Reading Reaction -- 9.4.09

[Ryan Browne]

Address ONE of the following in 250 words. Please cite specific
examples from the text; failure to do so will result in no credit.

1. In "Maggie: Girl of the Streets," what role does institutionalized
religion play?

2. How does Crane's depiction of his characters and setting differ
from that of Twain's? of James's?

[Katie]

In the story “Maggie: Girl of the Streets”, we are introduced to
many characters. An interesting setting begins where we are
automatically drawn into action. One of the Main characters, Jimmie is
fighting against other people. As for in James’s writing, there was
little to no action at all. Shortly after we are introduced to
Jimmies’ family, we read that the father and youngest child has died.
Unlike Twain and James’s stories, It does not tell us how the pass but
simply states, “The babe, Tommie, died”. (pg 964). I feel that Crane’s
depiction of characters differ because all of the characters are
facing an emotion and low life struggle. They all have grown up
fighting and in bars as for the characters in the other books are more
mature and thoughtful. Crane also sometime doesn’t specify WHICH
character he is depicting. While reading the story I was uncertain
which character they were talking about, allowing you to use your
imagination. For example, on page 990 it states “ A forlorn woman
went along a lighted avenue. The street was filled with people
desperately bound on missions.” In this opening of a new chapter, I
was not sure if the author was talking about Maggie. Crane also
depicts both his characters and settings all at once. He incorporates
the negativity of the town of New York and the characters all
together, so the reader can understand how bad of a city life these
kids are trying to follow and live through. Twain leads you through
different adventures to show you the characters background and James
shows his characters background by fully understanding the story and
feeling the devastation at the end.

[mjha...@crimson.ua.edu]

Matt Harris
9/3/2009


Girl of the Streets


2. Cranes depiction of characters are very different from Twain and
James. This story takes place in one town unlike The Adventures of
Huckleberry Finn where they are always moving, and unlike The Yellow
Wall Paper which takes place on a wall. This story was written much
better than James’s story, and I really had a good feeling for what
was happing throughout the story.
The opening seen immediately tells us and gives us a valid
understanding of what kind of person Jimmie is. Jimmie is a very
angry person from a young age and he turns out to be the exact same
way when he gets older. He ends up being an alcoholic just like his
father was, and always comes home screaming and cursing at late hours
throughout the night. The reader can be certain that Jimmie is an
alcoholic because on page 967 in the fourth paragraph it states,
“Jimmie grew large enough to take the vague position of head of the
family. As incumbent of that office, he stumbled up-stairs late at
night, as his father had done before him. He reeled about the room,
swearing at his relations, or went to sleep on the floor.”
Fortunately, for Maggie she turns out to be a nice person who
everybody likes. Crane gave specific in depth break down of
characters. While reading this story I actually felt like I was
there, and was watching every seen take place. Therefore, Crane did
an overall excellent job of the depiction of the characters, but he
also made the story enjoyable for the reader.

On Sep 3, 11:57 am, Ryan Browne <ryan.j.bro...@gmail.com> wrote:

[Calan]

In the story “Maggie, A Girl of the Streets”, Henry James introduces
the reader to a number of characters. James introduces us to Jimmie
first while Jimmie is fighting in the streets of New York when Pete
rescues him. Then Jimmie father, Mr. Johnson, comes and snatches
Jimmie out of the fight and takes him to the house where we are
introduces to the remaining family. Jimmie’s sister Maggie, Mary and
Tommie are at the house. It is quickly understood that Mary is the
mother who is always madly drunk and throwing fits and Tommie is the
most innocent character who is only a baby. Mr. Johnson and Tommie die
early in the story which leaves us with the drama focused on Maggie,
Jimmie, and Mary. James gives the reader a great understanding of the
characters backgrounds and shows the reader the characters reactions
to these tough situations that the world and more specifically the
city of New York throws at them. The characters are sometimes not as
vividly described as I would like. For instance, I believe we are to
understand that Maggie and Pete are sleeping together but James never
directly tells us until Jimmie tells Mary, “Maggie’s gone teh deh
devil”(979). While James is not as straight forward with the
characters descriptions he also is trying to tell us how much the city
is affecting the family. Rum Alley should give some inclination that
it is a terrible place that is filled with alcohol and poverty. On the
other hand, Twain tells the reader up front who he is describing and
talking about. It makes James a little tougher to understand but is
not too deeply coded to be confused.

