The insertion of the author in both Ragged Dick and Little Women stood out when reading these novels. In the beginning of Ragged Dick, the author states his opinion of Dick. "I have mentioned Dick's faults and defects, because I want it understood, to begin with, that I don't consider him a model boy" (Alger 7). This direct insertion occurs at the end of Raggedy Dick and at the end of the first half of Little Women, when both authors made direct pleas to the reader for additional novels containing these characters.
The formal literary term to describe this device is literary intrusion or narrative intrusion. pull(ing) the reader’s attention out of the main story and calls attention
to the narrator himself or to something else within the story." She later writes how this style, while common in older eras, has fallen out of style, because "infrequent use of the device shows characteristics of bad writing and an inexperienced writer."
And I agree with Kate. The author adding the anecdotes about Dick impose the author's beliefs and opinions on Dick, instead of letting the reader form their own. One may argue this is a simple antidote to increase understanding of the younger readers of the novel. Others may say this is a rare glimpse into the mind of the author, when many times writers and artists rarely define the intended meaning of their work. This is detrimental to the appeal of the art. In a longer discourse on the meaning of art, Pablo Picasso stated, "People who try to explain pictures are usually barking up the wrong tree." He means some work isn't meant to have a true meaning, or only one interpretation. That some thing must be left to the imagination of the viewer. And Alder's musings on Dick's character break that.
The second usage at the end of the novel initially seemed unnecessary, but made sense in the context of the time. Mother Nature Network published a series of maps from 1800-1930 on the travel time from coast to coast. In 1857 (around the time Ragged Dick was published), it took 5 weeks to travel from East Coast to West Coast. Likewise, the Pony Express was first opened in 1860, and the transcontinental railroad was completed in 1869. What this means is the spread of information was exponentially slower than what it is today. Books, or even knowledge of the books, may take months or years to reach parts of the US. A reader may have the first part of Little Woman in their possession, but may not know of an incoming second half. These ending paragraphs add nothing to a modern reader who has access to tools like Google, but was an important source of information for a 1860s reader.
What are your thoughts on narrative intrusion? Did it impact your experience reading these novels? Are there other books that utilized this literary device?
There are other books that use this literary device; my first thought was of Les Misérables, specifically the moment Victor Hugo comments he will no longer write a character's speech impediment because it ruins the aesthetic of the book. It is important to note that Les Misérables and Ragged Dick were published six years apart and therefore would likely share some similar literary elements, even though they were published on different continents.
ReplyDeleteI do agree that narrative intrusion is abrupt in this story, at least at first. However, I have difficulty seeing Ragged Dick as an actual story of a boy on the streets instead of a tale of fortune and new ideals combining to show an example of how one may improve one's station. Ragged Dick to me feels more like a trend Alger hopes young boys will follow, and therefore interruptions to give his opinions fits perfectly with that aim in mind. It gives the narrator the sense of being a storyteller telling this story at night to a group of boys in the hopes that they will take it to heart; this is furthered in my mind by Alger's frequent usage of the phrase "our hero" near the end, which makes this story more tangible to his audience — through usage of the "our" — even as he lifts Dick as ideal — through usage of the "hero" (132). Therefore, one may begin analyzing Alger’s narrator through his intrusions and connect these moments he interrupts to a larger national dream of improving one’s social status.
Literary intrusion has fallen out of style but in the instance of Alger and Ragged Dick the narrator's voice seemed almost expected for the story was already so moralistic. The story was written for the audience of young boys, which seems that when the narrator speaks it is in the form of almost a teacher, describing the lessons the audience needs to take from the story, such as when the author goes to tell how Ragged Dick "knew that he had only himself to depend upon, and he determined to make the most of himself, -- a resolution with the secrets of success nine times out of ten" (98).
ReplyDeleteHowever, the narrative intrusion also seems to be used for saying things that Ragged Dick or "our hero" as the narrator calls him will not say. In the instance of Johnny Nolan the narrator tells how "he was a good natured boy...but utterly lacking in energy, ambition and natural sharpness" (125). So here this intrusion serves as more of a purpose to maintain the generous character of Ragged Dick, making this seem to me as the intrusion was less of an interruption in the reading and was more of some added insight.