized as being lazy and looks “enviously” at Dick’s money (8). He left his relatively stable job at a farm due to a sense of loneliness and not really wanting to work. Johnny is not given the same characterization, and thus, opportunity, as Dick. It is almost as if the novel is saying he won’t really get a chance because he is lazy. Later in the novel the character of Micky Maguire is introduced, another boot-black who is very “despotic” and prone to violence and jealousy (65). He is similarly poor but no one in the novel comes to his aid or gives him $5 to help him succeed, as a result of his violent nature. Dick’s characterization as an exception to the typical street rabble hurts the idea that the audience should help the poor, as it gives the idea that the poor are often lazy or violent and thus undeserving of a chance to escape their poverty.
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