Horatio Alger could
be called the father of the American Dream. His novels about poor boys who
achieve success through hard work and determination are the classic examples of
the rags-to-riches ideal. But in a post-bank
bailout world, the American Dream is a much harder sell than it used
to be. Perhaps it was a myth all along, propagated by a man who himself is the
stuff of myths like these.
- Alger's
writing was driven by his desire to reform wayward youth by building their
character.
Some believe
Alger's compassion for the thousands of "street urchins" in New York
City in the late 1860s prompted him to create his stories filled with
"proper advice" for succeeding. The truth is that his reason for
coming to the Big Apple in the first place was that he fled his post as a
pastor in Brewster, Mass., the same day his church accused him of molesting two young
boys. Instead of being a noble enterprise, Alger's writings were more
likely an attempt to atone for his "secret sin."
- After
coming to New York, Alger was a staunch child advocate the rest of his
life.
It is true that in
the late 1800s, Alger was one of the most prominent voices for abandoned
children in New York City. However, bearing in mind his past, it is worth
asking how appropriate it was for an admitted child molester to take in children off the
street to live with him. Regardless, toward the end of his life Alger
famously said, "I gave up my room on 34th Street because I had too many
young callers who were unwelcome … For this reason please don't tell them where
I am."
- The
idea that poor children can escape poverty by trying hard enough is
realistic.
In reality, this was
extremely unlikely to happen in Horatio's time, and it's not much truer now.
According to the Urban
Institute, up to 60% of children born into poverty will stay there through
childhood. Of those, more than 30% will be poor through early adulthood.
- Alger's
life was a rags-to-riches story.
Some readers may
have been under the impression that Alger's own background was the inspiration
for his tales of boys starting out in poverty and achieving wealth. In fact,
Alger's childhood was quite comfortable. The son of a minister and a descendant
of a Constitutional Convention delegate, Alger studied the classics, attended
prep schools, and eventually went to Harvard.
- Alger's
heroes were self-made.
Amazingly, a staple
of Horatio Alger stories was wealthy benefactors who gave the heroes gifts and
helped them on their way, thus contradicting the basis of the idea of a
self-made man achieving success through hard work. Dick, the star of Alger'sRagged
Dick series and his most famous creation, once said in a story,
"I'd like it if some rich man would adopt me, and give me plenty to eat
and drink and wear, without my havin' to look so sharp after it."
- The
heroes of Alger's stories worked hard.
"Working
hard" is a very subjective phrase that is open to interpretation. We
expect "hard work" as Alger sees it to be enterprises like digging
ditches or coal mining. Instead, he seems to mean something akin to the
"hard work" a day trader does; in other words, white collar work.
Take Alger's novel Do
and Dare: A Brave Boy's Fight for Fortune. The hero's "fight"
involves being hired by a rich benefactor who gives him money to invest in a
mine that pays off and makes the hero rich. That's not really practical help
for poor kids.
- Alger
was correct in thinking hard work automatically translates to success.
Let's examine the
numbers to dispel this myth. A recent study found that Mexicans are the hardest-working
people in the world, working nearly 10 hours per day on average. They
also happen to have the highest level of relative poverty among developed
countries, at 20%.
- Alger
thought hard work is all you need.
Alger sidestepped
this opportunity gap by providing his heroes one brilliant stroke of luck that
changes their lives, like rescuing a beautiful young girl from being crushed by
a safe falling out of a window. And wouldn't you know it, the girl's father is
so thankful he lavishly rewards the poor hero with money/a job/his daughter's
hand. "Pluck and luck," Alger called it. If only there were one
falling safe and one wealthy heiress for every poor person in America dreaming
of a better life.
- Alger's
heroes were poor.
Surely, at the very
least, it can't be a myth that the poor boys in Alger's stories wereactually
poor, can it? Alas, as professor and writer Alvin Schorr pointed out,
Alger's boys did not know the meaning of poverty. Unlike the polite, plucky
heroes of the books, people in true poverty are generally uneducated,
non-white, and uncultured. Alger's heroes primarily experienced
"episodes" of a shortage of money, but with education, wealthy family
members or acquaintances, and knowledge of etiquette, they always had the means
to succeed at their fingertips.
- Alger
believed in every aspect of the American dream.
A cursory study of
Alger's books reveals Alger probably did not believe in a key part of the
American Dream: the idea that it lies within the grasp of any man or woman,
regardless of race. In the 100+ stories he wrote, every protagonist is a white
male. Apparently Alger did think races like the "heathen
Chinee" could succeed in America, only not through honest work
but through "craft and deceit.
- Alger's
popularity and number of published titles must mean he was a skilled
writer.
Although at the
height of his popularity he was as widely-read as Mark Twain, Alger has since
been called "the
most terribly bad of writers." For his part, Twain loathed Alger's writing
and even penned a parody story called The Good Little Boy,
in which an Algeresque hero does all the right things but in the end gets blown
up.
Story by Florine Church
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