CAP English 9

Thoreau/Crane
Paper
Blue Group

Bridget Laas

Henry David Thoreau, in Walden: Economy, and Stephen Crane, in Maggie; A Girl of the
Streets, have opposing views on destiny and self-reliance, but share similar views concerning
philanthropists. Thoreau, born on July 12, 1817 in Concord, Massachusetts, and a Harvard
graduate, is a transcendentalist. He believes in maximum self-reliance, independence and
simplicity of life; for this reason, Thoreaus works center on the ideal form of life and expand
upon the ways in which to achieve it. In an effort to achieve this pure form of living, Thoreau
builds himself a cabin at Walden Pond, on a plot of land owned by his wealthy friend Ralph
Waldo Emerson, where he lives off his own labor for two years and two months. While living at
Walden Pond, Thoreau writes his most renowned work, Walden, about his experience there, the
problems with society and the ideal form of living. Stephen Crane is born on November 1, 1871,
in Boston, into an upper middle class family. During his relatively short life, Crane becomes
known for his shocking realism portrayed in his short stories, novels and poems about the lower
class. His works defy the ideal and focus on what is actually going on in the most vulgar and
depressing pockets of society in the late 19th century. Crane publishes his first novel, Maggie; A
Girl of the Streets, in 1893, about the fall of a poverty-stricken girl into prostitution, which is
widely considered to be the first work of Naturalism.
Thoreau believes that ones life is the result of choice, while Crane believes that ones life
is predetermined. Thoreau thinks that most people honestly think there is no choice left. But
alert and healthy natures remember that the sun rose clear. It is never too late to give up our
prejudices(11). No matter the family or socio-economic status into which one is born, one has a
chance to make his/her life satisfactory. Thoreau advocates that the only reason ones life may
seem predetermined is that s/he does not know that one can take the initiative to change his/her
pathway in life; instead, most people continue the pathway that is set out for them at birth. A

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farm boy, for instance, who inherits a farm, will grow up to be a farmer, without considering
other options. In Thoreaus view, a person is not necessarily destined to repeat the past or the
lives of ones predecessors. The world is a constantly changing and evolving and What old
people say you cannot do, you try and find that you can. Old deeds for old people, and new deeds
for new(Thoreau,11). The world is a forward looking place that produces new opportunities for
each generation, so the younger generations need not heed the older generations too closely for
their views may be outdated. People need to realize that they can change their fate and try
something new no matter where they come from. Crane, on the other hand, believes that the
family into which one is born predetermines ones fate because it determines ones socioeconomic status, education, manners, how one is viewed in society and opportunities. When
Maggie goes to the theater with Pete, in Maggie; A Girl of the Streets, she wonder[s] if the
culture and refinement she ha[s] seen imitated, perhaps grotesquely, by the heroine on the stage,
[can] be acquired by a girl who live[s] in a tenement house and work[s] in a shirt factory
(Crane, 62). Maggie sees the romantic ideal, an ideal that is impossible for her to reach given her
socio-economic standing and the prejudices of the people around her. Maggie is born into a dirtpoor immigrant family in the slums of New York City. Her parents are neglectful drunks who
beat each other as well as her. Desperate for love, Maggie makes the ill-advised decision to have
sex out of wedlock with Pete. When he tosses her aside, she finds herself doomed to a life of
prostitution. Her mother and brother refuse to take her back because as her mother puts it, "She
had a bad heart, dat girl did, Jimmie. She was wicked teh deh heart an' we never knowed it
(Crane, 75). To Maggies family, since she has lost her virginity she is now useless and the
reason for her fall into prostitution is not the lack of parenting, love and support she experiences
at home, but the fact that she has always been a terrible person and there is nothing they can do

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to change that. After her one mistake, everyone refuses to take her in and she finds herself
wander[ing] aimlessly for several blocks. She stop[s] once and ask[s] aloud a question of
herself: Who?" (Crane, 86). Now that she is considered ruined and damned no one wants
to be associated with her, so the only way she has left to survive is to become a prostitute. There
are no other options left for her and no way to find redemption.
While Thoreau thinks that people should be completely self-reliant, Crane believes that
people need support in their lives and cannot be completely self-reliant. In Thoreaus view one
can live much more simply, effectively and efficiently if one is self-reliant; for instance the man
who goes alone can start today; but he who travels with another must wait till that other is ready,
and it may be a long time before they get off (Thoreau, 60). If one relies on others for
assistance, then one is tied down by the other peoples needs and wishes, preventing one from
achieving his/her full potential. Thoreau scoffs at human tendency to depend heavily on others,
especially when it comes to the division of labor, asking Where does this division of labor to
end? And what object does it finally serve? No doubt another may also think for me; but it is not
therefore desirable that he should do so to the exclusion of my thinking for myself (Thoreau,
40). He believes that people should do everything for themselves and if one falls into a pattern of
dependence on others, one will eventually lose ones own ability to have independent opinions
because ones opinions will be so deeply influenced by others. Crane believes that people cannot
be fully self-reliant, as Thoreau advocates. Maggie needs support in her life and is unable to find
it. Maggie craves love, kindness and advice in the form of a friend with whom she [can] talk
about Pete. She would lik[e] to discuss his admirable mannerisms with a reliable mutual
friend. At home, she [finds] her mother often drunk and always raving Jimmie [comes] home
when he [is] obligated to by circumstances over which he ha[s] no control (Crane, 60). Maggie

