Maggie (Magill’s Survey of American Literature, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Stephen Crane
- First Published: 1893
- Type of Work: Novella
- Genres: Long fiction, Social realism, Naturalistic literature
- Subjects: New York, North America or North Americans, Northeast, U.S., United States or Americans, Homelessness or homeless people, Suicide, Nineteenth century, New York City, Prostitution or prostitutes, Alienation, Poverty or poor people, Inner cities or inner-city life, Women’s issues
- Locales: Manhattan, NY
Maggie: A Girl of the Streets presents more difficulties to modern readers than other major work by Crane. The heavy dialect and outmoded slang can be distracting, but a more central problem lies in the characterization, or lack of it, of the protagonist. The harrowing pictures of life in a New York slum, however, still ring true.
The fundamental law of life in the Bowery is revealed in the opening scene and depicted as absolute throughout the story. Maggie's brother Jimmie Johnson appears as a small boy fighting a group of boys from Devil's Row “for the honor of Rum...
[The entire page is 1245 words long]
Join eNotes
Over 3,500 study guides, question and answer forums, literature criticism, reference content, and much more!
See Also
