The Role of Minor Characters in Ragged Dick It is impossible for the minor characters in Ragged Dick to have a fair chance at being recognized as decent members of society because of the emphasis Horatio Alger Jr. places on Dick Hunter. The better qualities of Dick are constantly being reminded to the reader, giving them little room to disagree with Alger’s heroic portrayal of him. Horatio Alger Jr.’s preference to homosexuality also reflects his choice in excluding any useful female characters
Ragged Dick by Horatio Alger. This story follows a young boy, who through hard work, determination, self-reliance, honesty and good character went from a homeless black-boot to a respectable, high paying job. This story is filled with examples of what life was like in New York City, telling the us what he would find and experience in it. In Ragged Dick, This was a time of progress, change and falsehood in American History. This is when people really started to chase the illusive American dream,
Imagery in Ragged Dick Imagery plays a big part in the success of a novel. Different writers have different styles. The good thing about imagery is it makes room for the reader to put things together. The reader is allowed to interpret the story the way that they like. "Ragged Dick", Horatio Alger, Jr. did a great thing with imagery. While reading the novel readers had a change to envision many things that were mentioned in each chapter. Algar interconnected the appearances of the main
Ragged Dick: Or, Street Life in New York with the Boot Blacks Ragged Dick: Or, Street Life in New York with the Boot Blacks tells the story of a young teenage boy trying to survive as a boot black on the streets of New York during the period of industrialization. Ragged Dick: Or, Street Life in New York with the Boot Blacks overall is very accurate in its portrayal of the era. Several examples throughout this work can be used to justify this such as Dick’s occupations, his enjoyment of theatre
Success Riddled with Lack of Acknowledgment of Reality Ragged Dick, a “pull yourself up by the bootstraps” children’s book about an honest and great kid named, shockingly, Ragged Dick is a story revolving around the rags to riches journey of the protagonist. While being a children’s book Alger still creates one-dimensional characters to in a skillful way to help guide his young readers into seeing all the qualities he believes are good in Dick. Specifically, Alger utilizes Johnny Nolan, Frank, and
needed to acquire what is needed for success although, were not quite as easy as they are in comparison to today. In 1867, there was a young boy, around 12 years old, named Ragged Dick. He was an orphan who stole and slept in the streets, and also a bootblack, which is someone who shines shoes for a living. In the book Ragged Dick, the author explained, “He would not steal, or cheat, or impose on younger boys, but was frank and straight-forward, manly and self-reliant.” Though he had a rugged upbringing
advantages control those of inferior opportunities”. By examining the works of other authors Sumner’s law of evolution has proven to be false. Horatio Alger Jr. tells the story about a young boy named Ragged Dick. Dick was a shoe shiner in the bustling city of New York. Like all the other shoe shiner Dick was poor. He
expectations for themselves, whereas, in Ragged Dick, it was more of a day-to-day type situation. When people set smaller, more realistic goals, it results in more happiness and comfort in their lifestyle. However, in today’s world, Americans have become so incredibly competitive and successful, that the standards have been significantly raised to the point where personal happiness is no longer good enough. After reading a novel like Horatio Alger’s Ragged Dick, you subconsciously make yourself realize
In my mind I’ve come to a conclusion that the “Ragged Dick” piece is indeed a myth because in the society I live in today it’s no way a person born into poverty has the same opportunities as a person born into riches. A person born into poverty would have to struggle and work hard to receive anything in
Horatio Alger’s Ragged Dick, Alger writes about a rag-to-riches story and points out valid and key messages that tell of things like hard work and determination can take anyone from the bottom to the top, despite one’s economic class. I do realize that in real life that although these messages hold key to making it in the world, everyone does not have the equal opportunity to succeed or move up in class rankings like Alger says. Dick, the main character in Ragged Dick, is a man that