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has no one in her life in whom to confide or on whom to depend and throughout the whole book,
she searches in vain for someone on whom to rely. When she finds Pete, she thinks she has
finally found someone who loves her and on whom she can rely. To her, Swaggering Pete
loom[s] like a golden sun... He t[akes] her to a dime museum where rows of meek freaks
aston[ish] her (Crane, 60). She falls so quickly and completely for Pete because he is the first
person in her life to take a special interest in her. If she were to have friends or support at home,
she may not feel such a strong, all-consuming dependence on Pete for self-worth and love; also,
these supportive people may be able to warn her against Pete and help her make better decisions.
Although Thoreau and Crane disagree on destiny and self-reliance, they agree that
philanthropists are hypocritical and self-centered. Thoreau claims that philanthropists only
perform acts of philanthropy in order to make themselves feel better about themselves and not to
help others. For philanthropists, philanthropy is therapy; it helps them overcome guilt or
problems in their own lives. Thoreau writes, If anything ail a man, so that he does not perform
his functions, if he have a pain in his bowels even- for that is the seat of sympathy- he forthwith
sets about reforming- the world (64). If these ailments or problems in the philanthropists life
were to resolve themselves, that person would no longer have any reason to pursue philanthropy
and would immediately abandon it. According to Thoreau, philanthropists only give the needy
Those plants of whose greenness withered we make herb tea for the sick serve but a humble
use, and are most employed by quacks. (63). Philanthropists only give away what they do not
need any more such as used clothes. They also often do not give the poor the aid they most
need (Thoreau, 62), instead badgering them with sermons or money that could be used for
unnecessary pursuits. A true philanthropist would give away something that he/she truly values
for nothing in return, not even moral upliftment. Crane follows the same line of thinking when he

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writes about the preacher who composed his sermons of "yous." [telling] his hearers just
where he calculated they st[and] with the Lord. Many of the sinners [are] impatient over the
pictured depths of their degradation. They [are] waiting for soup-tickets (46). The
philanthropist, in this case the preacher, does not give the people what they really need, which is
the soup. Instead, he preaches to them, making himself feel better about himself by making
himself seem and feel superior. Like Thoreau, Crane believes that philanthropists only give away
what is unnecessary or useless to them. When Maggie attempts to Accost [the clergyman], he
[gives] a convulsive movement and save[s] his respectability by a vigorous side-step. He [does]
not risk it to save a soul. For how [is] he to know that there [is] a soul before him that need[s]
saving? (Crane, 86). The philanthropist is selfish and does not do anything to help others that
could potentially harm him in any way, such as aiding an unholy prostitute.
In Thoreaus Walden: Economy and Cranes Maggie: A Girl of the Streets, Thoreau and
Crane promote different views on destiny and self-reliance but similar views on philanthropists.
Thoreau and Cranes views on destiny differ greatly; while Thoreau believes that one has the
power to change ones fate for the better, Crane believes that ones fate is predetermined by class
and circumstance. Thoreau and Crane also hold opposing views on self-reliance; Thoreau
believes everyone should be self-reliant in order to make the most of their lives; and Crane thinks
that complete self-reliance is impossible because people need support in their lives. Although
their opinions differ in many ways, Thoreau and Crane both agree that philanthropists only
engage in philanthropy to make themselves feel better. It is interesting to note that many of the
issues Thoreau and Crane address in their respective books are still relevant. While society has
advanced in many ways, humanity still grapples with many of the same issues today.

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Works Cited
Crane, Stephen. Maggie: A Girl of the Streets. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 1999. Print.
Thoreau, Henry David. Walden: Economy. 2003 ed. New York: Barnes & Nobles, 2003. Print.
Barnes & Noble Classics.

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