In Ragged Dick,
Alger paints a picture of the idealist American fairytale. Dick is a poor
street boy. What he lacks in money he makes up for in moral superiority and
willingness to work in comparison to his peers. At the beginning of the story,
Dick is sleeping in a box, but his spirits are always high and he never passes
up an opportunity to work. After receiving advice and a new outfit from Mr.
Whitney and Frank, Dick begins his upward journey.
Dick
represents an idealized version of early American values. Early in the novel, a
heavy emphasis is put on Dick’s moral objection to stealing. He is very proud
of the fact that he has never stolen, even though he had the chance to and has
been tempted to in the past (as was the case when he was hungry and could not
afford to buy bread). Dick also displays a heroic amount of selflessness. When
Johnny does not have enough money for food, Dick buys his meal even though Dick
only has a few cents himself. After Dick saves the drowning boy, he says “I didn’t
stop to think of the dangers, but I wasn’t going to see that little fellow
drown without tryin’ to save him” (128). This is another instance of Dick
acting in a way that is far superior to the other boys on the street that the
reader is introduced to.
This story
is one that is fun to read, but highly unrealistic. Dick may begin his journey
in abject poverty, but, once he starts his social and economic climb, he experiences
almost no setbacks. Issues that may be an obstacle (such as Mickey confronting
Dick or the woman on the carriage who accuses the boys of theft) are taken in
stride by the hero of this story. The ease with which Dick is able to move from
his situation to the next level of society is the most unrealistic part of this
story. Frank and Mr. Whitney tell Dick that he should go to school, wear nicer
clothes, and rent a room and then Dick is able to immediately go out and do
these things. A lot is also left up to chance as Dick is able to finally get an
office job after unknowingly saving an elite man’s son from drowning.
As
unrealistic as this novel seems for the 19th century, the likelihood
of this rags to riches story occurring today are even slimmer. It is hard to
imagine a young boy, orphaned and left on the streets, being able to work his
way into a “respectable” young business man in such a short period of time. This
novel presents a story that is rare as an attainable goal for all Americans if
they just stick to the “American Dream.”
I completely agree with Lauren’s statement that this novel is a fun one to read. I found myself flying through the novel with a smirk on my face. What I don’t completely agree with, however, is that the storyline is highly unrealistic. While making it from “rags to riches” isn’t easy in any way, I still believe it is relatively realistic, especially for someone like Dick. Dick has all the ingredients one would need to accomplish this leap in classes. Dick is not easily rattled; his perseverance and drive are what will accelerate him towards his dream of being respectable. If you can’t be knocked down, then making it to the top becomes much easier. Although I don’t agree with Lauren that this storyline is highly unrealistic, I do agree however that it would be less realistic today than in the 19th century. I say this not because I think it is harder to jump classes in today’s society, but because being homeless or living on the streets means something very different today than it did in this novel. In the 19th century, it seems as if more people, especially children, lived on the streets or were between homes. Today, it is very rare to see children living on the street or in boxes. Because of this, it would be a very different feat for a child born into that type of poverty today to travel up the social ladder.
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ReplyDeleteI agree with Lauren that, in the literal sense, this “rags to riches” story is completely unpractical now. However, there are certain elements of this story that are still applicable to today’s society. Nowadays, there are still people who are experiencing poverty and are struggling to make ends meet. Yet, similar to Dick, they hold a positive outlook towards life and try to preserve optimistically through the toughest of obstacles. Also, like Dick, they seek to take advantage of every opportunity and are constantly growing and maturing with each new experience. For example, many immigrants who leave behind everything to come to America have experiences that are extremely similar to Dicks’. They are hoping to accomplish the American dream by working hard and persevering. They also often live in impoverished neighborhoods and try to take advantage of every opportunity that will help them grow and move up the social ladder. Hence, even though the “rags to riches” story told in Ragged Dick may not be completely practical in the literal sense, there are still elements of the story that are true today. Furthermore, I think that as long as there is the concept of the American dream, this book will continue to be relatable and relevant.
ReplyDeleteI cannot comment on how realistic this novel is for the 19th century, but I can say that the storyline seems outdated. My generation is a bit cynical about the American Dream, especially in the current political climate, which is why it is so hard to envision Ragged Dick’s story being actualized. Like other students have commented, my reaction was to smirk and scoff at the ease Ragged Dick navigated tricky scenarios, and at his genuine honesty and earnestness about becoming a cleaned up man. However, there’s something romantic about how Ragged Dick is able to push through the grime and sleaze of New York and get on a path to success without letting other people get in his way. Lauren said, “The ease with which Dick is able to move from his situation to the next level of society is the most unrealistic part of this story.” - but that’s because we don’t believe in the American Dream anymore. Maybe if my generation learns a thing or two from this story, we can find a glimmer of hope under all the gross stuff happening in our society right now.
ReplyDeleteHannah Marks