The Rise of Ragged Dick

Ragged Dick by Horatio Alger is a story about Ragged Dick’s rise to become a respectable man and the moral way he went about doing it. Ragged Dick has grown up on the street making money by working as a boot-blacker. Through a series of fortunate events he has met people who provide him the opportunity to continue to develop as a person, such as Frank Whitney and Henry Fosdick. Along the way, seemingly with each new achievement, Ragged Dick encounters someone who contrasts his character and further emphasizes Ragged Dick’s compassion and honesty. These character foils show that to become respectable and grow in society, more than money, a strong moral code will go a long way. 

One boy that lives on the street that tries to give Ragged Dick a hard time is Micky Maguire. He has a temper and “was proud of his strength, and of the position of leader which it had secured him”(64). While Micky is strong, Ragged Dick smartly knew how to defend himself and even “might readily have taken advantage of his unsteadiness and knocked him down; but he was not vindictive” allowing him to eventually exit the conflict unharmed when the policeman intervened. Micky has the toughness to be a leader on the streets, however, since he does not seem to possess Ragged Dick’s street smarts or ambition to move up in the world, he must resent those who dress well because it’s something he will never have. 

Another character that is introduced is James (Jim) Travis, another tenant on Mott Street. Travis needs money to go out West and steals Ragged Dick’s bankbook after overhearing him say how much he has saved. He is caught at the bank and sent to jail. His dishonesty didn’t stand a chance against Ragged Dick who had been working and saving up his earnings. Ragged Dick just wanted to catch the thief and secure his money, therefore securing part of his way to becoming a respectable man. He even “could not help feeling sorry that he had been instrumental in causing his arrest” (115). Even at a time when someone wronged him, Ragged Dick had a sense of what he thought was fair punishment, not much more or less. 

While Ragged Dick isn’t perfect and does receive the aid of others, what allows him to transform into Richard Hunter, Esq. and separates him from Micky Maguire and Jim Travis are his ambition, honesty and compassion. The other two characters show that nothing good happens from not having those qualities. There are other factors that contributed to Ragged Dick’s socioeconomic rise but the character foils Alger introduces emphasize the importance of morality.