The American Dream in The Jungle

In the beginning of The Jungle by Upton Sinclair, Jurgis shows us his perspective of the "American Dream." He comes to America thinking he can be a big asset in the system of labor and that he can thrive on it. In chapter 2, he is described as someone that every boss wants to get their hands on. Because of this, he has pride and faith in himself, as does his family, and he is hopeful in accomplishing the "American Dream."

To me, what is so sad about the novel is that I got the feeling this dream is never really achievable. If you can't attain it by working hard, how do you attain it? Luck? I feel that in addition to Sinclair's exposing of the wrongs in the meat packing industry, he exposed the unfortunate fate of it's victims. Jurgis' story is a common one and the ending is usually the same. A family succumbs to prostitution or begging because their jobs, if they attain one, are not looking for their best interest.

Regardless, I left with a feeling that this dream is unattainable for most immigrants. I am developing my understanding of the term catharsis, but perhaps this is it.

Catharsis in "The Jungle"

Today in class Gi Hyun introduced the concept of catharsis. He explained that when considering catharsis it is very important to realize that cathartic writing should not only arouse pity and fear, but use these feelings to "leave an audience feeling not depressed but relieved". Intrinsic to this idea is the stereotype.

In "The Jungle" we are introduced to several very broad stereotypes, for example 'the hobo', 'the prostitute', and 'the boss'. Many variations of the saying 'Before you judge someone, walk a mile in their shoes' summarize what this book seems to promote. This phrase encourages those who hear it to re-examine possibly very established personal views and to evoke perhaps empathetic emotion, in a nutshell, explaining one aspect of catharsis.

Catharsis also deals with the purging or purification however, which can work in different ways. Sometimes the 'purging' applies to the audience while in other situations, it seems we are shown the purification of a character. "Oedipus Rex", as Gi Hyun said, is very good example of this. The audience is first made to feel quite relieved that such horrors have not befallen them, helping to purge them of unhappiness over (perhaps) lesser events in their own lives. As Oedipus gouges his eyes out with Jocasta's pins, he symbolically cleanses himself of the things he has seen. The loss of his eyesight rids Oedipus of all the evil he has seen and committed, however unwittingly.

Jurgis has his own cathartic realization as he travels the country as a hobo. He is a another good example of a character who experiences catharsis as well as displays it in his own life. Jurgis is a strong, young man, who talks "lightly about work" and cannot "imagine how it would feel to be beaten" (Sinclair 17). However by the end of the book we are following a very different man, one whose efforts to care for his family have landed him a two year sentence in a state prison (Sinclair 335). Getting from page 17 to page 335 involves the astounding journey that Jurgis takes. Starting with his family in Packingtown, he encounters much by way of loss (the family's home, Ona, their child). During the time that he lives as a hobo, Jurgis goes through a transition. He at first feels that the hobos are

Just as Jurgis functions as a character that inspires catharsis in readers, he also experiences it, himself. While he lives as a tramp, Jurgis is careful to keep some money for himself, because he feels "terror...at the thought of being out of work in... the wintertime"(Sinclair 201). The fear that Jurgis has of facing the winter and becoming like the others that he travels with is what 'purifies' him. It is what moves him to come back to the city and to try his luck at the factories again.

Emotion in an Anti-Sentimentalist Novel

The discussion in class today about the heart-breaking and emotionally charged scenes from The Jungle made me question the anti-sentimentalist nature of the novel. The definition of anti-sentimentalism based on the hand-out is “build[ing] stories and characters by utilizing a style of language and stating events without unnecessary detail, and by stressing reason over emotional attachment.” This was summarized as focusing a story on the situations, not the characters. This is true of The Jungle because the focus was not on the specific personalities and feelings of the characters; it was on the roles that they play in society. So, my question is how the emotions in the novel that don’t seem to fit with the anti-sentimentalist style fit into The Jungle. I think that the answer has to do with the idea of catharsis.

We discussed how catharsis has an emotional, intellectual, and physical component. In The Jungle, the intellectual component is satisfied by the conclusion’s showing that regardless of their ideals, no political system is safe from corruption. The physical component is the disgusting revelations about the meat that people were eating. The emotional component fits in with this because Sinclair wants the reader to conclude that there is an imminent need for change. This is accomplished by the intellectual and especially the physical component of the catharsis. The emotional anecdotes about the working class feed off of this intellectual and physical catharsis to accomplish Sinclair’s purpose of better conditions for the working class. This purpose of better conditions for the working class is also aided by the anti-sentimentalist portrayal of the uniform oppression of the worker. So, the emotion and anti-sentimentalism work together to achieve Sinclair’s purpose.

Metaphor in the Jungle

In the story The Jungle, whenever Jugris is exhausted by the work in the fertilizer factory, he seems to be supported with alcohol in order to forget the severe labor. I believe an element such as alcohol could be considered a metaphor that it leads the readers into the idea of catharsis. In Gi Hyun's presentation today, he introduced one of the meanings of catharsis is that it "leaves an audience feeling not depressed but relieved".

