Ragged Dick Or, Street Life in New York With the Boot-Blacks

Rating:
Summary: Ragged Dick a timeless piece
Review: "I aint been knookin around these city streets for all my life for nothin," exclaims Ragged Dick, the hero of the novel Ragged Dick, by Horatio Alger Jr. This timeless classic brings the reader into the life of a young boy growing up on the harsh city streets of New York City in the late 1800's. Ragged Dick became an orphan at the age of four and was forced to take care of himself soon after at the age of seven. Dick becomes a boot black so he can earn enough money to take care of himself and this is where the reader begins the story. Ragged Dick turns into a fast paced adventurous novel which will constantly leave the reader asking "what next?" Join the many who have become enthralled by this book and follow the adventures of Ragged Dick and his friends you meet along the way. Learn how Dick, the lovable boot black, turns out. Does he live up to his goal of "livin a s'pectable life" like he always hoped to? Find out, by reading this timeless classic.

Rating:
Summary: Ragged Dick... (Our Hero)
Review: "Ragged Dick," a story about a young, poor, boot-black boy from New York City, is a Classic American novel. Written by Horatio Alger, in the late 1800's, hit upon the most important topic in America at the time; the "American Dream." The "American Dream," being the idea that everyone, from all walks of life, can come to America and be successful, in any way in which they want to, so long as they have hard work and determination to do so. Ragged Dick for filled this "Dream" by making his way up in society, and eventually making a wealthy man of himself.
I enjoyed reading "Ragged Dick." The story, though it was short, covered some very important topics of life back in the 1800's. The first was that fact that noone should give up. Through all of the hardships Dick was put through, including the loss of his parents, the mis-fortune of receiving no education, and the fact that he lived on his own for most of his life. Another important topic that was covered, was that hard work pays off. In Dick's case, he worked hard at a boot-black, treated people with respect, and finally caught a break for his hard work, by receiving a high paying job.
The kind of people that would enjoy this story would be people of all ages. No matter what age, or what level of education one may be, this story teaches lessons that anyone can benefit from. It doesn't matter if a twelve year old boy, or a fifty year old woman picked up "Ragged Dick," because they will both benefit from what the story speaks about.

Rating:
Summary: Ragged Dick... (Our Hero)
Review: "Ragged Dick," a story about a young, poor, boot-black boy from New York City, is a Classic American novel. Written by Horatio Alger, in the late 1800's, hit upon the most important topic in America at the time; the "American Dream." The "American Dream," being the idea that everyone, from all walks of life, can come to America and be successful, in any way in which they want to, so long as they have hard work and determination to do so. Ragged Dick for filled this "Dream" by making his way up in society, and eventually making a wealthy man of himself.
I enjoyed reading "Ragged Dick." The story, though it was short, covered some very important topics of life back in the 1800's. The first was that fact that noone should give up. Through all of the hardships Dick was put through, including the loss of his parents, the mis-fortune of receiving no education, and the fact that he lived on his own for most of his life. Another important topic that was covered, was that hard work pays off. In Dick's case, he worked hard at a boot-black, treated people with respect, and finally caught a break for his hard work, by receiving a high paying job.
The kind of people that would enjoy this story would be people of all ages. No matter what age, or what level of education one may be, this story teaches lessons that anyone can benefit from. It doesn't matter if a twelve year old boy, or a fifty year old woman picked up "Ragged Dick," because they will both benefit from what the story speaks about.

Rating:
Summary: The Quintessential Alger Tale
Review: Although many scoff at his work today, Horatio Alger Jr. remains the quintessential boys' author of the 19th century. "Ragged Dick" serves as a model for all his other stories as we follow Dick through his rise from rags to riches (or at least middle class respectability.) Alger's talent as a storyteller can not be denied as the reader is carried along from page to page, eager to find out what will happen to the eponymous hero next.
Why the author of the forward to this volume has chosen to continue to spread the myth of Alger's homosexuality/pedophilia is puzzling. The debunked and almost universally discredited biography by Alfred Mayes first started this canard in the early part of the 20th century and succeeding biographers have parroted Mayes' lies. Mayes himself admitted, in print, that the entire biography was a hoax from start to finish.
Alger should be remembered for his stories which paint a vivid picture of 19th century New York City street life and for the tremendous humanitarian work he performed for homeless children of New York City.

Rating:
Summary: Good values and good history
Review: RAGGED DICK is a wonderful example of the late 19th century optimism in between the major depressions that plagued America during those years. I agree that this is an inspirational story for children and early adolescents. The values it imparts--loyalty, work, cooperation, persistence--are certainly ones that we would want our youth exposed to. But it holds something for adults too: and that is a first-hand glimpse of post-Civil War New York City. The struggle of the orphans, the advantages of the privileged class, the thieves, the confidence men, the unforgiving hardness of poverty in the pre-Jacob Riis days are all there. And that's what makes this book a double winner: it has something for the young and something for the older.

Rating:
Summary: Raggad Dick is a Good Read
Review: The beginning is very effective in my opinion because of Alger's use of dialogue. The dialogue in the opening lines has a dramatic effect on character development throughout the entire book. In fact that initial exchange in the beginning reveals itself continually throughout the story. Another technique that this writer skillfully uses is a varying point of view. An example of this is when the rough voice sounded gentler, asking, "Have you got any money to buy your breakfast?" The reply that is given to the voice from both Algers and Dick is,"No, but I'll soon get some." This direct first person attitude becomes something that drives the writing and thus, Dick. But what I find particularly significant abut this exchange is Alger's juxtaposition of this first person text to the insertion of third person fully omniscient text. What follows becomes naturally tangled with the telling of the story, which Algers does with both skillful description and detail alike. As a reader I was grabbed and poised for the adventure that is sure to follow. I was specifically captivated with the narration that enters the story because if its strong voice. If you want to read the book on-line and then buy it from Amazon.com, which I recommend you do, check it out at the University of Virginia Library.

Rating:
Summary: Rags to Riches
Review: We all like a good story about underdogs and this is no exception. From the start of the story, we see the true nature of Ragged Dick. Uneducated, but honest. Ultimately, those are the two parralels in Dick's life. The inner battle to keep his honesty (i.e. not stealing) while at the same time surviving. The concept of the story is great. The reason it only earned 3 stars from me is because of some unanswered questions. The biggest one: Where the heck did Dick learn to swim? If he's grown up on the streets of New York his entire life, where could he have gotten his "expert" ability to swim? And why would Mr. Whitney let his son Frank go with Ragged Dick in a strange town? Also, there was way too much luck involved. The author accounts for this by implying that to be successful you have to create your own luck. Is that true? Who knows. All in all though, this was a good read and I recommend it to others interested in 19th century capitolism and becoming "'spectable".