Ragged Dick shows the emphasis and distinctness of the difference between the wealthy and the poor in New York City during the 1860s. Dick is a poor boy with no family who raised himself. It is amazing that he is so honest and would never steal; it makes one wonder where his morals came from. It doesn’t seem like he has an adult role model in his life to teach him right from wrong. Before meeting Frank, Dick doesn’t think there is another way for him to live. He believes his life is polishing boots, and he isn’t able to do anything more with his life. Frank tells him this isn’t so, and that he could do more with his life, especially if he became educated. They talk of Dick becoming a “self-made” man. If he works hard and remains honest, he could do a lot with his life, and if he saved his money, he could move up in life. He would no longer have to sleep in a box or work for enough money to get himself through the day.
Frank and his uncle are portrayed as coming from a different world, with money and nice clothes. They are presented as being very different from Dick, just because they are rich. They help Dick, though. They give him nice clothes and help him to change his status in life. It is interesting how much having nice clothes changes people’s perspective of the boys. When Dick walks around in the nice clothes, no one recognizes him. They think he is rich and try to swindle him out of money, but he is to smart for them. When the boys are on the car, only the woman who accuses them of stealing distrusts them. Everyone else thinks they seem like fine boys, by judging their appearance. If Dick was dressed in his normal rags, my guess is their reaction would be very different, and the conductor wouldn’t have hesitated in checking his pockets. Everyone would have believed he stole the purse based on his appearance as a poor boy.
Appearance and status were very important during this time. The people around Dick treated him differently when he was dressed in the nice suit. It makes me wonder, how much does our appearance matter today? Do we still judge people based on what they are wearing? Do we trust people more if they are dressed nicely?
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