The Viewpoints of Stephen Crane and His Novel Maggie: A Girl on the Streets

Naturalism is a complex literary movement which infiltrated many books in the 1800s. One book in particular best shows the themes of Naturalism. The book, Ethan Frome, displays a multitude of motifs which further the main ideas and themes of the story. Motifs are used to highlight the theme. Due to the complex nature of the book, Ethan Frome written by Edith Wharton, motifs are used to further the ideas and themes presented in this tale.

Naturalism and Realism both became important writing styles in the mid- nineteenth century. Naturalist writing portrays individuality within a character allowing a person to obtain humanistic themes. Realist writing is all about portraying real life and real situations. (Thesis)- Jack London’s “To Build a Fire” and Mark Twain’s “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” both display elements of naturalism and realism.

Through Naturalist writing styles that would revolutionize literature of their time, Stephen Crane and Jack London became staples of American writing. Similarities and differences of theme and element can be drawn in both, Crane’s short story, “An Episode of war”, and London’s short story, “To Build a Fire”. Naturalistic literature is a writing style, which was popularized around the 1880’s to the 1930’s. Naturalism mainly focuses on scientific principles that are applied to human character and nature, and shares some similar philosophies to realism. Both writers express different and similar perspectives, but give very insightful views on their opinions. London’s “To Build a Fire”, focuses on a man who is faced with the forces of nature,

Nikki Giovanni has evolved as writer; naturalist and a modernist later. Naturalism was a literary movement that was taking place from the 1880s to 1940s that used detailed realism to suggest that social conditions, heredity, and environment had inescapable force in shaping human character. Giovanni shows naturalism in her works "Poem (No Name No. 2)", and “[Untitled] (For Margaret Danner)”. Just to give a little background on modernism,

2. What qualities distinguish practitioners of “naturalism” from practitioners of “realism” as a general movement?

Naturalism is a literary movement that encapsulates the struggles of the common population. Hamlin Garland presents an excellent example of Naturalist literature in his short story “Under the Lion’s Paw”, published in 1889. In this short story, many of Dr. Stephen doCarmo’s characteristics of Naturalism are visible. Dr. doCarmo describes three broad characteristics of Naturalism: individuals are subjected to larger uncontainable forces, political undertones are prevalent within the work, and the subject matter of the work appeals to the middle-class. “Under the Lion’s Paw” possesses all three of these characteristics and radiates naturalism.

Naturalism is a very intense style of literature that an author can use. With naturalism, the author is trying to convey knowledge acquired through the senses and experiences they them selves have been through. In the novel of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, he portrays elements of naturalism through his very own sights and experiences. During the depression John Steinbeck got a first hand dose of what it meant to deal with sordid aspects of life. Just like his book, he portrays his accounts using highly realistic settings, and brutal characters with foul mouths that deal with depressing issues of life. In the real world things happen, but in the world of Mice and Men, nothing ever seems to happen the way the characters hope.

In 1865 through 1914, roughly the same time period that is considered the Gilded Age, two literary movements were introduced. Realism and naturalism have similarities and they have their differences. Both have very basic views on humanity and religion is absent from both movements. They focused on the real world instead. Realism, though, let writers voice their opinions, concerns, struggles and focused on literary technique.

Regionalism and local color writings are each specific types of Realism. They worked to record a distinctive way of life. Regionalism often showed regional dialect, food, clothing styles and customs of that time period. Naturalism, like realism, works to accurately portray its subject matter, but naturalism also works to find the scientific theory. Each of these writing styles have characteristics that make them stand out from one another but they all seem to also have a common link of showing life realistically of that time period.

People seldom know that Stephen Crane actually grew up with a mother and father that each wrote religious articles, let alone that two of his brothers were writers for a newspaper. This was important in Crane’s life as his upbringing involved a literary background, leading to

After the Civil War, realism became a dominant form of writing in the United States, with writers attempting to write about everyday life. After realism came naturalism, a form of writing similar to realism, but with more pessimism. One of the reasons for this pessimism stems from free will and the question of whether people possess it or not. In realism, it is definitely true, while in naturalism it seems less so, but the options are often less than ideal. Because choices do exist for characters, free will is still there, which indicates that naturalism is a derivative form of realism. In Stephen Crane’s “Maggie: A Girl of the Streets,” the characters may have little chance to escape the world they inhabit, like Maggie, Jimmie, and

In Stephen Crane’s “Maggie: Girl of the Streets”, he uses Maggie to illustrate the unavoidability of fate. Her lamentable defamation shows Crane’s belief that one must accept their fate and adapt to their circumstances to survive.

Naturalism is a theory in writing that focuses on the indifferent characteristics of nature. Naturalism was an extension of the outgrowth of literary realism in the mid 19th century. Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution influenced the thinking of these naturalistic writers. Two authors depict naturalism in their stories heavily. Stephen Crane tells a story about a lifeboat lost at sea in “The Open Boat” and Jack London depicts a man’s trials in the wilderness through “To Build a Fire”.

Crane’s Maggie: A Girl of the Streets opening scene features violence, which is a taboo subject during the time period he wrote the piece; “His coat had been torn to shreds in a scuffle, and his hat was gone. He had bruises on twenty parts of his body, and blood was dripping from a cut in his head”(946). The three children experience abuse, both physical and emotional, from the mother and the father in the early chapters of this work. Stephen Crane states, [ Youse allus fightn’, Jimmie, an’yeh knows it puts mudder out when yehs come home half dead, an’ it’s like we’ll all get a poundin’ (949).] Furthermore, this abuse is evidenced by the following quote from Stephen Crane [The mother’s massive shoulders heaved with anger. Grasping the urchin by the neck and shoulder she shook him until he rattled(949).] Violence is a

Beginning in the late 19th century, two separate movements spread across America know as realism and naturalism. While the two were very similar in their beliefs and ideals there were still many apparent distinctions to differentiate the two. Realism and naturalism showed themselves in many aspects of life, from art and sciences to new math techniques and even religion. However, above all else these movements may have been most evident in the literature of this time. Reading through American literature of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it becomes perceptible which short stories portray realism and which represent nationalism.