Horatio Alger‚ a short essay written by Harlon Dalton in effort to debunk the myths commonly seen in the classic American hero. It begins with discussing the main ideas conveyed in these stories and how they create a “socially destructive” narrative. The author objects to three main concepts that are portrayed in the Horatio Alger myth. The first idea of these stories is that everyone is only judged based on their own actions and accomplishments (Dalton). The author argues this notion as being simply
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Microtheme 1 In the essay “Horatio Alger” by Harlon L. Dalton‚ Dalton argues that the Horatio Alger myth regarding commercial success is false and is socially destructive. He first claims that a individuals success in life cannot be determined by that individual himself. He argues that racism and judgment have an influence on the success that person can achieve in his lifetime. He introduces Stephen Carters “best black syndrome” saying that blacks are being recognized for being the “best black”
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In “Ragged Dick” Horatio Alger promotes the myth of individual success. He states that anyone can be from the lower rungs of the economic ladder and find themselves on the top of the ladder. In the story Dick started out shinning shoes‚ and saved a little boy in a ferry who fell over and was drowning. Mr. Rockwell‚ the father of the little boy offered Dick a job in his counting-room. Even though the odds were stacked against him‚ he was able to find the perfect opportunity to succeed. However‚ the
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Dalton questions three myths that derive from Ragged Dick in Horatio Alger: we are all judged entirely on our merits‚ we are all given equal opportunity to gain those merits‚ and that merit will bring us success. If we are all judged by our merits‚ then “it suggests that success in life has nothing to do with pedigree‚ race‚ class background‚ gender... anything beyond our control” (Dalton 273). Dalton gives an example of the “best black syndrome”; Stephen
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Jonathan Hartness Professor Greenbuam English 1101 3 April‚ 2014 The American Dream The Death of Horatio Alger is about how the American Dream is long dead due to the poor staying poor and never having equal opportunity‚ and the rich staying rich due to inherits. By Our Own Bootstraps is about creating the American Dream by having equal opportunity through hard work. Both of these articles define the American Dream based on the opportunity given or in some cases if it is ever given to those
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our cultural identity is the American Dream and part of the American Dream is the myth of the success. In America‚ success is seen as the self made man (or woman) rising above even the most dire of circumstances to get an excellent job‚ a new car‚ and a house in the suburbs. But the current trends in the media no
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dictionaries‚ the formal definition of “rags to riches” is used to describe a situation in which a person who begins his or her life in extreme poverty and moving to great wealth. Through the definition and the articles regarding the influence of Horatio Alger’s stories of success‚ we can conclude the concept of “rags to riches” is to motivate people who born into the bottom of our social hierarchy pyramid that they can change their life prospects and become successful by having strong character as
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The Death of Horatio Alger The United States of America has over time gone through several changes since the time when “The American Dream” slogan was put forward to drive the country to success. The article “The Death of Horatio Alger” by Paul Krugman was published in2004. Horatio Alger was a prolific writer who lived between the year 1832 and 1899. This article has expressed the value of the America dream. And the writer thinks about the causes of economic inequality. Moreover‚ it signified the
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America works for black people‚ and that African-Americans have an equal opportunity of obtaining the American Dream. The Horatio Alger myth states “each of us is judged solely based on [one’s] own merits‚ we each have a fair opportunity to develop those merits and ultimately‚ merit will out” (304). On the contrary‚ Harlon L. Dalton’s Horatio Alger article contends that myth and that racism still exists. Racism involves the belief in racial differences‚ which acts as a
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In other words‚ the Asian American model minority myth was a shield against the persecution of the Chinese and Japanese in the U.S. Sadly‚ that shield was quickly picked up by opponents of the Black Civil Rights and Black Power movements and used as a weapon against Black Americans who were stereotyped as a “problem minority‚” mired in crime‚ unemployment and inter-generational poverty because of cultural deficits they would do well to overcome by making like Asians and pulling themselves up by their
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