Reading Reaction 9-4

[jwolf]

Crane has a different way of depicting his characters in the story
“Maggie: Girl of the Streets”, than do Mark Twain and Henry James.
Maggie first of all, eventually succumbs to her life status and to the
world she was born into. She cannot make it over life’s hurdles and
dies. On the contrary, Huckleberry Finn is born into the lower class
and has many hurdles in his childhood; but he overcomes many obstacles
and thrives for most of the story. Also, Jimmy is a much worse
character than any of James’ or Twain’s. He is a troubled young man
with many mental problems including anger and bitterness. In one
passage of the story, Jimmy beats up a guy named Pete. Jimmy ”crushed
on Pete’s bowed head” (982). Jimmy was described as a tiny, insane
demon. Also, while Henry James’ story had little action in it,
“Maggie: Girl of the Streets” has a lot of movement and action. It
introduces us to real life situations and problems that occur in urban
areas. Also in Huckleberry Finn, the story takes us through many
different places, while Crane’s story takes place in only one town.
Twain’s characters also have some decency and promise in their
futures. They have hope and have a little bit of innocence about them.
Cranes’ characters have been shaped by the cold world they live in and
their futures appear to be dim. Crane happens to write in a more
realistic style, rather than the other two stories that are more
unlikely to occur.