Ragged Dick

“Some of his companions were sly, and their faces inspired distrust; but Dick had a frank, straight-forward manner that made him a favorite.”

Alger notes that slyness in boys makes them distrusted by others, while Dick’s honesty wins favor. Alger seeks to teach the young readers of his novel that the virtue of truthfulness will be rewarded.

“All my money’s invested in the Erie Railroad.”

Dick replies to his customer’s question, “Have you got any change?” with this comical answer. Dick’s quick-witted humor entertains his customers, hints at his hopes and dreams, and cheers him. 

“Our ragged hero wasn’t a model boy in all respects.”

Alger wants to create a protagonist that is likable and realistically flawed to appeal to his young readers. Despite Ragged Dick’s faults, the narrator hopes that readers will find something to imitate in Dick and his rise in the world.

“Now, in the boot-blacking business, as well as in higher avocations, the same rule prevails, that energy and industry are rewarded, and indolence suffers.”

Alger draws parallels between the boys’ bootblacking and adult businesses. He tries to teach principles that he believes will prepare his young readers to advance in life. Dick is portrayed as an example of energy and industry, while Johnny is lazy. Consequently, Dick earns three times as much money as Johnny.

“‘That boy,’ soliloquized Dick, as Johnny took his departure, ‘ain’t got no ambition.’”

Alger again contrasts Dick’s alertness for business opportunities with Johnny’s lack of ambition to improve his situation. Later in the novel, Dick tries to give Johnny his own regular customers because he feels that Johnny needs help. Although the novel praises ambition, Alger also emphasizes the need to be generous to others.

“He fancied that he could browbeat a ragged boot-black, but with a gentleman he saw that it would be a different matter.”

Mr. Hatch, the dishonest clerk, tries to intimidate Dick by taking away a good two-dollar bill, claiming it is counterfeit, and threatening to have him arrested if he does not leave the store. This illustrates the importance of appearances in the social hierarchy. The clerk believes he can take advantage of a ragged bootblack, who lacks money and influence. Mr. Hatch would not try the same scheme on a gentleman who possesses the means to punish him.

“Being an enterprising young man, he thought he saw a chance for a speculation, and determined to avail himself of it.”

Alger characterizes Dick’s offer to serve as Frank Whitney’s city guide as a “speculation,” a financial term that means risking something to make a profit. Dick is portrayed as an enterprising businessman, even though he is a 14-year-old boy. Dick’s alertness to opportunities opens his way to a better life as he learns new ideas from Frank Whitney.

“Still he looks honest. He has an open face, and I think can be depended upon.”

Mr. Whitney accepts Dick’s offer to serve as his nephew’s guide because he has an honest, trustworthy face despite Dick’s unwashed, ragged appearance. Alger emphasizes that virtue leads to rewards.

“‘It reminds me of Cinderella,’ said Dick, ‘when she was changed into a fairy princess.’”

Dick reacts to the transformation in his appearance after he washes, brushes his hair, and dresses in Frank’s neat suit. Dick’s true handsomeness appears after the dirt and rags of his street life are removed; he feels like Cinderella, who transforms from a servant into a princess in the fairy tale. Instead of reading about Cinderella in a book, the nearly illiterate Dick mentions he saw a performance of the story at Barnum’s.

“‘There aint nobody of any enterprise that pretends to make any profit on his goods.’”

Dick is introducing Frank to the world of city swindlers and traders who all claim that they are selling their goods at a discount and not making a profit. Dick makes fun of a swindler who pretends to offer a silver pitcher worth twenty dollars for the price of a dollar and sarcastically says that he hopes the man succeeds in his charitable effort.

“‘I’d like to be a office boy, and learn business, and grow up ‘spectable.’”

After listening to Frank’s advice and encouragement, Dick forms new aspirations. He wants to find a better job than being a bootblack in order to escape poverty and attain respectability. Respectability will require not only financial success but also education, manners, and good grooming.

“‘I needn’t have been Ragged Dick so long if I hadn’t spent my money in goin’ to the theatre, and treatin’ boys to oyster-stews, and bettin’ money on cards, and such like.’”

Dick realizes that he could have saved his money and improved his situation in life after Frank tells him the story of Dick Whittington, a poor boy who became Lord Mayor of London. Previously Dick had lived from moment to moment, indulging in extravagances, without planning for his future. Frank’s comments stimulate new ideas and goals for Dick. Alger hopes that his novel will have a similar effect on young readers.

