Newsies

I believe that the main difference between little girls and boys depicted in the nineteenth century has to do with their temperament. For example, we pride Ellen on her toast making abilities, willingness to try and form a relationship with God, the love that she displays for her mother and her docile nature. In essence, Ellen is the very picture of ‘good’ and the example of what every young girl at that time should be. Young boys on the other hand, are supposed to be a little rougher around the edges. We pride Dick on his ability to make money, on his witty nature, and adventurous attitude.

For example, one big difference that I noticed was the fact that if a young girl was to lie (such as Gerty) it’s seen as a dishonest and wrongful thing to do, however when a young boy is to lie, it’s seen as merely a funny joke. When Dick is trying to win over a customer and the man asks why Dick charges so much, his reply is, “I have to pay such a big rent for my manshun up on Fifth Avenoo” (Alger 253). We know that Dick does not live in a mansion on Fifth Avenue, yet instead of feeling like he’s dishonest, we only see it as a joke. Dick continues to lie to everyone saying such things as “This coat once belonged to General Washington” (253), his pants were “a gift from Lewis Napoleon” (254) and “I’m a gov’ment officer sent by the mayor to collect your taxes” (287). Not much has changed since the nineteenth century as this sort of gender expectation split is still present, although not to this extreme. We allow and expect boys to be loud, dirty and energetic while little girls to be quiet, clean and thoughtful.