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Chapter 2: Johnny Nolan
Explanation and Analysis—Johnny Nolan:
Johnny Nolan, a poor and largely unsuccessful bootblack who hangs around Dick, serves as a foil to emphasize Dick's enterprising character and responsible decisions. Johnny first appears when Dick is eating breakfast in a cheap diner. Because Johnny doesn't have enough money to buy his own meal, Dick pays for it. The difference in their circumstances is no coincidence, Alger tells us: while Dick is "energetic and on the alert for business," Johnny is the opposite. As a result, Alger says, "Dick earned probably three times as much" as his friend. When Johnny complains that he can't find enough customers, Dick insists that the problem is his disposition, not their line of work:
“I don’t get near as much as you, Dick.”
“Well, you might if you tried. I keep my eyes open—that’s the way I get jobs. You’re lazy, that’s what’s the matter.”
Related Themes:
Chapter 15: Dick Secures a Tutor
Explanation and Analysis—Henry Fosdick:
Henry Fosdick, Dick's closest friend among his fellow boot-blacks, serves as a foil to the novel's protagonist. While Johnny Nolan, also a foil, illuminates Dick's good qualities through his own flaws, Fosdick is just as hardworking and meritorious as Dick. They just have different strengths and skills.
Dick has been a homeless orphan for years and cultivated excellent street smarts. By contrast, Fosdick has only been a boot-black for a few months since his father's sudden death. Alger tells the reader early on that Fosdick hasn't taken well to life on the streets:
Unlock with LitCharts A+He was ill-fitted for the coarse companionship of the street-boys, and shrank from the rude jokes of his present associates.
Related Themes:
