Rebekah BrownApril 7, 2014Mrs. Gibson Monday/Wednesday 9:30-10:45am Maggie: A Realist Perception of Urban Industrialized AmericaMaggie: A Girl of the Streets, is a realistic view of the dark side of industrialized America. It's a story that doesn't hold back the dirt and grime that comes with living in highly populated poor areas. Young Stephen Crane does an excellent job of portraying the destruction of a young, beautiful, optimistic Maggie by forces beyond her control. The novel's rather dark realism was somewhat unheard of at the time. Crane had to publish his book himself, as no publisher wanted to take a chance on such a negative novel about human nature. However, over time, his story quickly consolidated its roots as a fundamental pillar of American realism literature. Maggie's family is introduced at the beginning of the story, from her little brother Jimmie to her short-lived brother Tommie, her mentally abusive alcoholic. mother Mary and her brutal father. Jimmie's friend Pete is introduced and becomes a mirror image of Jimmie later in the book. Both are portrayed as Don Giovanni, seducers of young women who treat women as objects rather than people. Maggie's father is as short-lived as her brother Tommie. However, it becomes a negative social factor in Maggie's life. Maggie's mother was an essential symbol of hypocrisy and pessimism throughout the book, from her drinking to her final comment in the book "I will forgive her" (Gru). From the beginning of the story, a gray and sad New York is painted in the mind with a sad and depressing tone of the bustling metropolis. It's a town flooded with immigrant workers hoping to better their lives and their ac... middle of paper... on the riverbank right before she's found dead. The original excerpt has been edited over the years to not include her little graphic description, yet Stephen Crane still left the reader with the question of whether Maggie was killed or committed suicide. Perhaps murder would be a more bittersweet ending to this realist tragedy. Wecker, Helene. August 18, 2013. NPR. URL: http://www.npr.org/2013/08/18/189286463/pack-your-bags-3-books-about-coming-to-americaThese book review articles by Helene Wecker summarize and analyze Maggie and other classic literary works that tell the difficulties of immigrants at the time of the industrial revolution. From journeys across the sea to being stranded on Ellis Island (some sent back to their home country), through to the harsh living conditions of the slums of New York and surrounding areas.