There were three things that I kept noticing as I was reading Ragged Dick. We somewhat discussed them in class, but I would like to expand on the ideas. I found that boys are more assertive and confident than we have seen in girls, can raise themselves without a strong parental figure, and boys seem to be able to improve more easily than girls.
Ragged Dick’s father is an alcoholic who does not play a big part in his life. He raises himself without much help of any authority figure. I believe that boys matured a lot quicker than girls in the sense that they could be independent. “It is not uncommon to see a little boy, too young to be out of his mother’s sight, smoking with all the apparent satisfaction of a veteran smoker” (Alger 341). No girl that we have read about would be out of any parent’s sight doing such a thing. Ellen could barely survive on her trip to the store when her mom could not go with her.
In the second half of the story Frank gives Dick new clothes to wear and lets him clean up, so he looks more presentable. “It reminds me of Cinderella,” said Dick, “when she was changed into a fairy princess” (Alger 365). Frank agrees that he looks so much better and is now able to be a “proper guide”. Just by looking clean he has completely changed. To Mr. Whitney, Frank’s uncle, Dick seems to be a respectable boy and only needed a little changing. I think this is different from girls because they needed so much training in everything to be a proper young lady, whether it be in their appearance, the way they acted, or their duty as a housewife.
There are obvious differences between the American boy and the American girl. I think this shows that men are the dominant figures in society. They are more independent and ambitious and they make decisions not only for themselves, but also their families and society.
Elizabeth, I pretty much came to the same conclusion about men having the dominant role in society and I feel it's the only conclusion that we can really come to. Women were not supposed to be aggressive. The more docile a woman was the better as far as men and emotions, it seems as if they were almost non existent, the opposite of women. Good post!
ReplyDeleteI agree that in the 19th century society, men were the ones who had the main roles. I like all of the points that you touched on and expanded on the influence parents have on young boys during this time. It was completely different than any other story we have read about little girls. Great job!
ReplyDeleteI think you made some great points! I think it is interesting how, like you said, girls required so much training and provision from another person to become successful in the nineteenth century society. Boys on the other hand needed ambition and spunk and a personality in order to “make it” on their own. They lived much more independently.
ReplyDelete