In the title of "Struggling Upward" the reader gains a sense of the type of story that he is in store for. As is common with the work of Horatio Alger Jr., "Struggling Upward" is the story of a young man"s attempts to rise himself up from his bootstraps and make something of himself in this world. In this case, Luke Larkin, who through hard work, honesty, determination, and concern for others (the qualities consistently praised in Alger"s work) rises up to improve his lot in life and achieve a respectable success and place in society.