Stephen Crane's Maggie: A Girl Of The Streets

In Maggie: A Girl of the Streets, Stephen Crane uses a quote in chapter two to portray that the environment the characters live in affect their futures.

“Eventually they entered into a dark region where, from a careening building, a dozen gruesome doorways gave up loads of babies the street and gutter...In the street infants played or fought with other infants or sat stupidly in the way of vehicles”(6). This quote shows the significance of the characters’ surroundings. To begin with, it is described as a dark and disgusting area which represents the darkness of the character’s lives. Furthermore, this quote shows the babies in the street playing or fighting. The fact that they are only infants and they are already fighting is shocking. This

He works as a truck driver and he is described as belligerent. His personality is a result of his upbringing, “The inexperienced fibers of the boy’s eyes were hardened at an early age...During that time his sneer became chronic. He studied human nature in the gutter...He never conceived a respect for the world because he had begun with no idols that it had smashed” (15). When it says that his “eyes were hardened at an early age”, we see how much Jimmie is shaped by his childhood. Furthermore, “he had begun with no idols” portrays that he never had positive role models to look up to. As an adult, he is involved in many fights, “He had been in quite a number of miscellaneous fights, and in some general barroom rows, that had become known to the police” (18). He was also in the “barroom” which suggests that Jimmie was a drinker. The reader sees that the violence and alcoholism of his parents have been passed on to Jimmie. Also, he views women in a physical manner, “Jimmie’s occupation for a long time was to stand on the street corners and watch the world go by, dreaming blood-red dreams at the passing of pretty women. He menaced mankind at the intersections of streets” (15). Jimmie dreams “blood-red dreams” about women which shows his lust for them. Furthermore, “he menaced mankind” which shows that Jimmie is not even considered a part of mankind anymore, instead, he is like an animal. This is supported by another quote, “He became

In the beginning of the story, Maggie is described as an innocent person, “The girl, Maggie, blossomed in a mud puddle. She grew to be a most rare and wonderful production of a tenement district, a pretty girl. None of the dirt of Rum Alley seemed to be in her veins” (18). The use of the words “mud” and “dirt” depicts the dirtiness of the Rum Alley neighborhood. Despite all this, Maggie still “blossomed”. She is kind to her siblings and takes care of Tommie and Jimmie. For instance, she begins crying when she sees that Jimmie has been fighting and hugs him when he is scared of their parents, “She grasped the urchin’s arm in her little trembling hands and they huddled in the corner” (14). However, as the book progresses, Maggie becomes more susceptible to physicality. We see this by the way she falls in love with Pete. To begin with, she falls in love with Pete at first sight, “His mannerisms stamped him as a man who had a correct sense of personal superiority” (20). However, he is physical just like everyone else. Jimmie and Pete brag about their fights, “Say, I jes’ jumped deh bar an’ deh way I plunked dat blokie was great” (21). Also, the first thing he says to Maggie is, “Say, Mag, I’m stuck on yer shape. It’s outa sight” (22). Pete cares about Maggie’s body which also shows his physical nature. Overtime, Maggie also becomes physical. First of all, she begins thinking about Pete’s wealth, “As she had seen him twice and he