Ragged Dick made me believe that, while litter girls were brought up to be quite and well trained in order to be successful in finding a husband, boys were expected to think of themselves first and become financially independent as soon as possible. It seems like since Dick has no parental figure the text suggests that boys to do not need a strict upbringing to turn out “good” while in all the other stories the young girls needed adults to raise them and show them how to act. This can be seen when Dick is talking to Johnny and they make the statement that Mr. Nolan had an “inflamed temper…[and] Johnny’s life was in danger” (pg 349). Parents are never seen as very good in this story.
Also, one main difference between boys and girls in literature that I think we can conclude is that boys will be allowed to make mistakes and sort of learn things on their own instead of being brought up in a strict home. Maybe because people want little boys to have fun while they can because much of their later lives will be spent working and supporting their wives and families? For example even though Dick was “always wide-awake and ready for business, [and] he earned enough to have supported him comfortably and respectably” (pg 340). In spite of how he could live, Dick chooses to live in the moment and spend his money on night life and gambling and things that will make him happy at this moment.
Another difference is that from the very beginning of the story we meet Dick’s friend. When we are introduced to Johnny we can see that Johnny refers to Dick as “his more fortunate friend” (pg 344). In most of the other books we read none of the little girls had friends or even people of their own age to hang around. They spent most of their time with adults. Later when Dick meets Frank, they become friends on their journey about the city. I don’t think if any of the female characters would have been introduced to another girl they would have embraced the friendships quite so readily.
Thinking beyond gender relations, maybe the author was trying to point out that people will never amount to anything without loads of ambition and a hard working attitude. She also made it a point to show us that although Dick had many bad habits he did not drink. The only person who drinks in the story is again, Johnny’s father who was portrayed as s drunkard and wasteful with his money, among other things. The author could have been hinting that alcohol ruins people, like we discussed in class.
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I did not talk about the fact that boys are taught to think for themselves but I believe that is a very good point. Ragged Dick seems “street smart” and that somehow seems to add to his charm and appeal. Along with the idea of thinking for themselves comes the idea of being independent. That is something that was not expected of little girls.
ReplyDeleteI like how you mentioned that "the author was trying to point out that people will never amount to anything without loads of ambition and hard working attitude". We see such a sharp contrast in Dick's attitude and Johnny's attitude. Even though Dick wasn't necessarily wise with his money in the gambling he participated in, he had a means to help get himself out of rags if he really and truly wanted to. But he seemed to enjoy his life and worked hard to earn the money he did.
ReplyDeleteThere did seem to be a theme of "boys will be boys" throughout the story. Dick's drinking and smoking are dismissed as bad habits, though when we see them in Johnny's dad (as you mentioned), it is seen a bad thing. He does seem to be given a little leeway to make mistakes growing up, something the girls in our other stories obviously never got.
ReplyDeleteI like how you talked about the importance of working hard. The author makes it clear that if we don't work hard we won't amount to anything and that is a lesson that has carried over into our society and generation
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