From Ragged Dickpp246-252;#1,3,4,7

1. List the value, characteristics, and actions that help Ragged Dick succeed. How valuable do you consider these today?How important is virtue compared to good luck-in the story and in your own experience?

3. By the time we reach the end of this story, quite a few things have changed from the time Dick"was an ignorant boot-black, and never expected to be anything better"(para.68). Working in small groups, list as many changes as you can. What seems to be Alger's attitude toward them?

4. Why is Alger careful to note that Dick does not hear Mr. Rockwell's offer of $10000 to whoever would save Little Johnny? Is Dick being short-changed by getting a job and clothes but not a $10,000 reward?

7. Dick considers himself a "young man off property" when he has $100 in the bank. Talk to classmates and see if you can reach any consensus about what it would take today to be a "young man or woman of property." Similarly see if you can agree on what levels of wealth and income define the poor, the middle class, and the upper class in the United State today. Write journal entry summarizing your conclusions and keep it for reference as you read the rest of this chapter.