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The "Horatio Alger myth" is the "classic" American success story and character arc, the trajectory from "rags to riches". It comes from the novels of Horatio Alger, Jr., which were wildly popular after the Civil War in the United States. Alger wrote over 120 books for young working-class males, a well-known early example of which is ''Ragged Dick'', which was published in 1867. His books have been described as rags to riches stories, although often "rags to upper-middle class respectability" might be more accurate.〔Scharnhorst, Gary (1980). ''Horatio Alger, Jr.'' Twayne Publishers. ISBN 0-8057-7252-9. pp. 75-76〕 "By leading exemplary lives, struggling valiantly against poverty and adversity", Alger's protagonists gain both wealth and honor, ultimately realizing the American Dream.〔(''Alger, Horatio'' ) The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. 2007. Columbia University Press. 13 Apr 2008〕 The characters in Alger's stories sometimes improved their social position through the aid of an older, kindly, wealthy helping person. ==Success of Alger's characters== Associating Alger's stories with the "rags to riches" trope is somewhat misleading, as his heroes often only rise from poverty to the middle class. Though some of his novels, for example ''Jed, the Poorhouse Boy'', do detail the story of a protagonist ascending from poverty to nobility. Some of Alger's novels assert how material wealth is insignificant unless it is paired with middle-class respectability. For Alger's characters, wealth was the product of a meritocracy, and the direct consequence of "honesty, thrift, self-reliance, industry, a cheerful whistle and an open manly face". However, in some of Alger's works there is also an implied belief in hereditary determinism, explicitly contrasting achievement based on merit.〔Weiss, Richard. ''The American Myth of Success: From Horatio Alger to Norman Vincent Peale.'' New York: Basic Books, Inc. Publishers, 1969.〕 This contrasting achievement would often be another character such as a stepparent or the child of a rich family.〔Sarachek, B. 1978. ''American Entrepreneurs and the Horatio Alger Myth''. Cambridge, United Kingdom. Cambridge University Press.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Horatio Alger myth」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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