In chapter 14, Upton Sinclair depicts that "They might drink together, and escape from the horror---escape for a while, come what would" (p.129). At first sight for this statement, it is capable of making the audience (the readers) depressed because they may consider the situation that Jugris only depends on the agency of alcohol in order to escape his real life. However, for laborers at that time, this statement would have another interpretation because this statement must be shared as same experience for them. This interpretation is based on this story's scrupulosity of the truth on the laborers. Because one of the characters of this story is considered muckraker, this story would be believed not only just tragedy but also the opportunity which the situation of the laborers is overturned from poverty and capitalism. Therefore, the element of alcohol would be considered not the means to escape from the reality but the object which people can share their experience as common information against capitalism, and finally they are relieved. Therefore, I believe the reason why the element of alcohol is used in the chapter is because alcohol contains not only the association of purification, but also the means which it is shared as common information for the laborers.

Two Different Tragic Constructions

I think The Jungle deals with numerous characters and also various heartbreaking plots. When I read first page, the novel started to describe the dream of immigrants and their hope for comfortable life. However, as the story goes by, all characters are falling down and down, and I felt deep sorrow because the result was too different from their belief for the future.

First, when the family moves to the U.S., I thought it was a kind of huge project. The asset they had was limited and their life was at stake. Though Jurgis, the protagonist of The Jungle, can not 100% assure that they are going to make a success, he thinks he can get a job and run his family with Ona. Then their hopefulness starts to disappear and change to despair and pain. The house rent makes them cry. The town makes them cry. And the cold weather and the change of people’s relationship makes them cry. Especially when I found out Ona is selling her body for the health of her family, I felt extreme sorrow. The whole family is getting corrupted by the environment of capitalism which is opposed to what they firmly believed. To the gap between two conditions, I felt inability to control my sense and to accept the result of the characters.

On the other hand, Our Nig starts its story with already sad circumstance. Frado is thrown away to the white house and starts to work as an indentured servant. Once the author introduces how Frado is abused, and what kind of pain she felt (because it is based on her own life) with inserting numbers of painful scenes. Though the end of the story raised my emotion with understanding to her (moreover, people like her), and also Hattie adorned the story not just with tragic factors but also the social issues at that time and the racism in order to progress the story to achieve her goal of the novel. Besides, not like The Jungle, the difference between two conditions existed in the nature of the characters. Mrs. B makes Frado’s life miserable and deteriorates her health. And Jack and Susan gives hope to Frado and this is the main force and hope for Frado to extend her life. Unfortunately, they don’t fully help her. Probably the reason is based on the limited freedom to Frado and the circumstance of the family.

One interesting thing is that two novels seem to evoke the readers’ emotion, sorrow, pity and fear for the different purpose, but their ways to construct the heartbreaking plot seem also different. The different goals of the novel, making understanding of the readers and creating effect to the society, might be the reason for different construction of tragic literature.

Critique of Corruption

The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair, is set in the meatpacking district of Chicago.  The story follows Jurgis Rudkos and his family on their quest for “the American Dream”.  After several job failures and numerous family catastrophes, Jurgis exchanges his honest, hard-working personality for a lifestyle of crime. He quickly becomes involved with a vote-buying scheme to land certain political figures in office. Regarding the plot, Sinclair writes, "All of these agencies of corruption were banded together, and leagued in blood brotherhood with the politician and the police; more often than not they were one and the same person,--the police captain would own the brothel he pretended to raid, and the politician would open his headquarters in his saloon” (Sinclair 303). Because Jurigs and his family were immigrants, they had faith in America and that it would bring them happiness.  They thought that capitalism would make them successful; this was not the case.  Irony “turns standard meanings and expectations upside down. It often involves saying one thing and meaning another” (Killingsworth 131). In this particular situation, Jurgis believes in capitalism and the potential happiness it could bring him. However, it is ironic because, in reality, his expectation of the government form was essentially the opposite of what was promised or foreseen.  In order to survive, he was forced into the dishonesty of politics. Sinclair is able to clearly present the levels of corruption in the government through his use of irony; this allows for the audience to see the true happenings of the political parties at the time. 

Irony in The Mole People

In Jennifer Toth’s ethnography, The Mole People: Life in the Tunnels Beneath New York City, she performs an in-depth study of the people living beneath the New York City subway and have been forced to make those tunnels their home. She meets a variety of people from different demographics such as age, gender and race. Although living on, and beneath, the streets of the dangerous city is a rough life, those forced into the lifestyle choose it, without hesitation, over city shelters. One of Toth’s characters mentioned his experience at shelter and states, “two nights ago a man tried to rape him at a city shelter where he hoped for sleep” (Toth 8).  These state funded institutions fail to achieve their intended goal. Instead of providing a secure place of rest for those less fortunate, they instill fear in those without a home. This fact is ironic on several levels; however, it is mainly portrayed because, “the ironic tone is conveyed by setting up a condition of unequal knowledge” (Killingsworth 132).  In this case, the government appears to be supplying homeless people with safe places to stay, sleep and eat. Yet, those intended to use this resource refuse because of the poor quality and increased risk.  Therefore, the unequal knowledge is that government knows of the mistreatment in homeless city shelters where as the remainder of the public does not. Toth is able to present the irony in this situation to her readers and therefore heighten their awareness of the happenings of New York’s homeless. 

