Kenneth Cason
English 104.09
Mr. Douglas
Essay 1 Part 4 Substantial Review
11/19/14
Critical Response to Horatio Alger’s “Ragged Dick”
In his novel Ragged Dick, Horatio Alger tells the story of a poor man named Dick, who
improves his financial situation by “doing things the right way” and working hard to have a
better life. Alger made this novel to project to the reader that the dream of social mobility can be
achieved through taking positive steps that help out financial situations. In other words, Alger is
trying to show that keeping a positive mindset, along with constructive actions is the key to
improving economic fortunes. Dick starts off as a homeless 14 year-old who works as a shoe
shiner known then as a bootblack just to survive. He wants to live a better life and he knows the
only way to do it is to have more money. Throughout the story he does things that show people
his good characteristics such as, giving a friend’s nephew a tour of New York, displaying his
intelligence, and even saving a rich man’s kid from drowning. In Alger’s story, Dick is rewarded
things from people as a result of his approach towards improving his finances. He was rewarded
things such as a job that pays ten dollars an hour as a clerk, and he also got a new suit. Dick went
from homelessness to living a better life due to his approach to dealing with poverty.
I want to challenge Alger’s work, because I believe that other factors can affect people in
society’s financial issues, such as family disasters/situations, a lack of opportunities, and the state
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Kenneth Cason
English 104.09
Mr. Douglas
Essay 1 Part 4 Substantial Review
11/19/14
of the economy. In no aspect of life is there something that is completely stable. In our greedy,
frequent conflicting society, building up a fortune is never simple, there are always road blocks
in the way that make becoming richer more difficult to do. People may say that the American
dream of social mobility is possible if one applies themselves, and works hard enough for it, but
things can happen in life that cannot be controlled. Those situations that come out of nowhere
may ruin someone completely, due to its cost, or if it effects other aspects of life such as
employment, or ones chance to be employed.
I opinion opposes the author’s views on social mobility through doing the right things,
because other factors in our society can have a sudden, and critical effect on our chances at social
mobility. In American society, economic disasters can be frequent at times. You never know
when someone’s life can change. I have seen plenty of stories about families who lost their
fortunes due to a disaster in their families. When someone’s family member suddenly gets
sickened with cancer, the medical bills will become super expensive, and regardless of how
intelligent, or smart, they are. That is a situation that cannot be controlled, because if a loved one
needs payment for urgent expensive medical care, the medical bill will also be expensive and an
urgent issue that will have to be dealt with. I have seen many people be stuck in a financial
situation because of medical bills that will take years for them to pay, which will hold them back
economically regardless of any steps they take to make a higher income. I have also seen people
who lost their homes due to a natural disaster like a tornado, and they lost everything they ever
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Kenneth Cason
English 104.09
Mr. Douglas
Essay 1 Part 4 Substantial Review
11/19/14
worked for. How could anyone think they will have any say in their situations, not even
superman can stop a tornado? This shows that financial situations can change in one moment,
and there may not be any way around the situation. Taking positive actions does not guarantee
anyone economic stability, because anything can happen at any moment that can make a
person’s life more difficult.
Another significant thing that makes me disagree with Horatio Alger’s opinion on how to
achieve “Rags to Riches” is because a lack of help in the financial world spoils many people’s
plans to get more money in their life. In the current recession we are living through, I am pretty
sure there are plenty of people that have taken the necessary steps to improve financially, but still
don’t get hired because there are not many opportunities available. There is a lot of prejudice
when it comes to hiring, so even if someone has the qualified skills they still may not be hired.
When it comes to getting opportunities, gender, race, and image can also affect someone’s
chances of getting a good paying job. There is a reason why African Americans got hired less in
the Jim Crow days, because their image was not the ideal one in American society. Even the
thing’s people would view as insignificant can have an effect on whether someone will get a
financial opportunity or not. It takes opportunity to make more money. In other words, it takes a
little incentive or help to even get a chance. The rich tend to get richer and the poor tends to get
poorer due to the rich doesn’t give many chances to help the poor move up in life. A lack of
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Kenneth Cason
English 104.09
Mr. Douglas
Essay 1 Part 4 Substantial Review
11/19/14
opportunities is significant, because no matter what steps are taken to get richer, everyone has to
receive help at some point, and if you do not, it will be a lot harder to get better financially.
The state of the economy can also have a major effect on someone’s possible economic
growth. In the current recession we are living through, there are plenty of people that have taken
the necessary steps to improve financially. Yet they still don’t get hired because there is not
many opportunities available. If the economy is not doing well, money will not be circulating
around Americas communities for people to grasp. Since the rich tend to get richer, they will not
do anything to help the lower classes during an economic crisis, so most will really be alone
without effective help in a society with a struggling economy. Not every generation has Franklin
D. Roosevelt to jumpstart a struggling economy, so if it is in bad shape not many will have
control in their economic opportunities. If the economy is doing badly, the lower classes’ chance
at economic growth will almost be certain to be affected negatively. The state of the economy is
important, because its overall impact on society is so strong that no one will not be able to
control their income level if it is in a bad state. Some people believe that with hard work, anyone
can succeed regardless of outside factors. They would argue that social mobility is reachable for
anyone. Although I do believe that relentless focus can help people overcome obstacles, I know
that when it comes to gaining a bigger amount of income, some obstacles can be too much to
overcome, due to its suddenness and overall impact on a person’s life. In the article Stephen
Cruz, Studs Terkel exclaimed that the American dream is not as simple as most minority
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Kenneth Cason
English 104.09
Mr. Douglas
Essay 1 Part 4 Substantial Review
11/19/14
Americans believe it is. That the American Dream cannot be achieved simply through hard work,
and that it takes more to achieve social mobility, such as opportunities. How can anyone make
their life stable if they suddenly have to deal with a complex problem that they never dealt with
before? People can get effected with such a complex issue, that it can either slow them down, or
even completely stop them from moving up in American social class.
Achieving social mobility takes more than doing the right thing in life. Everyone’s way
of surviving is different, because everyone has different situation in their own lives that they
have to deal with. And the depth of everyone’s situation can have an effect on how their financial
status is.
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Kenneth Cason
English 104.09
Mr. Douglas
Essay 1 Part 4 Substantial Review
11/19/14
Works Cited:
1. http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/5348/pg5348.html
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