Ragged Dick In Horatio Alger

19 September 2013
Essay 1 Does the old saying still stand as of today? Is America still the land of opportunity to become successful financially and mentally? Whether it be empty-handed immigrants or people born into poverty and burdened lives; they have nothing more than a mere picture of themselves living the American dream someday as long as they are “persistent in working hard.” The American culture has lead us to believe we can achieve what America has outlined as success; but the ones who say we can achieve financial achievement, despite our initial state, are the luxurious one percent, who are the result of unequal distribution. If people in America are supposed to be equal, then why is there unequal distribution? We are country
Dalton questions three myths that derive from Ragged Dick in Horatio Alger: we are all judged entirely on our merits, we are all given equal opportunity to gain those merits, and that merit will bring us success. If we are all judged by our merits, then “it suggests that success in life has nothing to do with pedigree, race, class background, gender... anything beyond our control” (Dalton 273). Dalton gives an example of the “best black syndrome”; Stephen Carter, a black man, earned second highest score in a scholarship test but gets “best black student.” Why must there be a category within a category? If a non-black student is addressed as the best student, and a black student is addressed as the best black student, what is it suggesting? That African Americans are not qualified to be considered as a regular, equal student? You are either the best or not all. This all goes to show that any way or form, we are all judged in society, affecting our
“For the most part, class avoidance of class-laden vocabulary crosses class boundaries” (Mantsios 304). There are measurements in salary, physical appearance, and education to determine class. Mantsios studies showed that 34 percent of America’s wealth is held by the one percent, and almost one of every eight people are living below the poverty line ($19,307 dollars for a family of four in 2004). But it is not getting any better, since it has increased approximately $4,000 since then. One of the biggest reasons people are in poverty is because people cannot afford proper education to become well-sustained. It is all dependent on factors beyond our control. Mantsios compared class backgrounds of a life of a white male, whose father is a manufacturer and an industrialist who was enrolled in a prestigious preparatory school, and a black female, whose father a janitor and mother a waitress who lives in the ghetto. Who do you think has more of an advantage in life? The white male, as a result of opportunity handed to