Introduction
In his book, Horatio Alger reflects on a range of issues associated with the street life of a 14-year-old bootblack Ragged Dick (7). The book includes three stories, describing the way the poor young boy, striving for financial success, succeeds thanks to his courage, good fortune, and virtue and becomes a representative of the middle-class. The character created by Alger – this of the honest and decent boy causes some sympathy and respect. The story of his life and struggle with the circumstances can be regarded as an example for young readers in achieving their goals and a reasonable attitude to life. One may note that the book intends to grab the attention of poor children yet those from wealthy families and even adults seem to benefit from reading it.
Intended Audience
The way of life of homeless poor boy described by the author may be an inspiring story for the same boys and girls to rise from poverty to richness. This book is quite important for them as usually, street life implies plenty of difficulties and hardships. The mentioned audience can easily relate to Dick due to the similarity between them. It seems that the key idea of Alger is to teach young boys how to act and live to become successful, focusing on ambition and morals. The book is full of references to the horridness of some children, living on the street that is opposed to Dick. In particular, he states that “I never stole, it’s mean and I wouldn’t do it” (Alger 73). This means that it is critical to get rid of negative features to succeed.
At the same time, it should be stressed that Alger’s novel introduces some rather complicated issues of rising from rags to riches. Furthermore, such an eternal question of what impacts a person’s life most are raised by the author. These observations, as well as the fact that the majority of poor children of that time were unable to read or buy books, demonstrate that Ragged Dick’s intended audience is not only poor boys but also a wider range of people.
It goes without saying that the book has educational and instructive nature as the author strives to help boys in understanding their life paths. The importance of the desire to be well respected by society, achieving something more than a bootblack career is promoted by Alger as the key driving force. Some people believe that it is enough to work a lot to become rich or to succeed. However, the book reveals the deeper message: much of what Dick reached, as it turned out, is based on luck rather than hard work. For example, speaking of the newsboys’ Lodgin’ House on Fulton Street, Dick claims that “it’s a good place. I don’t know what us boys would do without it” (Alger 78). This illustrates that not only personal characteristics identify the level of one’s success but also some external factors, such as fortune, casual contacts, or support of wealthy gentlemen. In this connection, it is possible to suggest that the book intends to grab the attention of adults so that the latter may see the hardships of poor boys and help them.
Alger’s hero is the embodiment of successful ideas as he rushes into the maelstrom of the big city life and wins seemingly without anyone else’s help. This is the essence of faith in the potential greatness of the common man and belief in the optimistic outcome. In fact, beggar Dick served faithfully his master. After succeeding and reaching a certain position in society, he also helps the poor young boy who serves him. In spite of the fact that young Dick tried to do his best in reaching financial success, the turning point of his life occurred due to a wealthy man whose son was saved by Dick from drowning. In gratitude, James Rockwell, the father of the mentioned boy, hires Dick as a clerk in the New York office that, in turn, leads to the resolution of his financial problems. The fact that Dick was called Richard Hunter, his real name, shows that this point was undoubtedly critical in his life. Returning once in his old room, a young clerk discovers that his implacable enemy Mickey Maguire pulled the only rags that served him for many years. After that, he understands that the old life is over once and for all. This story of Alger contributed to the spread of the typically American idea that it is the country of endless possibilities where anyone can hit a big jackpot.
Taking into account that plenty of children were working on the streets at that time, this book is especially important for those adults who tried to advocate for these homeless newsboys and bootblacks. It is crucial to note that the attitude of adults to those children was quite negative as it was considered that they steal money from passers and are dishonest in general: “there are many boys, and men too, who, like Mickey Maguire, have never had a fair chance in life” (Alger 102). This opposition between Dick and other bad street boys shows that they were able to change their lives for the better and that a great impact can be made by wealthy gentlemen to turn them into respectable persons. Perhaps, the author wanted to show that destiny of hundreds of friendless and homeless children of that time period was in the hands of wealthy people to some extent. The evident amelioration of conditions of Dick’s life clearly proves the above assumption.
Another supposition regarding the target audience of Alger may be related to boys from prosperous families who had never seen the street life. The core idea here is to describe the everyday life of poor boys, including their hard work, poverty, and optimism. This could help wealthy boys in understanding their poor coevals and changing attitudes towards them. Also, some clichés such as laziness of poor children along with their ignorance are dispelled in this book. One may state that after reading about Dick, wealthy children would have a better opinion of their poor peers and make friends with them, thus helping them to socialize and climb the social ladder.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it should be emphasized that Alger’s Ragged Dick implies to capture the attention of different people. First, poor boys may get inspiration from the story of Dick. In particular, his ability to work hard, be responsible, and responsive on his way to success illustrate that every poor boy may also succeed as a result of these features. Second, it was revealed that wealthy gentlemen compose the second target audience of the book. The fact that one of them helped Dick to find a good job in response to his noble act shows that not only personal qualities identify the level of success. Instead, fortune plays a great role in people’s lives as well as the help of wealthy gentlemen. Third, this book may also be interesting and informative for those children who live in wealthy families to help them in becoming closer to their poor peers.
Work Cited
Alger, Horatio. Ragged Dick: Or, Street Life in New York With the Boot-Blacks. Signet Classics, 2014.