Horatio Alger

What i have discovered while researching the name Horatio Alger on the google search engine is that his name is widely associated with hard-work and determination, along with most commonly the idea of the American dream. This is, at first glance what the novel Ragged Dick is about, a young poor lad going from 'rags to riches' as the American dream states will happen. However, it could be argued that in fact Dick goes from 'rags to respectability' The idea of 'riches' seems to suggest that the person will have money and wealth, that others can only desire. However, this does not happen to Dick, who is by this time known as Richard Hunter. He is living comfortably; and is indeed more well off that originally but he is by no-means rich, as it was meant when the book was written. He is also a very lucky boy, and although he has worked hard, much of the sucess he comes across in the book is by chance and not hard-work that leads to sucess.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/26/business/26nocera.html

The websites that i first loked at were aimed more prominatly at the idea of Horatio Alger being a representation for the American dream itself, there was a 'alger myth' that encompasses the idea of the dream. A article from the New York times uses this notion of Horatio Alger by stating

"Mr. Feng, the chief executive of Aigo, a large Chinese consumer electronics company, is a classic Chinese entrepreneur: starting with $31 in his pocket, he has built a business whose products are a staple of urban China, including digital cameras, MP3 players and a new iPhone-like all-in-one device. Before telling me his Horatio Alger story, though, he had something he wanted me to understand"

This use of the name suggests thyat Horatio Alger is the man that is the myth of 'rags to riches', it is what he represents and in extension it is what Ragged Dick was meant to represent to many people. Dick improved his situation and his income by getting a better paid job much as Mr. Feng has, however there are some stark contrasts between the two. For example, Mr. Feng has the money to buy himself all the gadgets and houses in the world that he desires. But this was not what Richard now had, instead he was comfortable with his living and was saving to his bank book regularly to enable himself to buy the essentials when they were needed. But, like Mr. Feng who describes himself as "brimming with Entrepreneurial enthusiasm", so was Richard. he took the oppurtunitys when they were presented to him, such as giving Frank the guided tour of the city; and this gave him the boosters he needed to begin to move up in the world of New York .

So, from this it is possible to show that the idea of hard work is associated with Horatio Alger, and this is true for his representation of Ragged Dick, however, the American dream assumes riches beyond expectation and means wealth, which is something alothough Richard had more than he started off with in the black-booting trade, he was by no means ha the riches that some had in the 19th century.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2669227/horatio_algers_visit_to_the_dark_side.html?cat=37

This point is again showed in a different website with the quote

"The man churned out books by the wagonload in the 19th century and they all pretty much followed the same theme of a some young boy going from having nothing to living out the American Dream through a combination of hard work, pluck and gumption. Such was the influence of Horatio Alger on the blueprint of the American Dream and its mythos that since 1947 the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans has bestowed an award upon a deserving recipient who faced down adversity to achieve success. Even today Horatio Alger is widely viewed with respect and as an important symbol of what it really means to be an American"

This again shows that the words Horatio Alger are associated with the idea of the American dream, and the idea of this being typically american. This reminds the audience again that Ragged Dick is more than anything supposed to be a story of the American Dream, coming from nothing and achieving money and wealth beyond anything you can imagine is strictly American. The idea that "Horatio Alger is widely viewed with respect and as an important symbol of what it really means to be an American" suggest that this view is important to many Americans, as the dream is individual to their country. Ragged Dick did represent the lower-class american society in the time it was written. But the idea that Ragged dick 'faced down adversity' is in my opinion not true. Ragged Dick was always destined to improve his situation, he was a happy chap who always looked on the bright side and for opputunitys to take. Dick did not resent his sitaution to begin with to much either, instead he was happy doing what he was doing untill he was shown how easy it would be to better himself with a little education. Dick faced everything he could and was always better off than others in his sitaution, he just needed guidance as to how to achieve (by saving money instead of wasting it at the circus.)

http://www.horatioalger.com/aboutus.cfm

The use of the word Horiato Alger with regards to the Horatio Alger award is a little different however, it focuses not on the idea of the dream and getting wealth and class beyond what you could ever achieve anywhere else. Instead it has an international factor, which means the focus isnt on the 'American Dream' and they appear to have picked the qaulities that Dick had, that contributed to his advacement, which unlike the other two website purely focused on the idea that hard work and America will get you to where you want to be.
"Members of the Association are the select few who have been honored with the Horatio Alger Award. Horatio Alger Award recipients are dedicated community leaders who demonstrate individual initiative and a commitment to excellence; as exemplified by remarkable achievements accomplished through honesty, hard work, self-reliance and perseverance over adversity"
This is in many ways like Ragged Dick, and the award asks for many qualities that dick had. But these people have the good qualtiies of Dick, and are not rewarded for the cheeky, story spinning qualities that got Dick so far in the tale. In many ways this award represents Ragged Dick much more than the contemporary uses of the name Horatio Alger whom is mainly associated with getting high in society, by wealth and riches and acheiving anything you want with a little hard work.

It appears that Horatio Alger has come to represent the sucess story of American individuals opposed to the idea that hard-work and luck are the key to sucess. And as Richard proved, hard-work is not everything, you must also improve your appearence first to become treated better within society, as was found out in the bus scene in Ragged Dick.