Ragged Dick · Chapter
Conclusion explained
Dick receives a new suit and a job offer from Mr.
What happens
Dick receives a new suit and a job offer from Mr. Rockwell at ten dollars a week, marking his transition from bootblack to clerk. He and Fosdick plan to move to a better neighborhood, and Dick decides to give his old bootblacking business to Johnny Nolan. The chapter concludes with Dick embracing his new identity as Richard Hunter, Esq., determined to rise further.
Themes in this chapter
Rags to Riches
Dick's transformation from a homeless bootblack to a clerk earning ten dollars a week epitomizes the rags-to-riches narrative.
Self-Improvement and Education
Dick's improved penmanship and arithmetic skills, learned through his own efforts, directly lead to his employment.
Honesty and Moral Integrity
Dick honestly tells Mr. Rockwell that ten dollars a week is more than he can earn, demonstrating his integrity.
Characters to notice
- Ragged Dick
Accepts a clerkship at Mr. Rockwell's counting room for ten dollars a week, symbolizing his rise from poverty.
- Henry Fosdick
Rejoices in Dick's success and shares that his own pay has been raised to six dollars a week; they plan to move to a nicer quarter.
- Mr. Rockwell
Offers Dick a job as a clerk at ten dollars a week, impressed by his honesty and penmanship.
- Johnny Nolan
Dick plans to give his bootblack business and customers to Johnny, seeing him as lacking enterprise.
- Micky Maguire
Later seen wearing Dick's stolen Washington coat and Napoleon pants, though the theft is never proven.
Key passages
“By gracious! he exclaimed; somebody's stole my Washington coat and Napoleon pants. Maybe it's an agent of Barnum's, who expects to make a fortun' by exhibitin' the valooable wardrobe of a gentleman of fashion.”
Dick jokes that his old clothes might have been taken by someone working for P.T. Barnum to display as a curiosity.
Dick's humorous reaction to the theft shows his detachment from his former life.
“I think we can afford to leave Mott Street now. This house isn't as neat as it might be, and I shall like to live in a nicer quarter of the city.”
Fosdick suggests they move to a better neighborhood since they can now afford it.
The decision to move symbolizes their upward mobility.
“I'll try to get my reg'lar customers to take Johnny Nolan in my place. That boy hasn't any enterprise. He needs some body to look out for him.”
Dick plans to transfer his bootblack customers to Johnny Nolan, whom he considers lacking initiative.
Dick's generosity contrasts with his earlier struggle for survival.
“You must drop that name, and think of yourself now as— Richard Hunter, Esq., said our hero, smiling. A young gentleman on the way to fame and fortune, added Fosdick.”
Dick and Fosdick agree that he should now be called Richard Hunter, Esq., a young man destined for success.
The renaming marks Dick's complete break from his past identity.