Ragged-to-Riches: Ragged Dick

The story of Ragged Dick was written by Horatio Alger, using Alger’s common plot line of rags-to-riches.  Dick Hunter, a boy living on the streets since the age of seven, is now fourteen and working as a boot-black.  He has gotten by with many jobs, adapting to the situation.  He was the paperboy for a while, and also sold matches.  He made enough money to get by, and would spend the extra to gamble and buy cigars.  On the streets of New York in the 1800s, this was a fairly common sight, as evidenced by Dick’s friends.

Dick’s life changes when he meets Frank Whitney.  Frank is an honest boy brought in from the country by his uncle, and Dick offers to be his guide.  Along the way, Dick and Frank get to know each other and become friends.  Dick also gets a suit from Mr. Whitney, which becomes a prized possession for someone who only had a “Washington Coat” and “Napoleon Pants”.

Dick, after the encounter, tries his hardest to become “’spectable” so that he can get rich and live in luxury.  He starts saving his money, rents a room, and eventually lets Henry Fosdick stay in his room too.  Fosdick and Dick exchange lessons (for reading and writing, as Dick couldn’t read or write well) for the room rate (since Fosdick only had a little money).  At the end, Dick is able to read and write and both Fosdick and Dick get jobs that are better than shining boots.

Many themes surface in the story of Ragged Dick.  The main one that Alger presses is the importance of integrity and hard work.  Early on in the story, Dick shines the shoes of Mr. Greyson, who has no change with him.  Dick promises to pay the fifteen cents back to him, but Greyson isn’t sure if he will or not.  He thinks, “If he does, I will give him my custom regularly.  If he don’t, as is most likely, I shan’t mind the loss of fifteen cents.”  When he does give back the money, Greyson is very impressed and took him to church with his family and also fed them and welcomed him and Fosdick back whenever they wanted.

Another example of Dick’s integrity that stood out throughout the whole book was the fact that he never stole anything.  He had every excuse to steal, considering he lived on the street in a box with very little money gained from his profession.  He refused to, though.  When the “country chap” had his fifty dollars swindled from him, Dick got the money back and gave it right back to the man.

Dick’s courage is something that is noticed in the novel.  He was not afraid to do what he thought was right.  He would not worry about Micky Maguire or be provoked into something that would be wrong, like hit him first.  He gave money to Fosdick for a new suit; he spent his money on meals for others on occasion.  His greatest act of courage came as the child was drowning, where he acted almost instantly and saved him.  He was rewarded with a well-paying job and a new suit for his bravery, something that characterized him.

One of the things that we questioned was the reasonability of the time frame posed in Ragged Dick.  Dick breaks habits in one day that take some people years to break.  It never mentions him thinking about relapsing and going back to gambling and cigars.  I know he has a strong will and really wanted to be rich and respectable, but I think that Alger pushed the timeline a little fast for Dick.  Also, throughout the story, there are many flaws with his language.  Sometimes the word choice is poor, other times a stray word slips into the sentence that is not needed.  Surprisingly, this did not really detract from the story as much as I thought it would.

 

Discussion Questions

1. Would you be as bold as Dick was when he confronted the swindler Ephraim Smith? Were you surprised that he gave back the money to the man it was stolen from?
2. Dick is very witty and humorous, which I enjoyed very much. What did everyone else think of his humor? Do you have any specific examples?
3. I was elated when Dick told Frank that he would no longer gamble, and when he started a savings account. What did you think of Dick's character development? Did it seem reasonable?
4. Even with a dislike of violence, Dick handles himself well against his enemy Micky Maguire. I enjoyed how he didn't take advantage of the situation and only acted defensively. I think that this spoke to Dicks' true nature. Did anyone feel differently?
5. When Dick took care of his friend Fosdick and gave him a place to stay, while helping other boot-blacks that he considered friends, there was a marked change in his life. Fosdick's private tutoring was a major turning point for Dick, and I believed that it was an important step that contributed to his success. Were there other situations that people think might have been more important to Dick's development?
6. In a year, Dick transitions from spending his earnings on movies, cigars, oyster stews, and other pleasures, to finally saving up his money and contributing to the welfare of his friends. Do you think that this was a reasonable improvement for such a small time? What does this suggest about the believability of the author?  
7. The rescue of the boy by Dick, an immediate response that wasn't spurred by greed or rewards, was also a pivotal moment. I think it shows that the smallest actions can have life-changing consequences, and that it also attributes a "lucky" theme into the novel. Were there any other "lucky" moments that were striking to you?
8. In addition to luck, there were several branching and overlapping themes throughout the novel. These include the importance of hard work, what it means to grow up, that virtuous attributes are important to success, and it encompasses a “rags-to-respectability” element. Dick does not become wealthy and privileged, but his situation does improve drastically. Most of Horatio Alger Jr’s books were of the same caliber, even though he did not experience those same situations while growing up. He was not subject to the same hardships as the majority of his characters, so where do you think he gained the inspiration to depict his characters with relative accuracy?