Philosophy 2274 Business Ethics

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Being a poor kid that lived on the street Dick could have tried to hustle people out of their money like the clerk in the store that tried to pocket the two-dollar bill that Dick wanted to have exchanged for change. And even though he had a rough tattered appearance Dick was straight forward with his clients and that lead people to trust him. Dick did his business honestly which shows that he does have some business ethics.

I believe Dicks perseverance and determination to not return to homeless and a low status was very instrumental in his success. Once Dick rises up from his original status he does everything in his control to keep his position. He had keep a level head and remember his goal throughout his journey. As I said before a lot of people cannot overcome the constraints that hold them back from being successful, but Dick found a way. And at any point he could have choose to give up, but did not.

Dick was born into misfortune. His bed was a wooden box half full of straw and his pants were torn in several places. His shirt had missing buttons and since he did not really care about dirt he had black marks all over him. Instead of being in school he shined shoes. Even though he did not have much money he found a way to give to others in the same predicament as him. Dick uses his nerve, bravery, and resourcefulness to transforms his rough beginnings into a self-improvement journey. One of the steps he takes to becoming successful is that he made a deal with Henry to teach him how to read in exchange for giving him a place to stay. Dick uses diligence to not only study, but to his daily living. All this hard work pays off when a grateful father wants to reward Dick. After the man finds out about Dick’s hard past and how recently he learned how to write and calculate figures. The man hires Dick as a clerk, and he takes his first step towards financial success.

Throughout the book the way that Dick’s thinks about wealth changes. After a run in with Frank, he realizes that being homeless and sleeping on the streets really isn’t worth all the extra ways he spends the money he makes like on going to the theatre. Frank helps change his concept of better living by helping him see that he will not be able to make it further in life and change his status without being able to understand basic educational concepts. After he learns this he believes wealth, hard work and intelligence are the way to a good life. But now he has applied what those things mean to him specifically. Having a bank account becomes a part of his meaning of wealth and hard work means that he has to save now. Not only does he have to save, but he has to sacrifice and work a full work week.

This book did seem realistic and accurate. The story shows that the American dream is not a lie and it can be obtained by anyone regardless of what class you are in or what economic status you may have or even different factors that are thrown your way. I believe that with some luck and a lot of hard-work you could become rich and rise in class status through capitalism in America.