Week 8 - Ragged Dick

One of the first things I noticed about the story Ragged Dick was how different everybody's expectations were for Dick than they were for previous female characters we've read about.  Dicks quick witted and colloquial speech endears him to others rather than provoking a rebuttal. Though he possess numerous faults as stated by the narrator, he is often referred to as "our hero" rather than being offered suggestions on self improvement. His ambition and work ethic are praised; things we never even heard mentioned in our previous stories. Young boys are clearly more free to operate and advance in society in spheres other than the domestic one.

We have read that little girls are supposed to be well mannered, helpful, pretty, and polite, much like Ellen Montgomery from The Wide, Wide World. We have watched bad things happen to girls who were lacking in one or more of these areas, such as when Gerty from The Lamplighter attacks Nan Grant and gets kicked out of her home, or when Sybil from A Whisper in the Dark throws a temper tantrum and gets sent to the insane asylum. These rules of conduct that guide young women are entirely different for young  boys like Dick (the simple fact that he holds a job is proof of this; consider Capitola from The Hidden Hand). The narrator openly admits that Dick "wasn't a model boy in all aspects," yet continually refers to him as a hero throughout the text (339). Dick supports himself by living on the street blacking boots, working for a living, whereas Sybil's only option to keep herself financially stable seemed to be to get married.  Boys and girls appear to have clearly divided duties to which they are expected to attend, and when people blur that line (such as Capitola dressing like a boy) it can make society uncomfortable.

Aside from simply being allowed more freedom than girls, boys of this time seem to be pushed towards what we would call achieving the "American Dream." Dick's industrious nature is constantly highlighted throughout the story; Dick buys himself breakfast almost everyday from the money he earns in the mornings, and chastises his friend Johnny for not earning the same fortunes, calling him lazy. Though he is still poor due to his extravagant spending habits, towards the end of this excerpt we find that Dick does have some rather large ambitions. He tells his new friend Frank that "I really wish I could get somethin' else to do... I'd like to be a office boy, and learn business, and grow up 'spectable" (389). We see finally that, despite his frequent jokes at his own poverty, he really just wants a dignified, legitimate place amongst the rest of society. Frank telling Dick the story of Dick Whittington was no coincidence either; it stuck me instantly as highly didactic and one of the few similarities I could see between this story and our previous readings (391). Dick Whittington (who shares the first name of our protagonist) starts out as a street boy just like Ragged Dick and grows up to become wealthy and "Lord Mayor of London" (392). This story combined with Frank's statement that "If you'll try to be somebody, and grow up into a respectable member of society, you will," tries very plainly to tell the young boys reading this story that no matter where you come from in life, you can be accepted by society if you will just work hard.