Social Class in Ragged Dick

The portrayal of class in Ragged Dick heavily promotes the capitalist ideology. According to this ideology, poverty is always the fault of the individual. It claims that if one is poor it is because they are either lazy or irresponsible or both. Proponents of this ideology claim that one only needs to work harder, save more, and get an education in order to raise themself out of poverty. From this viewpoint, it is never the social structures of society that are to blame for poverty, rather, it is the poor people themselves.

The book propagandizes this viewpoint in several ways. Dick himself admits that he is only poor because: “I spend my money foolish, goin’ to the Old Bowery, and Tony Pastor’s, and sometimes gamblin’ in Baxter Street” (Chapter 11). He is told that “in this free country poverty in early life is no bar to a man’s advancement” and to “earn your living in the way you are accustomed to, avoid extravagance, and save up a little money if you can.” (Chapter 11). When Dick’s friend Johny says he can’t afford breakfast that morning, Dick’s response is: “Well you might if you tried. I keep my eyes open,—that's the way I get jobs. You're lazy, that's what's the matter" (Chapter 2). This is the ‘Hero’ of the story.

The one person in the book that does appear to have class consciousness is Micky Maguire: “Now Micky... was democratic in his tastes, and had a jealous hatred of those who wore good clothes and kept their faces clean. He called it putting on airs, and resented the implied superiority. If he had been fifteen years older, and had a trifle more education, he would have interested himself in politics, and been prominent at ward meetings, and a terror to respectable voters on election day. As it was, he contented himself with being the leader of a gang of young ruffians, over whom he wielded a despotic power.” (Chapter 13). The book portrays Micky as a bully and a villain whom Dick defeats in chapter 14. The clear message the book is sending is that those who express dissatisfaction with the capitalist system and attempt to organize against it are bullies and rabble rousers, not to be taken seriously, and treated as nuisances at best and enemies at worst.