Maggie: A Girl of the Streets

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Maggie: A Girl of the Streets (1893) is Stephen Crane's first novel, though it is sometimes considered a novella rather than a full novel. Considered too risqué by publishers, Crane had to publish the novel with his own money. "Maggie" is an example of Naturalism (literature). Naturalism is dominated by the idea of Determinism, the notion that events and people's behavior are shaped by forces beyond their control. The pessimistic novel exposed the bad side to the "Good" Gilded Age.

[edit] Main characters

Jimmie- a young boy, Maggie and Tommie's brother, who first appears in the beginning scene fighting a gang war of some sort with the Run Alley Children.
Pete- a teenager, in the beginning, who is an acquaintance of Jimmie, and saves Jimmie in the fight
Father- brutal, drunkard, father of Jimmie, Maggie, and Tommie
Maggie- eldest child, protagonist of the story, apparently immune to the after-effects of the negative family
Tommie- youngest child, his death, along with the fathers, alter Jimmie into a hard, cold person
Mary- drunkard mother, also brutal

[edit] Brief summary

Jimmie is saved by Pete in the beginning. They come home to brutal father and mother who terrify the children to shuddering in the corner. As time passes, Father and Tommie die, and Jimmie hardens into a sneering, aggressive, cynical youth. He gets a job as a teamster. Maggie stays strong and rejects the cold and hardened poverse life. Pete comes back into the story as an escape for Maggie and she begins to date him. One night the family, that is Jimmie and Mary, accuse Maggie of "Goin to deh devil," and Pete is the problem. Jimmie and Pete fight and then an "evil" lady, Nellie, convinces Pete to leave the trash that is Maggie. Maggie is left alone and no one will accept her. It is assumed in a later scene that she had become a prostitute, however, the true character there remains unnamed. Maggie dies and Jimmie tells his mother of the death. Mary says with heartbreaking irony, "I'll fergive her!".