Maggie: A Girl of the Streets

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Some people are made tough; others are born with a certain resilience that makes them less susceptible to being brought down by their surroundings or their predispositions. Stephen Crane’s character Maggie in his work Maggie: A Girl of the Streets is one of those unique few who has a little something extra in her being, some fiber that is stronger. Others in Maggie’s situation would likely fold under the pressure and succumb to what some might see as an inevitable destiny. Maggie, however, withstands great amounts of pressure and survives it for much longer than a weaker personality would. She does fall prey to the stereotype that a person is born either exceptional or lowly, but Maggie shows great potency and will power throughout her trials. It is her strength that fights the evil that surrounds her. She is in a battle with herself: On one side, there is Maggie, the girl not of the streets but rather the girl who wants more for herself. On the other hand, there is Maggie, the stereotype, the girl who cannot escape who she is destined to become. Influenced by forces beyond Maggie’s control, she falls prey to the novella’s title and becomes of the streets. Maggie, as Crane describes her, “blossomed in a mud puddle” (Crane 18), but even though the beautiful flower is visible, it is covered in mud. Maggie would be a character easily forgotten if it were not for her resilience that is manifest in her resistance to what becomes her fate.

Crane uses many vehicles to change Maggie: the surroundings in the Bowery, her role as a surrogate mother for baby Tommie, the juxtaposition of Maggie the child and Maggie the adult during her confrontation with brother Jimmie. Likewise, Maggie is exposed as a romantic interest to another character ...

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...est battle is within herself; the girl of the street’s most daunting task is between her ambition and her learned lifestyle. Though she does fail at the end, it is the journey she took that sets her apart from her opposites in Maggie: A Girl of the Streets.

The novella ends with ambiguity surrounding Maggie’s true fate and the possibility of her death. Whether her heart no longer beats by Crane’s final period is superseded by the obvious death of Maggie’s ambition and aspirations, the Maggie she wanted to become. She ultimately fails and becomes of the streets, but the blame belongs to Maggie’s circumstances. The Bowery brings out the worst in everyone, but that is especially true for Maggie Johnson. While it is possible to overcome certain situations, the Bowery and the life Maggie is forced to live kill the flower that “blossomed in a mud puddle” (Crane 18).

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