After trying to research a detailed report on Horatio Alger in today’s society I obviously came to the end where it isn’t going to be that simple. But it seems that he isn’t at all forgotten. He is mentioned in two news articles I found, focusing on the celebrity life of America.
The first was an article involving Jay-Z’s beginning in life and before his career spectacularly shot into our world. The news article only mentions Alger once:
“And the basic outlines of his Horatio Alger story are well known: his childhood in Bed-Stuy during the crack epidemic; his father's departure from the family, leaving him "a kid torn apart"; his career as a dealer, "tryin' to come up/in the game and add a couple of dollar signs to my name"; his debut album, "Reasonable Doubt," in 1996; his ascent as a rap star, followed by his success as a producer, an entrepreneur and a chief executive ("I'm not a businessman/I'm a business, man.").”
The second article was focusing on the recent book of Portia De Rossi, and the downfall of celebrity’s effect on people who follow them:
“In her new memoir, Unbearable Lightness, de Rossi kicks up the wormy underbelly of a Hollywood Horatio Alger story: Aussie moves to L.A., finds fame on TV, happily marries the most prominent lesbian in Hollywood, Ellen DeGeneres. But the reality was far grimmer.”
Both assume that the reader understands the term “Horatio Alger story”. The rags-to-riches (or rags-to-respectability that was mentioned in our lecture) story is still around today. But the point both articles actually make is that the story is never simple. And this is exactly what Alger was trying to point out to the adult readers of “Ragged Dick”. These tricky situations that Dick first encountered still happen today but in an obvious more 21st century way. Instead of children living on the streets (although, of course that does still happen), people need to be aware of drugs, eating disorders and self-harm.
But then, as noted in our lecture, and in the lives of Jay-Z and Portia De Rossi, who have to be open to chance. Jay-Z nor Portia would be where they are if the first event didn’t trigger the rest.
Alger’s respectability is still well known today and even though his fame came after his death, it seems that America uses it as a bases to route they can go through. They can place themselves on the line of one of his characters and use it to travel through the success.
But as the second article is from a Canadian news post, it isn’t just American’s that are familiar and use Horatio in their lives.
Jay-Z: http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20101128/ENT03/11290304/1028/ENT/Jay-Z-explores-life-in-Decoded-
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