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Stephen Crane's Maggie: A Girl Of The Streets

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Stephen Crane's Maggie: A Girl Of The Streets
Realism in American literature

The novel "Maggie: A Girl of the Streets by Stephen Crane. Is a work of fiction challenging trained English enthusiasts to determine where it fits in; the category of true naturalism or realism. Steven Crains first novel written in 1893 falls after the end of a realist movement starting in 1860 to 1890 this was realism/naturalism in a time when people were ready and wanting stories the common man can relate to.
The story starts out in the bowery with a fight indicative of the struggles many were facing being from the middle or lower classes; just one sign of realism. Another good point of realism is expressed thru a vivid telling of the characters, Timmy a rough neck lacking sympathy and having a chip
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Howard Bevens character is shown toughly thru his action on stage he is a power driven business man with a need to maintain his freedom from marriage he is a well like person in spite of his drinking and rude talk of women as well as the fact he knows some working girls down at the hotel.
When he is getting grilled over the coals by rosemary his true colors start to show up he is fearful of waking up tomorrow without the comfort of still having rosemary afraid of going to the next level of commitment all the makings of a common man to be sure as best examined in the writings of the play “picnic” there can be no argument to the contrary that this play is anything but a play that fits squarely in the zonra of realism. This play typifies realism in the sense that these people are quite real and very dynamic in their relationships, that they show common desires and fears, and basically live just like the rest of us all too some

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