In the Ragged Dick by Horatio Alger, Dick saves a young boy from drowning and is rewarded with a well-paid job, and a beginning of a new lifestyle. The implicit argument that Horatio Alger made was that courage and bravery can bring great opportunities, and sometimes, looking out for the wellbeing of someone else will have more benefits.
The whole story was about being at the right place at the right time. Dick was at the beginning of the piece struggling to find a job. It was due to his, “peculiar way of speaking and use of slang terms had been somewhat modified by his education.” (ReReading America, 264). All of a sudden, after saving the young boy, he was giving a job, and nice clothes without having to work extremely hard for it. The boy’s father who Dick saved offered him a counting room job with more than he had ever earned and clothes that he could never afford. The fact that Dick remained modest and didn’t think of the benefits of saving the child is powerful. Implicitly this piece showed that if you care about other people, and aren’t always thinking of yourself good things will happen. If Dick had not saved the boy, then he would still be looking for a job. By selflessly sacrificing part of himself, he received rewards that changed his life. Sometimes, we get caught up in our own lives that we forget about others. However, when we do remember the others, something good always comes of it.
1 comment:
I agree with you about the implicit argument. I really liked what you said about looking out for the well being of others can have benefits. I also think that is was his hard work and determination to learn how to read and write that also helped him get a job because if he was illiterate then the father was not going to give him a job.
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