The texts we have covered up to this point have been focused on addressing the issues pertaining to young woman of the 19th century. In these stories Sybil, Ellen, and Gerty all shared similar characteristics and were depicted as emotional, well mannered, domesticated and submissive young women; acting as a medium through which the author can influence the behavior of young women of the time period. In Ragged Dick for the first time we have a portrayal of a young man of the 19th century, the differences between the young men and women of the time are drastic. Dick is illustrated as a young funny, carefree, honest boy who enjoys gambling, smoking, and drinking; all things that were unheard of thus far in our 19th century literature.
As we discussed in class recently, Alger Is known for writing “rags to riches” stories. Ragged Dick is no exception, through Dick, Alger illustrates the idea that no matter your socio-economic status you can achieve the “American Dream” through honesty and hard work. This type of success story is something that we have yet to see in our other readings and was a refreshing change from the previous dark and emotional texts we have covered.
This idea of an honest, hard working man and a submissive, domesticated woman says a lot about 19th century society as a whole. The emphasis of these very clear and identifiable characteristics of both men and women in our stories shows exactly how a household of the time should be operated. Also, Ragged Dick shows us how men were potentially perceived as the dominant party in relationships in the sense that Dick is able to engage in “bad “ things such as smoking, drinking, gambling and no one raises a brow, whereas if any of our female characters were to partake in these activities they would be harshly criticized.
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I agree with your assessment of Alger writing Ragged Dick to express the point of the "American Dream", and how you can achieve this no matter your socio-economic through honesty and hard work. I also liked the easements you made of the hard working man and the domesticated woman, because those were their expected roles in the 19th century.
ReplyDeleteI also noticed how dismissive the author was of Dick's bad habits, whereas if a girl did the same things she would be most likely be punished very harshly. Capitola was even punished for dressing like a boy, even though she was just trying to get honest work for supporting herself. The double standard is very evident.
ReplyDeleteI like how you distinguished how different men and women were portrayed in the 19th century. Also, how weird would it be to read 19th literature where we see a woman smoking, gambling, and doing other things that are frowned upon if you are a female?
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