According to Ty Kiisel, writer for Forbes magazine, "It's not what you know, it's who you know" (Kiisel). In the book Ragged Dick by Horatio Alger, Alger portrays a young black boot from New York in the 1860s. Dick becomes the embodiment of the American dream through, as Kiisel observes, who he knows. Ragged Dick builds many relationships with upper class men, other black boots, and even creates connections with himself, all while keeping his morality in check. The relationships Ragged Dick builds are what make him realize the American dream. The first upper-class relationships Ragged Dick builds are with Mr. Whitney and his nephew Frank. “I might be reckless to trust a guy I know nothing about, but I like the way you look…” says Mr. Whitney (Alger 23). Dick's appearance at this moment could not be called in any way correct; it really lives up to the Ragged name. Whitney talks more about her internal characteristics than her physical ones; he could see Dick's responsibility and honesty. Before allowing Dick to give his nephew a tour, he lets him take a bath, gives him a new suit, and even gives him five dollars. Mr. Whitney leaves Dick with some advice: "your future position depends chiefly on yourself" (79). The next upper class person Dick becomes acquainted with is Mr. Grayson. The day before acquiring the suit from Mr. Whitney, Mr. Grayson hires Dick to shine his shoes; he doesn't have time to wait for Dick to return with the change. When Dick stops by to bring change to Mr. Grayson the next day, dressed in his new suit, he is invited to attend Mr. Grayson's Sunday school class where Mr. Grayson would "do what he can to help [Dick]" (102 ). Dick probably wouldn't have received the invitation to Su... middle of paper..., his black companions, and himself. It proved that who you know, and how well they know you, really has a drastic impact on how people succeed in America. In this sense, Ty Kiisel is right, but it also took a bit of Dick's prior intuition to acquire the right connections. Ragged Dick always keeps an eye on his morality, never allowing himself to be drawn into the wrong crowd. Works Cited Alger, Horatio. Ragged Dick, or street life in New York with the Bootblacks. Boston: Loring, 1868. Print.Kiisel, Ty. “It's not what you know, it's who you know?” Forbes. Forbes Magazine, May 2, 2012. Web. March 3, 2014.Carnegie, Andrew. The Gospel of Wealth. 391st ed. vol. 148. Np: North American Review, 1889. Print.Overvold, Mark C. “Morality, Self-Interest, and Reasons for Being Moral.” Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 44.4 (1984): 493-507. JSTOR. Network. March 6. 2014.