The novel Ragged Dick by Horatio Alger provides messages to young men about the
characteristics that modern heroes maintain.
Throughout the novel, we observe
the admirable qualities of Dick, as well as the temptations he gives into. Dick
contains a strong set of moral values as “he would not steal, or cheat, or
impose upon younger boys” (Alger 9). He also has a witty personality and impeccable
street smarts that enable him to decipher those trying to cheat him out of
money. For example, when a man tries to trick Dick into giving him $20 for a
lost pocketbook he claims contains several thousand dollars, Dick reads his
trickery, saving himself from losing a great deal of money (Alger 36-37). Due
to the fact that Alger refers to dick as “our hero” throughout the novel, he portrays
the message that heroes in our society, or admirable young adults, should also
aspire to these qualities of morality, wittiness, and streets smarts. However, we
cannot overlook the fact that Dick is also a “ragged” character with several
flaws. In particular, one of Dick’s worst qualities “was his extravagance”
(Alger 9). Dick is “careless of his earnings” and often spends away his days
pay on trivial things like smoking, entertainment, and drinking (Alger 9).
These particular imperfect qualities of Dick portray him in a more human light
that young men can relate to, as well as suggesting that Dick has work to do
before he can step into the hero position in the novel.
In order to let go of these harmful
attributes, Dick gets help from a wealthier young man named Frank. Because the audience
of this novel is wealthier young boys who could afford to read, Alger sends the
message that in order for a boy whose unfortunate past caused him to live in
poverty to gain respectability, he needs the help of a wealthier individual. This
is interesting because throughout the novel, Alger portrays Dick as an
independent, self-reliant character. However, Alger tells his audience that a
poor boy like Dick, although independent and ambitious, could not achieve his
dreams and become “our hero” without the help of someone wealthier, Frank, to
show him the way.
On Dick’s journey touring New York
City with Frank, Frank gives him some advice on how to become more respectable.
After Dick tells Frank of his aspirations to one day work in an office, Frank
tells Dick, “A good many distinguished men have once been poor boys” (Alger
31). Frank also tells Dick to go to night school (Alger 40) and to get a room
for him to sleep in (Alger 55). Although all this advice seems pretty obvious
for Dick to better his life, Alger specifically has these ideas come from the
rich, model boy. This puts Frank in the position of the philanthropist, or even
the hero, placing the thought in the book’s young audience to also help those
less fortunate to truly embody respectability.
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