The image of the American boy is so drastically different than that of the American girl. I love the fact that Dick is so charismatic and funny! On page 336, it says "in spite of his dirt and rags there was something about Dick that was attractive". Nothing about a girl being in rags was ever portrayed as attractive. In fact, much of the time that was what made them damsels in distress. Even our fearless Capitola was taken in by a wealthy old man and cleaned up. It's almost this image that the boys of the 19th century were meant to get dirty! Living for yourself on the streets and making money and building a personality along the way builds character.
Dick is a hard worker. After cleaning three men's shoes "he had been up an hour, and hard at work..."(343). He earned his money and even said that "you don't catch me stealin..."(334). He was honest, for the most part, for the money that he possessed. This teaches boys that they are to work hard to support themselves while the American girl was meant to be provided for. We see the gender roles here clearly marked as one day the American boy will provide for his American girl and they are socialized into that at a young age!
Dick was very independent, he lived by himself, worked for himself and supported himself and even managed to have a little fun. The lack of discipline and structure in Dick's life allows him to live with a sense of independence that wasn't heard of with the American girl. The girls had very structured lives that gave way to proper young ladies while boys were encouraged to assert their independence and make something of themselves.
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I like how you explain the difference in the actual character traits between a boy and a girl. I agree that Ragged Dick seems to have more personality than some of the characters that we have previously seen. I also agree that the story marked gender roles so that the boy will grow up to be the provider of the household.
ReplyDeleteI loved that Dick was independent and I think it is important that you pointed this out. He was completely on his own and did everything for himself while still helping out his friends. The girls were given everything they needed and were instructed to do certain things that didn't allow them to branch out or force them to make their own living.
ReplyDeleteAnna, what a great post! I think you made some very good points. I also like that you mentioned how much Ragged Dick was an individual. I was glad to see a character taking care of myself and being able to support himself unlike the girls we have seen this semester who were provided for instead of working themselves. But I think it is interesting that Dick lied, gambled, and lived on the streets and yet was the “hero” of our novel.
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