The Horatio Alger Myth is Alive and Well in American Culture

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1899396/the_horatio_alger_myth_is_alive_and.html?cat=9

This is an article I found on associated content which is a site run by Yahoo. It allows anybody to post their views on any topic. This article is written by an American lady called Sara Bilodeau and gives her view on the Horatio Alger myth and the American dream.

In the second sentence of the article Bilodeau states that the "Horatio Alger myth is known country wide as being a proud national symbol". This quote interested me from my initial reading as it is something I am not sure I totally agree with. I think the notion of the American Dream is something that is recognised country wide but not everybody would necessarily associate this idea with Alger. Also I do not believe that every American sees the Horatio Alger myth as being a "proud national symbol", for example the Native Americans and other minorities in America probably do not see this idea as a positive nor one that suitably defines the country they live in. The author does go on to talk about minorities in American society and their inability to obtain what Alger suggests but she implies that this is through fault of their own, not America as a country.

In the article Bilodeau places particular focus on the importance of good education. One sentence that particularly stood out to me was "in order to go to college all you basically have to do is finish high school with relatively good grades." This is something that seems quite obvious to her but she seemingly ignores the fact that some people find this harder than others. However this idea of education is the key to success is echoed in Ragged Dick. Both Frank and Mr Greyson suggest to Dick that he should gain a basic education in order to succeed.

In relation to Ragged Dick the article has both its differences and similarities. As I have mentioned, the focus on education throughout Bilodeau's article can be seen in Ragged Dick. As well as this Bilodeau suggests that all it takes to "make it" in America "All that is needed is the drive to succeed and an education." Again this idea of the drive to succeed is mirrored by Alger in Ragged Dick, we can see this through the repeated phrase "I want to grow up 'spectable." This phrase implicates to the reader that Dick wants to succeed and do well and thus when he does, it is suggested to us that it was because of his want to do so. Although the majority of the article very much looks at the ways in which the Horatio Alger myth still dominates American society, Bilodeau does state some differences. For example she doesn't believe that the "dream" can be obtained in only one generation as Alger suggests. "It is much more common for this goal to be obtained after several generations of hard work" shows that she feels that it is with the hard work of families and generations that this dream can come into being not just the hard work of an individual.

Overall the Bilodeau article is very much in favour of the Horatio Alger myth and therefore tries to put across as many arguments as possible to show that myth is still dominant in contemporary America. It echoes the thoughts and ideas that are evident in Ragged Dick especially the focus on education and hard work. From this article you would believe that Horatio Alger myth is still alive in American culture. However I believe that this article is very much based on middle/upper class Americans, which would suggest that the myth is only alive for a proportion of American society.