Maggie was very angry with Caleb for ruining her life! She can’t walk normal, and she had to attend therapy every week to heal her leg. She couldn’t bear the pain she have since a car accident occurs. People were making fun of her for walking so weird, and she feels lonely. Before she…
When leaving Maggie’s mother’s mobile home, Maggie turns around and say, “I’m a fighter mama.” There are many reasons as to why Maggie would've said that to her mom for numerous reasons. The first reason, would be that Maggie’s father had passed away, leaving Maggie with her mother and sister, but unfortunately they didn’t care much about her making her feel alone and abandoned. . Maggie basically had to fend for herself and she tried to get by on her own since her family couldn’t care less. Secondly, since Maggie’s family didn’t care much she had to find odd jobs to help support her through her daily life, like becoming a waiter at an old diner. Within that Maggie struggle day in and out with eating and house expenses. Lastly, even though Maggie felt alone, she kept on pushing and exceeding to the very end of her life. In conclusion, Maggie said those words because all her life was a struggle to survive and become the very best fighter there was.…
Throughout the story Maggie begins to wedge herself free from the anger and hurt that her father causes. She does not…
Stephen Crane’s first novel Maggie (girl of the streets) is a tale of uncompromising realism. The story chronicles the titular Maggie, a girl who lives in the Bowery with her emotionally abusive parents and brothers Jimmie and Tommy. The novel revolves around the trials and tribulations of Maggie and her family in the Bowery. Highlights of the story include the death of Maggie’s father and brother Tommie which drive Pete to turn into a cold and hard person by novels end. Maggie desperately tries to escape bowery life, but in the end Maggie succumbs to the Bowery and dies a broken woman. Crane is considered a Naturalist, and in Crane’s naturalist world no one escapes their biological chains. Maggie’s parents are both unfit parents: they are emotionally and physically abusive, and have alcoholic tendencies. Despite Maggie’s and (to a lesser extent) Jimmie’s longings to escape the bleak world of the bowery they do not. Crane is making a statement on the adverse effects of industrialization and urbanization with the novel. Industrialization and urbanization on the surface create jobs and strengthen business, but upon further examination it disenfranchises the very people it promises to help. Many of the families in the bowery are immigrant families who become wage slaves. Maggie’s family is no different; because of their dependency on big business they have become disenfranchised and incapable of growth. This idea of being set into a world where there is no escape from one's biological heredity that Crane showcases the in the novel is mirrors Darwin’s survival of the fittest theory. According to Darwin only the biologically strong would survive in the world, with the weaker specimens expiring. In Crane’s novel the people are not inherently weak; it is the environment that shapes them and prevents them from growing. Ultimately, all of the characters in Maggie are victims of the Bowery life.…
From the start of the novel, it is not difficult to see that Maggie, the chief and mother of Virgil, is having trouble with her life. She is busy and has many identities. When she is talking to her mother Lillian, she has her own thoughts and opinions about how to live her life. Her way is doing as much work and taking care of every matter because she is the chief, and also worrying about her son because she is the mother. This always crashes with what Lillian thinks. Lillian says that her work is “too much” (Taylor, 44) and that she “should be the chief of [her] own home, not Otter Lake.” (Taylor, 44) Maggie does not even have time to have lunch with her son, let alone talk and spend some time with him. When she came home after what happened with her tire, she cooked a decent dinner “for the first time in a week.” (Taylor, 93) Virgil, of course, knows this and feels the lack of his mother in his life in some way. He might be skipping classes because he is not getting his mother’s attention and care. Lillian suggested this many times before she died and Virgil’s teacher asked Maggie for special care for Virgil. She is letting down her family. When John came for lunch to her office, her answer is “but sorry, can’t do it. Priorities.” (Taylor, 226) Her tone is very determined and dry. She cannot sleep well at night. This proves that she is rushing herself too much with her work and schedule. Meanwhile, she thinks that she will manage all of this and be responsible. This way of thinking is very much the influence of western culture, Canadian culture in this book. Although she cares for the Anishnawbe society and knows the language and culture, her life is more of a Canadian life than an Anishnawbe life. John enters her life suddenly with his charming looks and approaches her without hesitation, intriguing Maggie’s curiosity and interest. She goes on a date with John and in…
She hasn’t had much formal education but has learned the traditional ways of her heritage from family. This is shown because of her ability to relate to certain pieces of fabric that was sewn into the quilts. Maggie is a shy individual and very self-conscious about her appearance because of her scars from a fire long ago so her look remains traditional unchanged and unaffected. Maggie feels that the quilts should be used everyday and cherished. But she recognizes what her heritage is unlike her sister Dee/Wangero.…
Maggie's quiet backward nature on examination is a portrait of a person who receives from life whatever is given but is ashamed of the scars she received in the fire that destroyed their first home. She hides her thin body in a pink skirt and red blouse. Since the fire, she shuffles as she walks, "chin on her chest, eyes on the ground. Dee had a style of her own; and knew what style was. Style is the key to Dee's life. Like the sunglasses she puts on before she leaves, style is the color of glass Dee sees life through. She is blessed with looks, nice hair and a full figure.…
