Ragged Dick is a fourteen-year-old bootblack - he smokes, drinks occasionally, and sleeps on the streets - but he is anxious "to turn over a new leaf, and try to grow up "'spectable". He won't steal under any circumstances, and many gentlemen who are impressed with this virtue (and his determination to succeed) offer their aid. Mr. Greyson, for example, invites him to church and Mr. Whitney gives him five dollars for performing a service. Dick uses the money to open a bank account and to rent his first apartment. He fattens ...
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Ragged Dick is a fourteen-year-old bootblack - he smokes, drinks occasionally, and sleeps on the streets - but he is anxious "to turn over a new leaf, and try to grow up "'spectable". He won't steal under any circumstances, and many gentlemen who are impressed with this virtue (and his determination to succeed) offer their aid. Mr. Greyson, for example, invites him to church and Mr. Whitney gives him five dollars for performing a service. Dick uses the money to open a bank account and to rent his first apartment. He fattens his bank account by practicing frugality and is tutored by his roommate Fosdick in the three R's. When Dick rescues a drowning child, the grateful father rewards him with a new suit and a job in his mercantile firm. With this final event, Richard is "cut off from the old vagabond life which he hoped never to resume", and henceforth will call himself Richard Hunter, Esq.
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This sweet tale of a poor but honest bootblack, Dick, and his relentless pursuit of "respectability" is the first of several books that Horatio Alger wrote in his attempt to prove that all boys - regardless of class - can rise in the world if they are honest, kind and hard-working. Dick's realization of this fact, along with the help of several great allies, and his earnest efforts to better himself make for an enjoyable read. Although the book's moralistic tone might seem simplistic and inappropriate for today's youth, I would have to say that it's the kind of book that kids today NEED to read. This is the kind of story that we have too easily forgotten and the kind of lesson that everyone should learn again. Because the book really isn't "preachy," and because the characters are portrayed realistically and not as angelic, it's a believable story and a quick, charming read.
