"... the tale of a poor but honest lad who, through grit, industry and some well-deserved luck, pulls himself up from poverty and into middle-class respectability."
The transition that Dick endures throughout 'Ragged Dick' is evident throughout the book, with constant references to his improved appearance and cleanliness. Examples of this include chapter 1, where Dick is described as "rather peculiar", with clothing missing buttons, torn and 'ragged'. As the story develops in chapter 3, Dick meets Frank, a wealthy boy from the country. Frank's Uncle employs Dick to show his nephew the city of New York and gives him some new, nicer clothing to replace Dick's "ragged and dirty" clothes. Immediately after when Dick and Frank are walking through the street, people who supposedly know Dick, don't recognise him, highlighting the aesthetic importance regarding class in 19th Century New York. When Dick sees the servant who doesn't recognise him, Dick exclaims, "he don't know me" and "he thinks I'm a young swell". This also highlights the divisions within the classes, as the servant did not recognise Dick now that he wore finer clothing. A servant would have been fairly low on the socio-economic spectrum at the time, so would be more likely to mix and socialise with the likes of Dick. The fact then that he did not notice it was Dick in his new clothes, reinforces this. It also implies that people very much tended to judge people at face value, and perhaps this is one of the key issues that Alger aimed to convey to his young readers.
Cara Erdheim:
"...in the wake of the Great Depression, James Truslow Adams, in The Epic of America, defined the dream as one that would allow all men and women, regardless of their origin or social status, to prosper in a place of free and equal opportunity..."
This is certainly a large factor in 'Ragged Dick', as it is explained to the reader in chapter 8 that Dick had been fending for himself for half his life, since he was seven when "the woman died and her husband went out West". Because of this, Dick did not attend school and was therefore limited to what he could achieve in life, due to his inadequate specialist skills. Indeed throughout the book, Dick mentions his ambitions of being an "office boy" and highlights the fact that he is willing to learn. But due to his unfortunate circumstances, Dick had not been able to get an education, as he needed to work in order to survive. A lot of the opportunities that are offered to Dick often only happen due to chance encounters with generally sympathetic people, who have the means to make a difference to Dick's life. This is perhaps a romanticised depiction of the 'American Dream', as Alger combines Dick's persistently positive attitude with the concept that good fortune will follow those who deserve it. Although not described as a perfect character, Dick's character is perhaps a depiction of the United States and how it has grown from having very little into the super power it is today. By the end of the book, Dick no longer goes by the name 'Dick' and refers to himself as "Richard Hunter", implying a certain level of maturity and self respect that was lacking at the start of the book.
John Swansburg:
"...Benjamin Franklin is undoubtedly the original self-made man..."
This quote is interesting, as it lays the foundations for how a 'self-made man' should appear and perhaps even what it is to be truly 'American'. Franklin was born in 1706 in Boston to Josiah Franklin and Abiah Folger. His father was a soap and candle maker. Franklin learnt to read at an early age and attended school until the age of 10, when he went to work with his father and then his brother James at his print shop. Despite the hardship of being beaten frequently by his brother, Ben was able to learn a lot about the newspaper business and in his late teens, he was getting his own work published.
In 'Ragged Dick', there are some similarities and some key differences between Franklin's upbringing and Dick's, which questions the true definition of a 'self-made man'. Unlike Franklin, Dick did not attend school, so was immediately limited with what he could do with his life. Moreover, the fact that Franklin was given an education, implicates the idea of him being a 'self-made man' as being not entirely true. Dick however, had managed to survive on the streets for 7 years having never been educated. He also plied his own trade as a boot shiner, for which he earned enough to be "careless of his earnings". At this stage it appears that Dick is more of a 'self-made man' than Franklin, as he'd had to live his life without the support of a large family, with various openings into lines of work. Further through the book, James Rockwell offers Dick a job at his office to thank Dick for saving his son. Rather than obtaining a position through nepotism, like Franklin, Dick's courage and work ethic is rewarded when he is given the job. It are his actions that lead him to obtaining what he ultimately had always dreamed for at the end of the book, and to me, that makes Dick more of a 'self-made man' than Franklin at this stage of his life comparatively.
References:
http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cache/a/c/t/act2080.0031.003/00000034.tif.1.pdf#zoom=75
file:///C:/Users/Rob%20Brown/Downloads/Why%20Speak%20of%20American%20Stories%20as%20Dreams-%20(1).pdf
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/history/2014/09/the_self_made_man_history_of_a_myth_from_ben_franklin_to_andrew_carnegie.html
http://www.biography.com/people/benjamin-franklin-9301234#early-life
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