Ragged Dick

As we discussed in class last Thursday there are many comparisons and differences between the role of girls and boys in American literature. In the stories we have read thus far, the girls in the readings have showed to be innocence, curious, adventurous little girls. There is an older male role usually portrayed, and a lack of mother guidance. The boys in the stories we have read have been more independent, charasmatic characters with huge personalities. In the stories that focus on the American girl role we have seen a lot of religious symbolism. In the boys we have seen a lack of religious symbolism. For example, in Ragged Dick, Dick does not even know what a Bible is. When Frank and Dick pass the Bible House Frank asked Dick if he had ever read a bible, Dick responded with, "'No,' said Dick; 'I've heard it's a good book, but I never read one.'" (303) In the previous readings, we have seen a role of a caretaker in the girls lives. In Ragged Dick, a role model figure is not shown or talked about. Dick is competent with living on his own and the reading shows how is he able to make a life for his own. In my opinion, in all of the readings we have read this semester the authors portray women to be helpless without a father or a man in their life. After reading Ragged Dick, it made me realize this assumption. In The Lamplighter, Gerty has Trueman; in The Wide, Wide World, Ellen has the old gentleman; and in The Hidden Hand, Capitola has Old Hurricane.