Stephen Crane's Maggie: A Girl Of The Streets

Stephen Crane is considered one of the greatest authors in American history; his influence transcends the seas as his literary presence has been felt throughout the world. Considered a literary revolutionary in the nineteenth century he is prominently known for his promotion of a different style of fictional writing, the style of Realism. This style is the taking of occurrences for what they really are and utilizing them to project different calls to action without necessarily being symbolic, although in some cases he is. Crane is considered radical within this concept of writing as his works are generally impressionistic, vivid, and in some cases ironic. His style of writing may be deemed sadistic or even unnecessary, but his sole desire behind

Maggie’s ultimate decision is that of suicide as it is the only escape her circumstances will allow. The novella was virtually ignored, while literary critics of the time were not foreign to such dark story telling such as the works of Edgar Allen Poe, the story was still considered too dark, cynical, and morally disgusting, so much so that Crane generated an alter ego just to accredit a name on the cover. The truth behind the pen was Crane depicting the impact an individual’s environment can have on them psychologically; he alludes to how the society of his time was self-deluding themselves from the harsh realities of urban life. The novella is an exemplary example of how Crane utilizes shock value to open the eyes of his readers, a less graphic addition of the novella was later released met with greater success, and critics were now more open to Crane and his ideals. This would prove to be of benefit to him as “The Red Badge of Courage” was released a short time later; this novel was met with universal