Ragged Dick Horatio Alger Myth

In “Ragged Dick” Horatio Alger promotes the myth of individual success. He states that anyone can be from the lower rungs of the economic ladder and find themselves on the top of the ladder. In the story Dick started out shinning shoes, and saved a little boy in a ferry who fell over and was drowning. Mr. Rockwell, the father of the little boy offered Dick a job in his counting-room. Even though the odds were stacked against him, he was able to find the perfect opportunity to succeed. However, the story just shows that Dick was in the right place at the right time. Harlon L. Dalton repudiated the myth in “Ragged Dick”, he states that the sotry is false and conceals important social realities like race and class. “The Horatio Alger myth conveys three basic messages, each of us is judged soley on her or his own merits; we each have a fair opportunity to develop those merits; and ultimately, merit will out (Dalton 261). The incidence of unlikely success stories like the one portrayed in “Ragged Dick” does not capture the true image of reality. Dalton states that
Money makes people’s lives easier up to a certain point, after that, more money would not necessarily make you fell happier or more successful. Continuing to desire money will result in making a person miserable since there will never be enough. Nonetheless, success should be determined by true contentment, and from within, having a meaning in our lives behind money. Being successful should not have to require validations from others, however it should boil down to what your unique meaning of success is. Real success comes from living your life in accordance with your own true nature, and being yourself. Every American should received equal opportunity and to achieve this the government should help to level the playing field. With substantial policy changes that promotes the quality of opportunity to every American, one will be able to become