One thing throughout this novel that I could not help but wonder is, what makes one respectable? What exact steps does Dick take to become respectable? What does that say about what values are intended to be portrayed by the novel? Dick talks about how he wants to gain "'spectability" and he goes through a fairly straight through a step-by-step process to do so.
After Dick and Frank part ways, Dick is left to think about what Frank has told him. He does not seem to take direct action on what Frank has said, however, until, on page 68, the officer tells Dick that a successful bookshop keeper was once in his same position. According to the text, after this encounter, "It will be seen that Dick was getting ambitious" (68). This sets the tone for the rest of the novel. On the very next page, Dick decides to get a bank account. He doesn't have much to put in it, but having a bank account is symbolic in that is lays the grounds for financial independence. He now has a way to save money in a respectable fashion. This emphasizes the value of saving money and being responsible with finances.
Though the education does not happen until Dick takes in Fosdick, very soon after Dick creates his bank account, he resolves that he will learn to read and write. The text reads: "But Dick was too sensible not to know that there was something more than money needed to win a respectable position in the world" (70). This novel very clearly values not only frugality but also a baseline education. Dick, in a number of cases, acknowledges that money is not everything and that education is at least equally important. He follows through with this and learns to read and write, also showing that with the right practice and determination, lots of seemingly impossible tasks are indeed possible.
The next step in Dick's march towards 'spectability is his first foray into church. Though the church is not explicitly mentioned again, it is implied that Dick continues to go to church and Sunday school after his first visit. Obviously, for the time, someone who did not go to church was seen as odd and corrupt. Dick had not been raised in the church due to living on the streets, so his opportunity to find a place at church is very important if he wants to be a well-rounded gentleman. The fact that becoming more pious is a step on Dick's path to success showcases how important it was to be pious during the time period it was written.
Due to Dick's frugality, education, and newly-found religious organization, he is more or less on a good track towards financial independence. The one thing left for Dick to do is to give back. He has a sturdy enough financial foundation that he can give back to others as others gave to him. This is truly the mark that Dick has gone from Ragged Dick to 'spectable Richard. This reinforces values of charity. It shows that those with and those without are only separated by a few turns of luck.
I agree that all of those things help to turn Ragged Dick into a respectable young man. One of the things that makes him so respectable is his generosity and giving nature, which he possesses from the beginning of the book. Dick demonstrates his generosity when he tells Johnny that he’ll “stand treat this morning” (8). He continues with his giving nature, giving nearly all of his savings to Fosdick so that he could buy nice clothes, and by giving money to Tom Wilkins so that they “would not suffer when he had it in his power to relieve them” (101).
ReplyDeleteDick’s giving nature is crucial to his ability to become a “’spectable” boy. If he was not so kind, more money and an education would not be able to make him so. Being respectable is not only about having money, being smart, and attending church. It is also about being a person that others will respect, and nobody respects someone who always behaves selfishly. Dick also would have been less likely to receive the help and support from others that he needed to do all of those things, without first being the kind of boy that others wanted to help. Therefore, it is critical that Dick be a kind and generous person, or he would not have been able to become respectable like he hoped to.
I think you're right that Dick is putting in his own effort to become respectable. Frank admits that Dick is well on his way to being respectable one day if he chooses to be, since Dick "determined never to steal, or do anything mean or dishonorable," therefore tying Dick's morality to his respectability. One thing that is important to note, however, is that Dick’s path to respectability is not entirely self-powered. What I mean is, a lot of Dick’s (and Fosdick’s) improvements and advancements towards respectability have resulted from the generosity and kindness of someone else. For example, when Fosdick attempts to get a job as an errand boy to earn a stable income, he would have been overlooked for being poor if Mr. Greyson did not happen to visit the store at that moment and agree to put a good word in for the boy (95). Now, Fosdick does take the initiative to try for the job at all, and Alger makes it clear that his initiative is what helps him progress towards respectability. However, it is obvious that without the luck of Mr. Greyson’s arrival and his kindness to vouch for Fosdick, he would not have gotten the job. As Dick gains more money, he begins to help those around him however he can, such as when he gives Tom three dollars to pay his family’s rent which were “his savings for the present week” (101). This cycle of generosity is instrumental to Dick’s progress in society, and also has a very Little Women vibe to it.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting to note that, while Dick must journey on the path to ‘spectability, there are also some inherent qualities in him that provide him with the opportunity to become a respectable man. His moral code impresses those around him who reward him with clothes and money, invite him to church, and his caring nature provides him with a tutor. Without those qualities so crucial to his character—to “not steal, or cheat, or impose...but was frank and straightforward, manly and self-reliant” (7)—Dick is seen as someone worthy of reforming.
ReplyDeleteCharacters like Micky Maguire do not have the same opportunities as Dick because they lack an innate form of respectability. As the story ends, Micky has stolen Dick’s old clothing and at no point seems to truly be redeemable (131). He serves to represent someone doomed to remain on the streets and lacking the moral conviction necessary to consider becoming respectable.
In contrast, the story opens up acknowledging the imperfections of Ragged Dick—vices like smoking drinking, and gambling—while clearly establishing that “there were some good points about him” (7). In the later context of the novel, this seems to imply that before reforming the outside of a person into someone worth respect, their heart must possess an element of inherent ‘spectability.