Mama Johnson came to a new understanding of Maggie in “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker and Sanderson realized that his disabled father can take control in “Batman and Robin have an Altercation” by Stephen King; The revelation of Mama Johnson is stronger and her new belief will be more enduring.…
Maggie is the very shy and polite one out of her and Dee. Maggie was the character that lived with mama, during the story it says that Maggie was burned in a house fire. This character is a character that would just blend into the background because of how shy she was, she wouldn’t talk to much; so she would rather just blend in with the surroundings. Maggie was a foil character because her and mama didn't change nothing throughout the six years that passed, while Dee did change a lot; throughout those six years. Maggie is a good hearted kid, she would rather let Dee have the quilts that were promised to her, instead of fighting over them.…
Maggie was the sweet innocent daughter. Everyone stepped on her like a door mat. She was genuine and caring, very quite and shy. She had all the quality’s of a honest human being. Even though her sister Dee had always belittled her to the point she was afraid of her. “Maggie will be nervous until after her sister goes” (161).…
2. In “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker, Maggie and her mother’s relationship is depicted as tight-knit. This can be interpreted throughout the story because Mama describes how they spend the majority of their time together. An example of this is when Mama says, “Maggie will marry John Thomas… then I'll be free to sit here and I guess just sing church songs by myself”, implying that they normally sing together. Mama also predicts Maggie's actions. She predicts how Maggie will “be nervous until her sister goes” and how Maggie will act while Dee is there. Another reason their bond is so strong is because they experienced a traumatic experience together. Mama can still “hear the flames and feel Maggie's arms sticking to” her. For these reasons, they are inseparable.…
Mama describes herself by saying, “In real life I am a large, big-boned woman with rough, man-working hands.” She is a hard working woman taking care of both her daughters. She was not well educated. Mama explains her educational background saying, “I never had an education myself. After second grade the school was closed down. Don’t ask me why: in 1927 colored asked fewer questions than they do now.” Mama did not have the privilege to an education like Dee because of racial differences in the past. She also knows the true meaning of her heritage and would not allow Dee to take the quilts. Mama understands that her heritage is not dead and is forever living and asks her daughter, “What would you do with them?” Mama knew that Dee would treat the quilts as if it was something to preserve. Mama describes Maggie’s shyness and lack of confidence by stating, “Have you ever seen a lame animal, perhaps a dog run over by some careless person rich enough to own a car, sidle up to someone who is ignorant enough to be kind to him? That is the way my Maggie walks. She has been like this, chin on chest, eyes on ground, feet in shuffle, ever since the fire that burned the other house to the ground.” The house fire has impacted Maggie’s life tremendously compared to her sister Dee. She is kind- hearted and is usually over looked as described…
Initially, Maggie perhaps comes across as a flat character who thinks that the world has always catered to her pretty sister Dee. However, as the story progresses to the main conflict, when Dee wants to take two quilts made by their Grandma Dee, Maggie shows herself to be a round character with many sides. When Dee first makes the request to take the quilts, Maggie is in the kitchen washing up the dishes and Mama notes “I heard something fall in the kitchen, and a minute or two later the kitchen door slammed.” (152) This statement shows Maggie’s frustration because again the world seems to be taking from her and giving to Dee (B&N). After hearing the exchange between Mama and Dee, Maggie seems to want to give in to her sister’s wishes, perhaps in an effort to please her.…
The personality of a person is based on their characteristics and qualities. Maggie is a shy and insecure girl because of her appearance, for example, “Showing just enough of her thin body enveloped in pink skirt and red blouse for me to know she’s there” (Walker 52). Maggie is also a small not so much attractive girl with a burn scar on her cheek, which in my opinion probably contributes to her shy personality. In contrast, Dee is a very attractive and appealing girl with a horrible personality, “Dee is lighter than Maggie, with nicer hair and a fuller figure” (Walker 53). Because she has always gotten everything she’s wanted, when her mom finally tells her “No,” Dee has a temper tantrum and storms away. While at one point in the story, Maggie was willing to let Dee have the quilts just to stop all the argument, another testament of her humble…
Maggie is a helpful, kind, generous woman who is fearful and hiding from life and sure that people think her scars are hideous. In her childhood she was badly burned when the family home burnt down. Mama Remembers, “Sometimes I can still hear the flames and feel Maggie’s arms sticking to me, her hair smoking and her dress falling off her in little black papery flakes” (Walker 487). This left many scars, inside and out, though she survived inside she died a little. She feels all she has is her family and she loves them, but Dee has an effect on her state of mind. Mama comments about Maggie’s state of mind because of Dee’s pending visit, “Maggie will be a nervous until after her sister goes: she will stand hopelessly in corners, homely and ashamed of the burn scars down her arms and legs, eyeing her sister with a mixture of envy and awe” (Walker 486). She lives in the shadow of her charmed and attractive sister. A sister she would give everything to if she asked. Which she does for the quilts promised to Maggie, as Mama recalls Dee saying, “Can I have these old quilts” (Walker 490), then Mama replied, ”I promised to give them quilts to Maggie, for when she marries John Thomas” (Walker 490), to which Maggie cries, “She can have them, Mama” (Walker 490). That is just like Maggie to sacrifice everything for everyone…