“A feller has to look sharp in this city, or he’ll lose his eyeteeth before he knows it.”

Dick is quick-witted and an expert at avoiding swindlers in New York City; he grew up on the streets and learned by experience. He comments on the gullibility of the poor countryman who gave his cash to a con artist in exchange for a fake check. Being savvy and alert are essential qualites in the city.

“You know in this free country poverty in early life is no bar to a man’s advancement.”

Mr. Whitney encourages Dick to improve his situation in life. Alger’s novel conveys this central theme: in a democratic America, anyone can rise to prosperity through hard work, enterprise, and self-discipline.

“Remember that your future position depends mainly upon yourself, and that it will be high or low as you choose to make it.”

Mr. Whitney tells Dick that a man’s success depends primarily on his own exertions and choices. This optimistic philosophy expresses the American dream of the self-made man and contrasts with the European structure of inherited aristocracy.

“Sometime when you are a prosperous man, you can repay it in the form of aid to some poor boy, who is struggling upward as you are now.”

Through the character of Mr. Whitney, Alger encourages boys who succeed in life to help others who are “struggling upward.” As a poor boy who became a prosperous businessman, Mr. Whitney empathizes with Dick and gives him a suit of clothes and five dollars.

“In his ordinary dress, Dick would have been excluded, but now he had the appearance of a very respectable, gentlemanly boy, whose presence would not discredit any establishment.”

The novel illustrates the importance of appearance in achieving success. Dick was excluded from many respectable establishments and jobs because he wore ragged clothing. People treated him differently when he washed and wore neat clothing.

“Hitherto he had been content to live on from day to day without a penny ahead; but the new vision of respectability which now floated before Dick’s mind, owing to his recent acquaintance with Frank, was beginning to exercise a powerful effect upon him.”

Dick’s association with Frank has given him a new vision for his life. Dick decides to deposit money in a bank account to save for future needs, instead of spending all the cash he earned in a day and living moment to moment. He establishes a new habit of self-discipline to make a weekly deposit of cash. As a result, he can help himself or his friends when they have an emergency.

“But Dick was too sensible not to know that there was something more than money needed to win a respectable position in the world.”

Alger encourages habits that will lead young readers to material success, but he also cautions that money alone is not enough for respectability. Dick learns the importance of education to make his way in society: not only to correspond with friends like Frank, but also to gain good employment that requires reading, writing, and arithmetic.

“‘Well, Dick,’ said our hero, apostrophizing himself, as he left the office; ‘you’re getting up in the world. You’ve got money invested, and are goin’ to attend church by partic’lar invitation, on Fifth Avenue.’”

Dick’s definition of respectability includes being a man of property, with money invested in a savings account, and church attendance in a prosperous neighborhood. Mr. Greyson invites the promising young man to attend his Sunday school class where he will try to help him learn the Bible. Dick’s humor depends on an exaggeration of the facts: his savings account is modest and Mr. Greyson’s charitable offer is not equivalent to a prestigious social invitation.

“I can’t read much more’n a pig; and my writin’ looks like hens’ tracks.”

Dick’s distinctive comical expressions are an important part of his characterization and likability. Dick’s humble awareness of his educational shortcomings makes him eager to learn and easy to teach. He colorfully tells his tutor, Henry, that he struggles to read and write clearly.

“He knew that he had only himself to depend upon, and he determined to make the most of himself, —a resolution which is the secret of success in nine cases out of ten.”

According to the novel, a man’s success in life is primarily based upon his own exertions and choices in a free society. As a poor orphan, Dick exemplifies the importance of self-reliance. Alger also shows the impact of helpful mentors in Dick’s life such as the Whitneys and Mr. Gregson.

“In more ways than one Dick was beginning to reap the advantage of his self-denial and judicious economy.”

Through Dick’s avoidance of extravagances, such as the theatre and gambling, he accumulates one hundred and seventeen dollars in his savings account. When his friend Tom Wilkins faces his family’s eviction because of unpaid rent, Dick gives him money. Dick reflects that a year earlier, however much he may have wanted to help the Wilkins, he would not have possessed the financial means to assist. Alger highlights the usefulness of self-discipline and wise monetary choices.