Rags-to-Riches Story

A Rags-to-Riches Story is a personal story in which a person rises from poverty to wealth.

• AKA: Upward Mobility Story, Success Story, Self-Made Story, Bootstrap Narrative.
• Context:
  • It can typically require Very-Unequal Society through social mobility opportunity.
  • It can typically involve Exceptional Circumstances through opportunity encounters.
  • It can typically demonstrate Personal Qualitys through determination display.
  • It can typically feature Transformative Events through life-changing moments.
  • It can typically illustrate Merit Reward through achievement recognition.
  • ...
  • It can often embody Cultural Myths through success narratives.
  • It can often inspire Social Hope through possibility demonstration.
  • It can often reinforce Economic Systems through mobility examples.
  • It can often obscure Structural Barriers through exceptional cases.
  • ...
  • It can range from being a Gradual Rags to Riches Story to being an Overnight Rags to Riches Story, depending on its rags to riches story temporal pace.
  • It can range from being a Material Rags to Riches Story to being a Status Rags to Riches Story, depending on its rags to riches story wealth type.
  • It can range from being a Individual Rags to Riches Story to being a Family Rags to Riches Story, depending on its rags to riches story beneficiary scope.
  • ...
  • It can manifest in Literary Works through narrative archetypes.
  • It can appear in Popular Culture through success mythology.
  • It can function as Ideological Tool through meritocracy support.
  • It can serve as Motivational Device through aspiration cultivation.
  • It can represent American Dream through opportunity narratives.
  • ...
• Example(s):
  • Ancient Rags to Riches Storys, such as:
    • Diocletian Life (Diocletian), rising from slave origin to Roman Emperor.
    • Chandragupta Maurya Life (Chandragupta Maurya), founding Maurya Empire from humble beginnings.
    • Emperor Gaozu of Han Life (Emperor Gaozu of Han), establishing Han Dynasty from peasant origins.
    • Genghis Khan Life (Genghis Khan), creating largest land empire from homeless childhood.
  • Medieval Rags to Riches Storys, such as:
    • Pope Gregory VII Life (Pope Gregory VII), ascending from blacksmith's son to papal authority.
    • Toyotomi Hideyoshi Life (Toyotomi Hideyoshi), unifying pre-modern Japan from peasant background.
    • Theodora Life (Theodora), becoming Byzantine Empress from courtesan profession.
    • Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici Life (Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici), founding Medici bank from common family.
  • Modern Business Rags to Riches Storys, such as:
    • Andrew Carnegie Life (Andrew Carnegie), building steel empire from immigrant poverty.
    • Li Ka-shing Life (Li Ka-shing), creating business empire from refugee status.
    • Oprah Winfrey Life (Oprah Winfrey), achieving media empire from rural poverty.
    • Howard Schultz Life (Howard Schultz), building Starbucks empire from housing project childhood.
  • Contemporary Tech Rags to Riches Storys, such as:
    • Jan Koum Life (Jan Koum), founding WhatsApp from food stamp recipient.
    • Jack Ma Life (Jack Ma), creating Alibaba empire from English teacher salary.
    • Do Won Chang Life (Do Won Chang), building Forever 21 from janitor position.
    • Ursula Burns Life (Ursula Burns), leading Xerox from public housing upbringing.
  • Entertainment Rags to Riches Storys, such as:
    • Jim Carrey Life (Jim Carrey), achieving comedy stardom from homeless youth.
    • J.K. Rowling Life (J.K. Rowling), creating Harry Potter empire from single mother poverty.
    • Jay-Z Life (Jay-Z), building entertainment empire from drug dealer past.
    • Dolly Parton Life (Dolly Parton), establishing country music empire from Appalachian poverty.
  • Fictional Rags to Riches Storys, such as:
    • Jay Gatsby Rags to Riches Story (Jay Gatsby), accumulating mysterious wealth from North Dakota farm boy.
    • Pip's Rags to Riches Story (Pip), receiving gentleman education from blacksmith apprentice.
    • Cinderella Rags to Riches Story (Cinderella), becoming princess from servant girl.
    • Oliver Twist Rags to Riches Story (Oliver Twist), inheriting family fortune from workhouse orphan.
    • Scarlett O'Hara Rags to Riches Story (Scarlett O'Hara), rebuilding wealth from post-war poverty.
    • Ragged Dick Rags to Riches Story (Ragged Dick), achieving respectability from bootblack boy.
    • Aladdin Rags to Riches Story (Aladdin), gaining sultanate wealth from street thief.
  • ...
• Counter-Example(s):
  • Riches to Rags Story, which involves wealth loss and downward mobility.
  • Silver Spoon Story, which features inherited privilege rather than earned success.
  • Lateral Mobility Story, which shows horizontal movement without dramatic change.
  • Stagnation Story, which depicts economic immobility despite effort.
• See: Archetype, Literature, Popular Culture, American Dream, Meritocracy.

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References

2017

• (Wikipedia, 2017) ⇒ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/rags_to_riches Retrieved:2017-10-21.
  • Rags to riches refers to any situation in which a person rises from poverty to wealth, and in some cases from absolute obscurity to heights of fame— sometimes instantly. This is a common archetype in literature and popular culture (for example, the writings of Horatio Alger, Jr.).

2017

• (Wikipedia, 2017) ⇒ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/rags_to_riches#Historical_examples Retrieved:2017-10-21.
  • The Roman Emperor Diocletian, born in poverty and whose father was a former slave (by some sources, the emperor himself was born in slavery).
  • Genghis Khan, who was homeless with just his mother and his siblings. He went on to create the largest land empire in history (however, Genghis was the son of a Mongol chieftain).
  • Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici, born in poverty, founded the Medici bank, the Medici were a common family.
  • Pope Leo III was of commoner origin and attained the high position in spite of violent opposition from the nobility, who considered the papacy as their preserve.
  • George Thomas (soldier), born into a poor Irish farming family, Thomas became a mercenary in India eventually rising to become a wealthy Raja.
  • Pope Gregory VII, Hildebrand, was a commoner, perhaps the son of a blacksmith. His bad reputation was partially due to horror at his high social mobility.
  • Chandragupta Maurya of India, who from a humble beginning founded the Maurya Empire.
  • hazni, son of a Turkic slave, who founded the Ghaznavid Empire.
  • BaiMahmud of Gbars, a slave who rose to become the Mamluk Sultan of Egypt through his military prowess.
  • China's Emperor Gaozu of Han and Hongwu Emperor who were both born into peasant families, but eventually founded two of the nation's most illustrious imperial dynasties.
  • Emperor Xuan of Han brought up a commoner despite royal blood, later rose to become a capable ruler.
  • Emperor Guangwu of Han lived life as a peasant at one point in his life despite being a distant royal. He eventually restored the Han dynasty.
  • Emperors Justin I, Justinian the Great and Theodora came from peasant families. Later became Emperors of the Eastern Roman Empire. Theodora was a courtesan and actress. Later became Empress.
  • Nader Shah, founder of the Afsharid dynasty, was the orphaned son of a goat-herder who established the most powerful empire in modern Persian history.
  • Toyotomi Hideyoshi, a famous example in late medieval times, helped unify pre-modern Japan.
  • Wei Zhongxian of Ming Dynasty China, a gambler who castrated himself and entered the Imperial Palace where he ended enormous power under the reign of the Tianqi Emperor. He eventually committed suicide upon banishment by the Chongzhen Emperor.
  • Catherine I of Russia, born into a peasant family, married Peter the Great, and became Empress of Russia following a palace coup.

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