How Is Maggie A Girl Of The Streets Naturalism

Naturalism in Maggie, A Girl of The Streets The novel Maggie, A Girl of The Streets, by Stephen Crane is an example of a naturalistic novel. Naturalism is portrayed through the setting of the novel with gangs in the city and Rum Alley. Naturalism is also shown through the harsh lives of Jimmie and Mary Johnson. In addition, the death of Maggie in the novel also portrays naturalism. Maggie, A Girl of The Streets by Stephen Crane portrays naturalism as can be seen through the setting of the novel, the harsh lives of Jimmie and Mary Johnson and through Maggie’s death. The setting in the novel Maggie, A Girl of The Streets by Stephen Crane uses gangs to show naturalism. The gangs in the novel are a representation of the industrialized time for the United States that show how dangerous the city was. The …show more content…
Mary had troubles drinking, living in the ghetto and had lost her husband, her son Tommy, and daughter Maggie in the novel. One time in the Novel Maggie came home to her mother lying on the floor she says “Maggie's red mother, stretched on the floor, blasphemed and gave her daughter a bad name” (Crane 23). In a article about living in the ghetto by Amy Pollard she explains that this shows the alcoholic side of Mary Johnson as she was drunk at the time in the novel. Mary Johnson also raise the kids just above the poverty line “She dragged him to an unholy sink, and, soaking a rag in water, began to scrub his lacerated face with it” (Crane 8). Mary Johnson here is cleaning up Jimmie who has lately been in a street fight and his mother takes him angrily and cleans him attempting to change his attitude about fights. Mary Johnson would also say cruel things to the boys and tell them “go teh Hell” throughout the story everyone time they did not please her. Naturalism is presented in the novel with the harsh lifestyles that both Jimmie and Mary Johnson experience in the late nineteenth century