[Cori Powell]

Stephen Crane introduces the reader to many characters in “Maggie: A
Girl of the Streets.” In the opening scene, we have Jimmie, who, I
believed, was a very violent and angry boy. He is fighting with the
Devil’s Row children. Jimmie shares a lot of the same qualities as his
father, who becomes more of a minor character after his death at the
end of the third chapter. He is very violent. Crane describes Mr.
Johnson as, “…a man with sullen eyes,” (p. 959). The reader can also
see from the beginning that Mr. Johnson is violent and abusive towards
his family. The way he speaks to Jimmie in the opening scene says a
lot about his character. “Here, you Jim, git up, now, while I belt
your life out, you damned disorderly brat,” (p. 959). These characters
are very different from the characters in others stories that we have
studied. It seems that the hardship they are enduring is much tougher
than those of the other characters. Not only is it an emotional
hardship (similar to that of John Marcher and the woman in “The Yellow
Wallpaper’s” struggles) but they are also enduring a physical, bodily
hardship, and that is one way in how the characters differ. However,
the old woman, who is depicted as a minor character, serves as an
outlet for Jimmie, someone that he can go to when things became too
much for him. This is something that the characters in “The Yellow
Wallpaper” and “The Beast in the Jungle” did not have.

The setting depicted, reminds me of how everyone talks about New
York’s Bronx area. It is rough and tough and everyone has to fight and
look out for themselves. In “The Yellow Wallpaper,” the woman, who is
the main character, is definitely not in a calming setting for her
state of mind, but she is only having to fight against herself and her
disabled mind, the same as for John in “The Beast in the Jungle.”
Coming from a place where trouble and destructing relationships are
all around you makes for a rough life, and I believe that is a reason
why all the characters are so violent, because the town they are from
demands that lifestyle from them.

On Sep 3, 11:57 am, Ryan Browne <ryan.j.bro...@gmail.com> wrote:

[cjrogers]

"Maggie: Girl of the Streets" has very interesting characters
as opposed to the writing of Twain and James. The story starts off
with Jimmie getting in a fight. It was a very different way of
introducing a character than the traditional stories of Twain and
especially James. James had the most boring story ever. Crane's story
already had more action in the first chapter than James did in the
whole story. The setting of the story is very different than that of
Huck Finn. Huck Finn takes place all over the south. "Maggie: Girl of
the Streets" takes place in one town, so that way it is much easier to
get a grasp on he environment without constantly changing the setting
like in Huck Finn. Characters in this story just keep popping up left
and right. Mr. Johnson randomly shows up and snags Jimmie from the
fight. I think it is a very interesting way of introducing characters
because you see how they are through actions and not through the
authors description. You get to know the characters and their
personalities through their actions. When you meet Jimmie, you
instantly have a felling about him that he is a very confrontational
individual. This proves to be accurate throughout the novel. Jimmie
becomes an alcoholic and it says he always is drunk and gets in
altercations and curses and is in general a violent individual. I like
the way that Crane introduces his characters way more than that of
Twain and especially James.

[Ali Smith]

“Maggie: A Girl of the Streets” by Stephen Crane has many underlying
nonsecular themes. One such theme is the connection between Maggie and
Mary Magdalene. In Chapter 17, a girl (we assume is Maggie), walk the
streets as a prostitute. “A belated man in business clothes, and in
haste to catch a car, bounced against her shoulder. ‘Hi, there, Mary,
I beg your pardon! Brace up, old girl’. He grasped her arm to steady
her, and then was away running down the middle of the street”. As
evidenced by this passage, the reader discovers that the girl is
Maggie. This discovery is further supported by the man's "mistake" in
calling the girl Mary. This allows the reader to make a distinguished
relation between Maggie and Mary of Magdalene.
Towards the end of this short story there are many
similarities between the two women. In the Bible, Mary of Magdalene is
known as a reformed prostitute from whom seven evils are cast out.
There is also ambiguity surrounding Mary of Magdalene, who is
numerously referred to as a "sinner" in the Bible. Crane taps into
this ambiguous description when referring too Maggie. The reader is
left without any certainty about the girl wandering the streets.
Maggie, due to a large and cruel society, is forced to walk the
streets in desperation. Maggie's mother Mary, though she has no moral
standing, says "I'll fergive her! I'll fergive her!" at the end of the
story. Perhaps through Maggie’s death she finds salvation. The many
similarities between these two women bring profound religious
undertones to the story.

