Summary Of Maggie: A Girl Of The Streets By Stephen Crane

Stephen Crane questions man's fate in this world through naturalism. In "Maggie: A Girl of the Streets," Crane shows the helplessness of one's state in relation to poverty, and in "The Open Boat," Crane shows the helplessness of one's state in relation to nature. Crane emphasizes the essence that forces, such as poverty and nature, are not adversaries to man, but rather that they are simply forces that are apathetic towards man. "Maggie: A Girl of the Streets" can be a downer, but it is necessary to read as it serves as a window into the lives of those in poverty. Crane portrays life and all the disappointments and injustices that surround poverty without softening the reality of the situation. Men turn to violence while women are left to turn to the streets. Maggie, the protagonist, is described as "small," "ragged," and "pretty" (949,956). However, all of her charisma and beauty is tarnished as she works at the sweatshop, "from her eyes had been plucked all look of self-reliance" (973). In the story, males act as the dominant force. Maggie sees Pete as "the beau deal of a man. Her dim thoughts were often searching for far away lands where, as God says, the little hills sing together in the morning. Under the trees of her dream-gardens there has …show more content…
Particularly, "The Open Boat" delves into the grim nature of the natural world in relation to man. Crane writes,"these waves were most wrongfully and barbarously abrupt and tall, and each froth-top was a problem in small boat navigation" (990). This quote shows nature, specifically the waves, as man's opponent. However, as the story progresses, the men question whether nature is not their antagonist, but rather if it is simply indifferent to man. The men's fate has nothing to do with them which leaves a sense of hopelessness. The story ends with man as nature's "interpreters" rather than nature's adversary furthermore pointing towards man's absent role