The United States in the 1870's to the 1900's was a very harsh place for an orphan. Children were left homeless and had no hope to survive. They had to dream in boxes on the street in Hell's Kitchen. They dreamt of a warm bed and a nice meal waiting on the table. They dreamed of having money that would give them power to enjoy everything else in life. The children at least wanted to get out of Hell's Kitchen to live on Mott Street. Hell's Kitchen is beneath the poor and Mott Street is the next best thing. Most children all had intuitive to start a little job from boot blacking to selling news papers. Some were also thieves. They all had to find some way to fulfill their stomachs. There were children who had dreams of something more. Some wanted to do something special with their lives to be respected by others. The novel Ragged Dick by Horatio Alger was an explanation of how a poor white native born male can go from Hell's Kitchen to Middle class with individual effort and inner qualities.
Alger made the character, Ragged Dick, who was a very honest and hard working poor boy that lived in Hell's Kitchen. Dick would never cheat or steal. He was very ignorant, but Alger gave him hope of a better life. Dick was a boot black who worked very hard and woke up very early every morning to pay for his special desires. He also put a lot of effort into getting his customers. The customers were attracted to him because of his sense of humor and unknown quality. Dick may have been dirty and ragged, but there was something about him that showed people he would make it, his determination.
Then there was the character, Johnny Nolan, who was opposite of Dick when it came to hard work.
He was lazy and didn't make three times less than Dick. He would rather stay in the city in Hell's Kitchen instead of a warm house and bed on a farm. He had no energetic feeling in him and in result he makes less. He won't even make it to Mott Street.