[Matt Rotenstreich]

Matt Rotenstreich
Reading Response
9/4/09


Mark Twain’s character and setting depiction differ from Crane’s in
many ways. The characters in these stories are extremely different. In
Huck Finn, Huck is an outgoing, adventurous, and likable young man.
The young male character in Stephen Crane’s story, Jimmie, is a
troublemaker who gets introduced in the story by being in a fight. “
His infantile countenance was livid with fury.” (p. 957) This is just
a small description of the anger and hate found in Crane’s character.
Huck, throughout Twain’s novel, was always on the search of new people
and trying to learn new things. He and Jimmie are on opposite ends of
the spectrum from each other. Stephen Crane’s characters are all
people with issues ranging from alcoholism to violent personalities.
Mark Twain’s characters are more genuine and respectful to the people
they come in contact with, at least to their faces. The settings of
these two stories are also extremely different. Mark Twain’s story is
set in a completely different time period and region. His novel takes
place around the mid 1800’s. Stephen Crane’s story was written in
later times, based in New York. This distinct different causes the
characters to act the way they do, completely different. Although its
obviously possible for there to be fighting and violence in Huck Finn,
the setting of “Maggie: Girl of the Street” in New York makes the
chance for violence increase, because New York is typically known as a
“rough” place.

(emailed extra credit)

[Tracey]

In "Maggie: Girl of the Streets," we are introduced to characters who
have been shaped by their environment, much like the characters in
"The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" and "The Beast in the Jungle."
Crane uses straightforward, stark depictions of his characters. The
first chapter is a war scene, in which we meet Jimmie. He's an
uncontrollable ball of fury. Considering the dirty neighborhood and
unhealthy family environment he was raised in, his behavior comes as
no surprise to me. He fights for survival and his reputation. Crane
describes Jimmie and his surroundings in great detail. Twain gave us
glimpses into the minds and environments of Tom Sawyer and Huck, but
it wasn't the same as what Crane is showing us here. James showed us
what John was up to, but John was so tormented and obsessed, the only
thing he thought of was himself. Jimmie is introduced to us as a
"tiny, insane demon" and grows up with a "kill or be killed"
mentality. Maggie is Jimmie's younger sister who is introduced with a
baby in tow. When people take care of babies, they usually do it with
caution, but not Maggie. "She jerked the baby's arm impatiently. He
fell on his face, roaring. With a second jerk she pulled him to his
feet, and they went on." Here, Crane shows us how life on Rum Alley
really is. Twain showed us that Huck had it pretty rough, but there
was always a raft for him to escape on. James showed us that when
you're too wrapped up in yourself to really live, environment doesn't
really matter. Almost as soon as the baby, Tommie, is introduced, he
dies. This is another reminder of how hard life was in the slums of
New York. The mother is always screeching at or about something and
the father gets killed off too. Every character in this story is
shaped and constrained by their environment. They were born in the
slums and they'll die there. Crane focused his writing on Jimmie,
rather than Maggie. Maggie runs off with Pete, who gets tired of her
in about 3 weeks. A few months later, Maggie turns up dead. I thought
it was really interesting how Crane described Maggie's death. He
didn't tell us who he was writing about. "When almost to the river the
girl saw a great figure. On going forward she perceived it to be a
huge fat man in torn and greasy garments.... Chuckling and leering, he
followed the girl of the crimson legions." We know she's dead, because
Jimmie told his mother she was, but we aren't told who killed her.
It's open-ended. They keep saying that she went to the devil, and
maybe she did. Crane titled his story about his character's actions
and how those actions affected her family.

