After an unexpected windfall, Dick rents a squalid room that to him
seems impossibly luxurious. In return for tutelage, he lets another boy,
the once well-cared-for and well-read Henry Fosdick, share his room.
This two-person self-improvement society is perfect fof both. Dick gets
an"edoocation"and Fosdick a place out of the cold. Though they
must live through a series of adventures, the boys Gnd a way ro
succeed.
The tale is a page-turneq and the reader delights in Dick's joy at
such simple things as a new suit of clothes, opening a bank account,
and eating a piece of steak. As Alger makes cleaq Dick, who by the end
of the short book has become Dick Hunter Esq., is very likeable. He
has pluck and wit to balance his earnest strivings to be "spectable"
and, despite first-hand experience of the best rogues and swindlers the
city has to offeq is a perennial optimist.
Following are some of Horatio Alger's lessons of success as learned
by the young Dick.
Make your own luck
Dick's big break comes on a ferry crossing into Brooklyn. He sees a
child fall over the side into the water and wastes no time beforejump
ing in, somehow managing to pull the child to safety. The panicked
fatheq who could not swim, is amazed to have his child alive and
Promises Dick any reward. Lateq the man offers Dick a job in acount
ing house at $10 a week, many times his current earnings. A great
stroke of luck? Not really, for Dick's selflessness was the cause of this
good fortune, and his diligence in self-educa tion every night meant that
he could be hired without the slightest whiff of charity.
Luck happens to those who greatly increase the chances of its
occurrence.
Whatever you do, do if to your utmost
Life seems to require that, even if we don't like what we are doing, we
must do it to the best of our ability before we can move on to the next
thing. Ragged Dick is only a b6otblack, but he uses his"profession'to
save money meet a higher class of people, and generally better himself.
Become a reader
Dick meets the son of a wealthy man and shows him around the city
lor a day. LatefJ the boy's father tells Dick that "in this country poverty
is no bar to achievement"and relates his own rise from apprentice
printer to successful businessman. He notes that there was one thing he
rook away from the printing of6ce "which I value more than money."
When Dick asks what this was, the man replies
"A taste for reading and study. During my leisure hoursago i improved
myself by study, and acquired a large part of the knowledge which I
now possess. Indeed, it was one of my books that first put me on the
track of the invention, which I afterwards made. So you see, · my lad,
that my studious habits paid me in money, as well as in another way."
Be a saver but be generous
When Dick receives an unexpected sum of $5, he opens a bank
account. The amount that builds gives him a great source of security
and pride, as he no longer has to live hand-to-mouth. While delighted
chat he is now a"capitalist,"he is quick to help a friend in need.
Fosdick, the boy with whom he shares his lodgings, wants to get an
office job instead of shining shoes, so Dick purchases a suit of proper
clothes for him. On another occasion he helps out a buddy whose
meher k U.
Never cheat, steal, or lie
Though temptations to do otherwise are often great, Dick has aper
sonai code that"srealin'is mean."His sense of honor and fair playJ
which appears naive to"sophisticated"types, Gnally proves to be the
sour ce of his success. For someone who lives from day to day, his belief
h"doing right"is remarkably farsighted. The characer Mr.Whitney
tells Dick:"Remember that your future position depends mainly upon
yourself, and that it will be high or low as you choose to makeit it "
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