Garrett Hollar

Ms. Im

8/5/15

In the novel Maggie, a Girl of the Streets, readers follow the series of events that lead to
Maggies tragic death. The book begins by introducing Maggies family. She lives with her older
brother Jimmie and her younger brother Tommie, who dies very early in the book. Her parents
Mary and Mr. Johnson are both violent alcoholics who are abusive of their children, especially
during one of their many alcoholic rages. While her father also dies early in the novel, Mary
remains a main character, and has an enormous impact on Maggies tragic downfall. Time passes
quickly in the first few chapters, and Jimmie essentially assumes the role of his father, as the
violent alcoholic man of the home. Maggie on the other hand grows to be a beautiful young
woman who gets a job at a factory where she makes collars and cuffs. She meets a man named
Pete, and goes on dates with him. When Mary finds out Maggie had premarital sex with Pete, she
and the rest of the neighbors disown and mock Maggie, who is left fully dependent on Pete. One
night Pete leaves Maggie for another woman leaving Maggie alone without a way to provide for
herself.
The novel ends with a scene in which an unnamed prostitute, who readers assume to be
Maggie, wanders the streets alone. She ends up being followed by a ragged being with shifting,
bloodshot eyes and grimy hands. Her fate is unclear, but in a following chapter it is stated that
Maggie is dead. The book ends with Mary stating that she forgives Maggie for her sins. This
book was written during the American Industrialization, which was a time when the United
States saw a huge spike in immigration. While the industrialization was a time for many great
changes, the country also saw a notable increase in poverty caused by currency fluctuation.
Maggie and her family were in this situation of poverty, which led to many of the challenges in
her life.

Garrett Hollar
Ms. Im

8/5/15

Maggie is considered one of the first works of naturalism and realism in American
literature. Works of realism are marked by their brutally honest representation of modern society.
The author, Stephen Crane, had to publish the novel with his own money, as no publisher
believed that the book would be successful. When one of Cranes other books became a huge hit,
a publisher finally agreed to publish the revised version of the novel. Even then, the book did not
receive much attention. Maggie was largely unpopular due to its dark views of the city and the
harsh realities it showed.
Naturalism is the ideal that a persons character is created by social and heretical
influences. This theme is undeniably present in the novel as Maggies life is completely
determined by the people around her. When her mother threw her out of the house, her only
option was to depend on Pete. Pete then made the decision to leave her for another woman,
which left her without a job or provider. The social condition that affected her character was her
poverty, which left her without a way to provide for herself. These things were out of her control,
and they essentially were what led to her death.
This was a theme that hit home with Stephen Crane, as he had personal experiences with
life in poor, drunken, and corrupt areas. He wanted to be one of the first to start this new style of
writing in which books were not focused on only the highlights of the world he lived in. While
other authors were afraid to venture into this uncharted territory, Crane took the leap and
struggled to bring his book the the public. It took a long time for the novel, and the realism
movement to gather a following. Today, Maggie is considered a revolutionary book. Crane
essentially brought realism to the people before they were ready for it. While Maggie was the
pioneer of the realism movement, the movement did not begin until the early 20th century.

Garrett Hollar
Ms. Im

8/5/15

Maggie, a Girl of the Streets is widely considered to be the first and most archetypal
example of a book from the realism period. At the time of release, most people did not wish to
read a book of such a dark and untraditional style. The book however did do an excellent job at
opening the door for this style of literature. Once it arrived, realism was a very exciting time for
new and upcoming authors. Authors could write books containing their honest opinions and
views on the world, and now people actually wanted to read them. This novel was a key that
opened the gate to a new style of literature.