Ragged Dick's tone is upbeat, rational, and often didactic. Alger writes about some of New York's poorest and most disadvantaged residents: Dick is homeless at the beginning of the book and was orphaned at the age of seven. But he glosses over the harsh details of life on the streets, instead presenting Dick's initial life as one happy—if fiscally irresponsible—adventure. For example, in describing Dick's poverty in Chapter 1, Alger focuses on his habit of going to shows and treating his friends to dinner:
He was fond of going to the Old Bowery Theatre [...] and if he had any money left afterwards, he would invite some of his friends in somewhere to have an oyster stew; so it seldom happened that he commenced the day with a penny.
Even though Dick lives in difficult conditions, this tone allows Alger to paint a rosy picture of his life. Alger also uses the upbeat tone to argue that blame for poverty and inequality lies with individuals, not the government or society as a whole. In the above paragraph, by gently chastising Dick for starting each day without any funds, and attributing his poverty to his lively social life, Alger makes the somewhat uncomfortable implication (to many modern readers, at least) that poor people like Dick have the ability to change their circumstances and simply choose not to.
The novel's tone is also highly rational. Dick's escapades always contain a clear moral lesson, and characters are rewarded or punished as they deserve. For example, when Dick returns Mr. Greyson's money, the businessman repays him by taking him under his wing. When Fosdick applies for a job as an errand boy and a wealthy but lazy competitor expects to get preference as a "gentleman's son," the store owner perceives that Fosdick deserves the job more and hires him. Events like these create a vision of a rational, meritocratic world.
When the author inserts himself into the novel, he takes on an authoritative tone. For example, when describing Dick's habit of smoking expensive cigars, Alger digresses to lecture his readers on the dangers of smoking in general:
No boy of fourteen can smoke without being affected injuriously. Men are frequently injured by smoking, and boys always. But large numbers of the newsboys and boot-blacks form the habit.
Here, and in many other moments, Alger uses Dick's life to teach young readers about what he considers virtuous (or, in this case, improper) behavior. As an author, he frequently interrupts the narrative and shatters the illusion that Dick is a real person making decisions of his own free will in order to make his point clear. The novel's general positivity, rationality, and professorial tone reflect the fact that Alger wrote Ragged Dick for children with the intent of imparting lessons about the importance of hard work, thrift, and education.
