While I found Ragged Dick to be an entertaining story, I also found its plot devices to be somewhat annoying. This is most clearly illustrated in how Dick manages to ascend in his social and economic environment. Although much of the novel preaches the values of hard work and perseverance, Dick's achievements always feel more like the outcome of luck rather than his own doing. These circumstances undercut the novel's central message, and the story struggles to be plausible as a result.
This issue is present from the earliest parts of the story, such as when Dick meets Frank and his uncle in a chance encounter. Prior to meeting them, Dick was content to spend his money as soon as he made it at bars and theaters, sleeping in whatever place he could afford or find. While he doesn't express a lack of desire for improvement, he certainly doesn't show much unhappiness regarding his situation. The only reason Dick feels the need to begin saving his money and working toward a better life is because Frank and his uncle tell him he should, not through any internal motivation. This makes it difficult to identify with Dick's desires as his motivations boil down to "just because" rather than anything more relatable like becoming tired of being poor.
Dick's blind luck continues until the end of the story as well. Toward the end of the novel, Dick is looking for a better job than being a shoe shiner. As he is taking a ferry with Henry to accompany him on an errand, a young boy falls overboard. Because the boy's father is unable to swim, Dick takes it upon himself to try to rescue the boy. With the help of some boaters passing by, Dick manages to save the child from drowning, and the child's father is so grateful that he offers Dick a high-paying job at his counting-room. Rather than reward Dick for scouting the city for the best job available, Dick just happens to find himself in a situation where his good nature endears him to someone nearby who can give him what he is looking for at the time.
Throughout Ragged Dick, the titular protagonist ends up being the recipient of blind luck rather than a beneficiary of the values preached in the novel. This is not to say that there are not instances of Dick benefiting from working hard (such as his studying to become more educated or saving money from his job as a boot-black), but rather to say that the results of these actions are rarely as impactful as the lucky outcomes Dick experiences as well. Because of these flaws in the story, Ragged Dick does not succeed in practicing what it preaches.
I agree that the use of luck in this novel as a way to push Ragged Dick forward in society begins to get overly repetitive and beyond belief. As you mentioned, Alger’s use of luck in Dick’s story clearly minimizes the emphasis on the importance of hard work and kindness in becoming successful. Is Dick’s luck supposed to show young boys reading this book that they will be rewarded for kind actions? Or is it to show that hard work and generosity lead to success tangentially and not directly? These questions are especially concerning when, at the conclusion of the novel, Dick receives a job after saving a girl from drowning, rather than getting a job through hard work, education, and other characteristics the readers watched him develop through the novel (Alger 130). The use of luck undercuts Alger’s other messages in the novel; one should be hardworking and kind for the sole reason of being hardworking in kind, not to reap personal benefits. If boys act kindly out of selfishness and their actions don’t get rewarded (like Dick’s were), they will stop being kind. Ragged Dick may proclaim how a “good boy” should act, but once you take Alger’s lessons out of the setting of the novel and into the real world, the lessons fail young boys and their path to success.
ReplyDeleteLuck does seem to play a large role in Dick's overall success by the end of the novel. However, this luck was only a factor after his encounter with Frank and Mr. Whitney. One may argue that the encounter itself was due to luck, but I would say that this opportunity was no different than Dick finding another customer on the street, as the story reads "Being an enterprising young man, he thought he saw a chance for speculation, and determined to avail himself to it" (Alger 14) when describing this encounter.
ReplyDeleteIt was only after this chance meeting that we see Dick's luck present itself throughout the story. Although it may be overbearing and unrealistic at times, this luck seems to be a direct product of the continued hard work and perseverance of our young protagonist, as well as his change in behavior and attitude. We saw from the very beginning of the novel that Dick was "energetic and on the alert for business" (8), which early on describes his can-do attitude. The one thing Dick was missing was a friend who supported and believed in him. After he talks to Mr. Whitney and gets some advice on saving money, Dick's luck becomes evident and persists throughout the novel.
Although I agree Dick's luck can overshadow the hard work he put in along the way, the many opportunities he was given would never have been possible without his can-do attitude and evident perseverance; traits the novel continually describe as necessary for success.
The novel seems to be pushing the idea of hard work being the only path to success, but I think you’re right in pointing out that the repetitive luck in the novel makes that point seem significantly less important. I think the problem is that the point that ends up coming across is that hard work is essentially worthless in the face of blind luck. Dick’s efforts throughout the novel that supposedly lead up to his success pale in comparison to the random event that ultimately results in his respectable job. A young boy reading this novel may get the idea that studying and saving money, while an admirable thing to do, isn’t worth it if they can instead wait for a moment of coincidence that takes little effort on their part other than knowing how to swim or something equally trivial. However, I also do think that, although the amount of luck Dick encounters is highly unrealistic, the fact that it requires more than simple hard work to climb the social ladder is a much more realistic view of the world. While that’s not necessarily the value that I think Alger was trying to teach his readers, I do think it offers a much more realistic view of the world than suggesting that if you save your money from a low-paying job you will ultimately be rewarded with a significant upwards climb socially.
ReplyDeleteI wholeheartedly agree that the novel would be very different if luck was not at play here. However, I don't think that we can blame Dick's success based solely on luck. I think Dick does a good job of taking what life has to offer him and utilizing it to his advantage. While you might be right that Dick does not take the hard work and strong values that the novel preaches, I think he does a very good job of taking advantage of his situations. You talk about his day with Frank, saying that if this mere chance encounter would not have happened, Dick would be exactly the way he was before. I agree with this completely! However, I think Dick was able to look at what Frank had and find what parts of it he wanted and adapt his lifestyle to it. For example, he saw how generous Frank was when Frank gave him a suit and later did the same thing for Henry Fosdick. Again, you mention the high-paying father of the boy who Dick happened to save on the ferry. I agree that if Dick and Henry had gone on even the next ferry, his job would still be shining shoes. However, I believe that Dick saw an opportunity and took it after saving the young boy’s life. Opportunities are something that Dick never fails to find, and he finds them frequently out of lucky situations.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the notion that hard work does improve your life, but I do not think that this novel accurately tells a story of this. Ethan, you highlight great instances throughout the novel in which luck plays a larger role in Dick’s success than his own work ethic. If you were to remove the luck of saving the son of a wealthy man from Dick’s job hunt, he could have never found a good job. Emma, you made a great rebuttal when you say that Dick takes advantage of what opportunities are presented to him. Once again, I think the opportunities Dick is presented is merely another aspect of his luck! First, Dick was born with such good looks that it was noticeable even as a dirty boy living on the streets. Attractive individuals are much more likely to be trusted, listened to, and to become successful. What if our protagonist had been born unattractively, with a disability, or even a woman? I believe the story would have ended very differently. Additionally, throughout the novel people are generous and caring towards what is essentially a homeless boy. I think that most people ignore or have strongly negative emotions towards homeless people. Even if Dick was reaching out for help, I believe that many people would have assumed he had bad intentions. On the other hand, I do think that in real-life everyone has luck of some kind. It is not unreasonable for luck to solve problems in life. While I think there is far too much luck in the tale of Ragged Dick, there are some instances where it makes sense. For example, Dick is incredibly lucky that his friend Henry had previous experience with schooling. This reflects Dick’s network of people. In real-life, most of people’s luck in life comes from who they know more than what they know. Other individuals offer their own collective resources, opportunities, and connections. In this instance, I believe Dick could have realistically found a boy on the streets who had some schooling but had to drop out when his parent died.
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