Rough and Ready; Or, Life Among the New York Newsboys


Book Description

In 'Rough and Ready; Or, Life Among the New York Newsboys' by Horatio Jr. Alger, readers are plunged into the gritty and tumultuous world of young street vendors in New York City. Alger's straightforward and accessible prose style vividly describes the daily struggles and triumphs of the newsboys as they navigate the harsh realities of urban life. Set against the backdrop of the 19th century, Alger's work provides a compelling insight into the societal and economic challenges faced by the working class during this era. The book's emphasis on themes of perseverance, friendship, and social mobility make it a timeless and enduring piece of literature. Horatio Jr. Alger's deep understanding of the human spirit and his compassion for the marginalized groups in society shine through in this engaging narrative. His firsthand experience working with underprivileged youth in the city serves as a driving force behind his motivation to shed light on their struggles. 'Rough and Ready' is a must-read for those interested in historical fiction, social commentary, and coming-of-age stories with a heartwarming message of hope and resilience.




Rough and Ready, Or, Life Among the New York Newsboys


Book Description

Rufus, also known as Rough and Ready, is a newsboy who must protect his sister, Rose, from an alcoholic stepfather, James Martin. Through luck, hard work, and honesty, Rufus finds a home for Rose with a kindly seamstress and prospers in his business of selling newspapers. However, Mr. Martin is lurking in the shadows waiting for an opportunity to reclaim the children and hatches a plot to kidnap Rose.




Rough and Ready


Book Description




Rituals and Patterns in Children's Lives


Book Description

Trick-or-treating. Flower girls. Bedtime stories. Bar and bat mitvah. In a nation of increasing ethnic, familial, and technological complexity, the patterns of children's lives both persist and evolve. This book considers how such events shape identity and transmit cultural norms, asking such questions as: * How do immigrant families negotiate between old traditions and new? * What does it mean when children engage in ritual insults and sick jokes? * How does playing with dolls reflect and construct feelings of racial identity? * Whatever happened to the practice of going to the Saturday matinee to see a Western? * What does it mean for a child to be (in the words of one bride) "flower-girl material"? How does that role cement a girl's bond to her family and initiate her into society? * What is the function of masks and costumes, and why do children yearn for these accoutrements of disguise? Rituals and Patterns in Children's Lives suggests the manifold ways in which America's children come to know their society and themselves.




Rufus and Rose; Or, The Fortunes of Rough and Ready


Book Description

Set against the backdrop of 19th-century New York, this tale by Alger follows the challenges and adventures of siblings Rufus and Rose. As they navigate life's trials, from dealing with stepfathers to understanding the conduct of life, readers witness their resilience and determination. Alger's portrayal of the era, combined with the siblings' journey, offers a heartwarming tale of hope and perseverance.




Almost Chosen People


Book Description

Few historians are bold enough to go after America's sacred cows in their very own pastures. But Michael Zuckerman is no ordinary historian, and this collection of his essays is no ordinary book. In his effort to remake the meaning of the American tradition, Zuckerman takes the entire sweep of American history for his province. The essays in this collection, including two never before published and a new autobiographical introduction, range from early New England settlements to the hallowed corridors of modern Washington. Among his subjects are Puritans and Southern gentry, Benjamin Franklin and Benjamin Spock, P. T. Barnum and Ronald Reagan. Collecting scammers and scoundrels, racists and rebels, as well as the purest genius, he writes to capture the unadorned American character. Recognized for his energy, eloquence, and iconoclasm, Zuckerman is known for provoking—and sometimes almost seducing—historians into rethinking their most cherished assumptions about the American past. Now his many fans, and readers of every persuasion, can newly appreciate the distinctive talents of one of America's most powerful social critics.




Encyclopedia of the American Novel


Book Description

Praise for the print edition:" ... no other reference work on American fiction brings together such an array of authors and texts as this.




Cub Reporters


Book Description

Cub Reporters considers the intersections between children's literature and journalism in the United States during the period between the Civil War and World War I. American children's literature of this time, including works from such writers as L. Frank Baum, Horatio Alger Jr., and Richard Harding Davis, as well as unique journalistic examples including the children's page of the Chicago Defender, subverts the idea of news. In these works, journalism is not a reporting of fact, but a reporting of artifice, or human-made apparatus—artistic, technological, psychological, cultural, or otherwise. Using a methodology that combines approaches from literary analysis, historicism, cultural studies, media studies, and childhood studies, Paige Gray shows how the cub reporters of children's literature report the truth of artifice and relish it. They signal an embrace of artifice as a means to access individual agency, and in doing so, both child and adult readers are encouraged to deconstruct and create the world anew.







Rough and Ready


Book Description

Rufus, also known as Rough and Ready, is a newsboy who must protect his sister, Rose, from an alcoholic stepfather, James Martin. Through luck, hard work, and honesty, Rufus finds a home for Rose with a kindly seamstress and prospers in his business of selling newspapers. However, Mr. Martin is lurking in the shadows waiting for an opportunity to reclaim the children and hatches a plot to kidnap Rose.