[John]

Crane's depiction of his characters is much more gritty and dark than
either Twain or James. Twain uses dialogue and narration to portray
the environments and to introduce the characters. Crane uses an
omniscient viewpoint of an unidentified narrator to describe the
characters. None of Crane's characters seem to have much in the way
of redeeming moral values either. In Twain's writing characters like
Huck Finn are by no means saints but Twain does at least give them
some humanity and give them some redeeming moral values. Crane on the
other hand seems to do nothing but highlight the negative side of
humanity. The story begins with Jimmie fighting and swearing and then
continues on to show his abusive and alcoholic parents. It never
really lets up, even the character that you think might have a chance,
Maggie, ends up becoming a prostitute. Twain had these themes in his
writing as well but he used them more for satire than anything else.
The feud between the Sheperdson's and the Grangerford's is a prime
example of that. It shows people killing each other for no particular
reason but it's presented in such a way that it is made to look futile
and foolish. Crane's writing portrays violence very matter-of-factly
as though it is a accepted as a way of life.

[Luke]

After reading “Maggie: A Girl of the Streets”, it reminded of the
modern blue collar families of areas like South Boston and Brooklyn,
New York where people have harsher demeanors and are known for their
arrogance and brutality while stricken in poverty. Jimmy is like
Satan’s child because he represents the opposite of Mark Twain’s
character, Huck, and Henry James’s character wimpy character, Marcher.
Jimmy is a violent young boy who curses and looks for a fight whenever
he gets a chance then never really changed his ways going into
adulthood. Jimmy’s family represents a struggling, abusive home and
the story showed so much real-life domestic emotion toward each other
that evolved in tragedy, having little Tommie and the father die in
the beginning. Twain’s Huck is a much more positive and thoughtful
person while Jimmy’s no nonsense hard-nosed ways always lead to run-
ins with law enforcement. Jimmy represents a negative influence for
the reader.

Crane’s story gives you insight to Jimmy’s way of life and how his
people have grown up fighting and beating their own. The setting is of
one neighborhood and hardly changes the plot of the story. In
“Huckleberry Finn”, Huck and Jim run into a few challenges and
adventure while moving down the river, constantly changing the plot of
events. Crane’s story depicts lower class America in the city ghettos
where life no longer prospers and there is no goals to achieve but to
prove moral respect for yourself in the old neighborhood. Both Crane
and Twain share somewhat vulgar similarities with Huck’s constant use
of “nigger” and Jimmy’s constant forms of expressing himself in the
story with almost every dialogue with “hell”.

On Sep 3, 11:57 am, Ryan Browne <ryan.j.bro...@gmail.com> wrote:

[vsjackson]

There are many characters in the story “Maggie Girl of the Streets.”
Stephen Crane has a very different writing style then Mark Twain or
Henry James. It is sometimes hard to distinguish which character is
which during the story because Crane does not always make it obvious
through the character’s dialogue or through the actual text. Twain
used script and language to distinguish his characters and James used
sense of text and language to create his story. Crane leaves it up to
his readers to decide what is going on in the story. For example on
page 990 Crane writes, “The forlorn woman had a peculiar face. Her
smile was no smile. But when in repose her features had a shadowy look
that was like a sardonic grin, as if some one had sketched with cruel
forefinger indelible lines about her mouth.” The reader does know not
know which character Crane is describing, however it is most likely he
is writing about Maggie becoming a prostitute because she has been
abandoned by her family and by Pete.
Crane does not give a background for any of the characters and there
are some characters that enter the book randomly and do not seem to
have any significance. For example, Maggie has a younger brother named
Tommie who is introduced early in the story and also dies early on in
the story. Another character that is randomly placed in the story is
Miss Smith. She seems to just appear in the novel with no
introduction or background. She consuls Mary about the loss of her
daughter, Maggie, and then is no longer present in the story. Even
though Crane was vague at times about which character he was writing
about, I still enjoyed reading the story and though the plot was very
interesting.

On Sep 3, 12:57 pm, Ryan Browne <ryan.j.bro...@gmail.com> wrote: