While there are a multitude of lessons to be learned through the young adult novel, Ragged Dick, one clear theme surfaces within the very first lines of dialogue. “‘Do you ever steal then?’; ‘No, and I wouldn’t. Lots of boys does it, but I wouldn’t.’” (Alger 3). There are various accounts within the beginning scenes of the novel that highlight the fact that Dick is above stealing and has worked for what he has and will have in the future. With the time and location that this novel is set in, stealing would have been a common occurrence among the homeless youth such as Dick however, several accounts highlight the boy’s unique and altruistic character.
While on the streets cleaning shoes, Dick comes across a gentleman who only has a quarter and cannot wait to receive his change. The man offers his office address and Dick immediately agrees to return his change to him. The next day, instead of pocketing the change, Dick returns what is owed to the man. During this scene the narrator stated that Dick, “was not willing on any account to keep money which did not belong to him.” (Alger 71). A more exceptional account of Dick resisting the temptation of theft is when he and Frank come across a boy who was swindled of fifty dollars. Dick locates the swindler on the street and promptly confiscates the stolen money. Fifty dollars was a significant amount of money for a boy like Dick however, without another thought, he returns the money to the distraught boy.
These examples make it clear that theft is a reoccurring theme that Ragged Dick persistently resists and through this, defies the expected behavior of a street “vagabond”. Expanding on this observation, numerous questions surface including, why did the author stress the fact that Ragged Dick did not steal? Perhaps Alger meant to highlight this admirable trait in Dick to demonstrate that from the beginning, he was inherently good and preferred hard work to stealing even when he was hungry and homeless on the streets. The good fortunes that await Dick in the later chapters of the novel may be credited to his good character that Alger has taken the time to highlight in the first scenes of the novel.
While on the streets cleaning shoes, Dick comes across a gentleman who only has a quarter and cannot wait to receive his change. The man offers his office address and Dick immediately agrees to return his change to him. The next day, instead of pocketing the change, Dick returns what is owed to the man. During this scene the narrator stated that Dick, “was not willing on any account to keep money which did not belong to him.” (Alger 71). A more exceptional account of Dick resisting the temptation of theft is when he and Frank come across a boy who was swindled of fifty dollars. Dick locates the swindler on the street and promptly confiscates the stolen money. Fifty dollars was a significant amount of money for a boy like Dick however, without another thought, he returns the money to the distraught boy.
These examples make it clear that theft is a reoccurring theme that Ragged Dick persistently resists and through this, defies the expected behavior of a street “vagabond”. Expanding on this observation, numerous questions surface including, why did the author stress the fact that Ragged Dick did not steal? Perhaps Alger meant to highlight this admirable trait in Dick to demonstrate that from the beginning, he was inherently good and preferred hard work to stealing even when he was hungry and homeless on the streets. The good fortunes that await Dick in the later chapters of the novel may be credited to his good character that Alger has taken the time to highlight in the first scenes of the novel.
I had also noticed that stealing was a reoccurring trend throughout the novel so far. Another example of stealing was on the car when a woman accused Dick of pocketing her wallet. Frank and Dick have different viewpoints when this occurs. “As for Frank, his face flushed, and he felt very indignant that he should even be suspected of so mean a crime. He had been carefully brought up, and been taught to regard stealing as low and wicked” (44). Frank had been raised to believe stealing was bad, and felt horrible that he had even been accused of it. Dick, having been alone since he was 7 years of age and living on the streets, had a different reaction to the accusation. “Though he had brought himself up, and known plenty of boys and men, too, who would steal, he had never done so himself. He thought it mean” (44). For Frank, the thought of him or anyone else stealing was so horrible and disgraceful. For Dick, the act of stealing was commonplace. In this instance, the accusation of theft serves as a means of comparing Frank and Dick. It highlights the differences in their upbringing and their reactions to a frequent act on the streets.
ReplyDeleteThe last point you discussed here was my understanding of the crux of the argument Alger makes about theft. Alger could be making a similar point to Alcott in “Little Women,” which is that those who are honest, charitable, and good-hearted will not be left in need. Although Dick is shown to work hard for his money and to be very earnest, he is also provided for through the generosity of others who are more fortunate than him. In Chapter 3, the man who was accused of giving counterfeit money pays Dick more than he is due, and Mr. Whitney and Frank give him a place to wash up and an entire new wardrobe. Alger continually emphasizes Dick’s charitableness, and his aversion to stealing and dishonesty, to prove that he deserves the generosity of these characters. By extension this makes a statement that the reader, too, will not be left all alone as long as they have committed themselves to being a good person. Again, however, this is not to say that Dick can sit to the side, be nice, and expect gifts. According to Alger, one must also be hard-working in order to deserve charity. This is evident in his treatment of Johnny, that he does not receive handouts and is not even able to provide for himself. Alger believes that hard work and honesty are the makings of a good man.
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