Naturalism in Stephen Crane's "Maggie: a Girl of the Streets"
Naturalism in Stephen Crane’s “Maggie: A Girl of the Streets”
“Maggie: A Girl of the Streets,” is a novella written by Stephen Crane and published in the year 1893. This work was published during the time of the Industrial Revolution, when factories were appearing everywhere. Their workers were often not paid enough to lead a decent life, and suffered from their situation. They were not very civilized and sometimes aggressive in their behavior. Perhaps because of this radical change from a more agricultural lifestyle to one of industry and factories, some pieces of literature were starting to transition from the classification of Realistic writings to works that are now categorized as works of Naturalism. While the two categories are related, Naturalistic works often are based in urban landscapes and focus upon the poor and less educated; whereas the character focus and settings of Realistic works were ordinary people living in both cities and small towns. Crane’s novella was written right as the literary movement of Realism ended and Naturalism began, and understandably includes elements of both movements. Crane’s story, though, can be concretely set in one category. His story occurs in urban New York. The plot of it is set on a community of its poor residents who cannot change their situation. The themes and tenets used in this work, as well as the aforementioned setting and plot choices, concretely set this novella in the classification of a work of Naturalism.
Crane uses foreshadowing to allude to storylines that are created and events that occur later in the story. In the opening of the novella, we are greeted with a scene of a bloody and intense fight. Those involved are mere children, who are fighting intensely and drawing all the blood they can from their adversaries. The names of the neighborhoods from which the boys are from: “Rum Alley” and “Devil’s Row”, imply to the reader that the inhabitants are both heavily dependent on alcohol and rough in their
“Maggie: A Girl of the Streets,” is a novella written by Stephen Crane and published in the year 1893. This work was published during the time of the Industrial Revolution, when factories were appearing everywhere. Their workers were often not paid enough to lead a decent life, and suffered from their situation. They were not very civilized and sometimes aggressive in their behavior. Perhaps because of this radical change from a more agricultural lifestyle to one of industry and factories, some pieces of literature were starting to transition from the classification of Realistic writings to works that are now categorized as works of Naturalism. While the two categories are related, Naturalistic works often are based in urban landscapes and focus upon the poor and less educated; whereas the character focus and settings of Realistic works were ordinary people living in both cities and small towns. Crane’s novella was written right as the literary movement of Realism ended and Naturalism began, and understandably includes elements of both movements. Crane’s story, though, can be concretely set in one category. His story occurs in urban New York. The plot of it is set on a community of its poor residents who cannot change their situation. The themes and tenets used in this work, as well as the aforementioned setting and plot choices, concretely set this novella in the classification of a work of Naturalism.
Crane uses foreshadowing to allude to storylines that are created and events that occur later in the story. In the opening of the novella, we are greeted with a scene of a bloody and intense fight. Those involved are mere children, who are fighting intensely and drawing all the blood they can from their adversaries. The names of the neighborhoods from which the boys are from: “Rum Alley” and “Devil’s Row”, imply to the reader that the inhabitants are both heavily dependent on alcohol and rough in their
Cited: Crane, Steven. Maggie, A Girl of the Streets. Online-literature.com. The Literature Network. 2012. Web. 30 Jan. 2012.