Ragged Dick by Horatio Alger, Jr. Ragged Dick is a perfect story of what should be considered the American Dream. Here you have a boy who has lost both parents, he has neither. He shines shoes just to be able to feed himself and reaches a higher class with hard work and good character. There may have been a little luck every now and then, but that's also the American dream. Ragged Dick is almost like a guide to increasing your social class rank. Not so much a step-by-step manual, but more of a tutorial. Ragged Dick gives you the perfect introduction to the American Dream, mindset, and work ethic so you can make your American Dream story come true. I believe the American dream is someone improving their current situation into a better one. I don't think it's a small change though. The American dream isn't simply getting a car when your family didn't have one before or getting a little promotion at work so your family can actually start saving money. Even though these are part of the American Dream which, simply put, is growing and prospering from what you had before. That said, I believe the true American Dream is to start from nothing, usually brought to that point by oppression or devastation, and rise above poverty until you reach a minimal level of comfortable living where money is not a concern in the own life. The stereotypical story would go from poverty to high class life, but just the movement towards a better life is all that really needs to happen to be an American Dream story. Many people would say that this American dream is not possible and completely inaccessible, these people are probably not Americans or just didn't get lucky. The American dream is simply not about hard work, good character and values, ... middle of paper ... earn as much money as you shine shoes. He gets more for a better attitude than other shoe shiners because they are always so sad. His helpful and respectful attitude towards others is what allows him to thrive in life and makes those luckier than him more willing to help him thanks to his attitude towards others and his friendliness. You can't get anywhere in life if no one likes you and you don't have a good character. Ragged Dick wasn't just a good example of the American dream come true. It's also pretty much a guideline for what you need to do or have to make an American Dream possible. It clearly depicts how Dick's character and moral values ​​play a huge role in his rise to bigger and better things. Work ethic and desire for better things are always necessary. There are six main things that are highlighted in the book.