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Importance Of Naturalism In 'Maggie, A Girl Of The Streets'

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Naturalist literature incorporates scientific ideologies, and the studies of humans lives, environment, and forces of inheritance. Survival is a particularly significant theme in Naturalist fiction. Often Naturalist fiction is narrated from a detached, clinical narrative voice. The narrator, Maggie, is an exemplary example of an unconnected character. This relation adds to the scientific perspective of the work. Ideas of Social Darwinism and the survival of the fittest are incorporated in the novel by the author. A writer like Crane also uses literary methods such as imagery to further the perspectives of Naturalism. Stephen Crane’s nineteenth-century story, “Maggie: a Girl of the Streets,” illustrates naturalism and scientific perspective through the narrative voice, Social Darwinism ideologies, and literary techniques.
Well exemplified in Maggie, a Girl of the Streets, Naturalist fiction is often narrated from a detached, clinical narrative voice. Naturalists tend to evaluate society scientifically. They analyze their surroundings; however, they rarely get too involved or emotionally attached to their community. “Naturalistic writers thus used a version of scientific method to write their novels; they studied human beings governed by forces of heredity and environment.” (Campbell, 1) Literature that is naturalistic regularly attempts to apply scientific principles in writing. Campbell's quote further examines the specific intention in the mind of naturalists. Naturalists
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