Rags to Riches

I have chosen to look at the American Business man Kirk Kerkorian. His story is somewhat similar to the character 'ragged dick' from Horatio Algers book. Kerkorian was born in 1917 in California to American immigrant parents. His parents were poorer than most and he did not have a very stable upbringing, consequently he dropped out of school in the 8th grade resulting in him not having a good education. Much like the character ragged Dick, Kerkorian was forced to fend for himself on the streets of a busy city. Fortunately he didn't have to become a shoe shiner like the characters however he took up boxing and mastered the skill to become the Pacific amateur welterweight champion. This matches the character in Alger's book as Dick had to master the skills of the streets and become 'street wise' to stay alive and do better for himself (this is shown in his confrontation with the man selling him the wallet stuffed with paper).

Luck played a part in Kerkorian's early life as in 1939 he met a man named Ted O'Flaherty (when installing a wall furnace) who happened to take flying lessons and who subsequently introduced Kerkorian to the world of flying. This is similar to Dick's first encounter on the way to his riches story when he was lucky to meet Mr.Whitney and his nephew Frank. Both of these stories required more luck than pluck in how they panned out. After learning to fly Kerkorian became involved in many mission within the second world war and this won him much admiration and status. Much like the character Dick who won status on the streets which consequently helped him to achieve his goals in life. Both of these men, met the right people at the right time. Another similarity in these rags to riches stories is how Kerkorian used his money after the war. It is believed he saved his money (something which Dick did as well) and used the skills he acquired when he was younger to gamble and play to win more money. This story can be seen as the American dream as he worked hard to make the money in the first place. He wanted a better life for himself and knew the only way to achieve this was to work hard (again, something which Dick also knew and did).

The idea of the American Dream presented in Ragged Dick can still be seen in Americans today. This is evident in the story I chose of Kirk Kerkorian.