The Impetus for Writing "The Jungle"

Today in class I discussed what I thought could have been Upton Sinclair's motivation for writing The Jungle. Though the article I was assigned to read was about Sinclair's fervor towards socialism, I did not feel that socialism itself was the impetus for the novel. The article discusses all that can go wrong with socialism as there are many intricies that go into developing that form of government. Because it is such a complicated system, much can go wrong, and I feel that these wrongs are what drove Sinclair to write this novel.

Upton Sinclair mentions "evils of present-day society" and the contradiction that lies within society. He refers to capital as a "democratic administration for the equal benefit of all", which I can sense is sarcastic after reading the novel. I therefore feel that the Sinclair's reason for writing The Jungle was not his disliking towards the concept socialism or capitalism, but the outcome for not facilitating correctly.

Reveal to explain

The Jungle mainly depicts the family members, and the meatpacking industry. By revealing hidden truths, Sinclair shows his own ideology against the ideology of the two groups. On page 73, when the family sets up the foundation condition for living in the city, a voice of the implied author defines the characteristic of the world at that time: “the world was divided into two groups” (Sinclair 73). One group is apparently people who like Jurgis’ family members and the other one is the owners who are possessing and running inhumane business. As the story goes on, the author seems to try to giving new knowledge with revealing the truth he witnessed actually before, as a muckraker.

The first group of the world is the people who want to find new place, and try to escape from reality expecting another world. However, their belief and faith for economic happiness is frustrated by the people who take benefits, and the environment of the city. Once, they start to earn money, they find all systems require paying money with unjust contract, and it seems that there is no option for practicing what they dreamed. Moreover, there is another drawback which is a bunch of saloons around the company. “There was only one condition”, the author points out with reporting the meaning of drinking to the working class. People should drink to forget the painful memory and to get closer with other workers. If not, they are not welcomed in the society and have to feel what he feels during the work hour.

The second group is the owners who run the company in immoral way only for taking profits. In the process of making products, they not just broke the dream of the working class but also the rule of the world. They don’t consider what is right and valuable to the people but pursue what makes money. Especially, on p88 in the text, the author reveals one of the company’s illegal custom: “they had recouped themselves by putting out imitations of German meat for home markets”.

Showing unknown truth of the society, the author tries to let readers focus on customs and habits of the two groups.

Being Bold Pays Off

In the Foreword of The Jungle, we are informed of what the history of the novel, The Jungle, is and what Upton Sinclair went through to get the novel published. We are informed that “Sinclair was sent to Chicago to do research on the meatpacking industry by the editors of the Socialist newspaper for $500” (Sinclair i). When Sinclair witnessed the unsanitary practices of the meatpacking industry, he quickly started writing a novel, modeled by the plot of Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan. In efforts of getting The Jungle published, Macmillan published the novel half way through then resisted and gave Sinclair a long list of things to change due to the graphic descriptions. Macmillan agreed to publish the novel if Sinclair would rewrite a sanitized version but Macmillan declined to publish at all, for reasons that are unknown. It is questioned whether or not that Macmillan was, ”persuaded to drop publication because of pressure from the meatpacking industry” (Sinclair ii). Sinclair felt that it was important to state the facts, rather than what people wanted to hear, so he continued looking for a publisher.

Sinclair finally was given the opportunity to have Doubleday, Page publishing company publish The Jungle. Learning from experience, “Sinclair cut numerous scenes from the book” that would still convey the importance of the novel without some of the other graphic descriptions (Sinclair ii). The Jungle came out in 1906 and Theodore Roosevelt was given a copy of the novel. Roosevelt responded in a negative manner, not believing what he was reading. Roosevelt asked Doubleday to show him proof that The Jungle was portraying true facts. Once Roosevelt came to the realization that The Jungle was true, he started his own investigation with the Bureau of Commerce and Labor. Due to the popularity and the help of Roosevelt’s investigation, “Upton Sinclair became famous, and his novel helped push the federal government to pass its first comprehensive Pure Food and Drug laws” (Sinclair iii).

This is an example of how things can be overlooked because people are told what they want to hear. If it wasn’t for Sinclair being bold and standing firm for what he was “reporting”, who knows when Pure Food and Drug laws would have been passed.

Jurgis is a Person who cannot Adapt to the Environment

In the book The Jungle, Upton Sinclair depicts a tremendous truth that how people are treated, their state, is a part of the process of factory in capitalism. I believe Sinclair wants to claim that capitalism considers a laborer not as a person but disposable products through the figure of Jurgis. After Jurgis injured his leg and returns to his job, Sinclair describes that "They had got the best out of him, there was the truth---they had worn him out, with their speeding up and their damned carelessness, and now they had thrown him away! And Jugris would make the acquaintance of some of these unemployed men; he would stroll away with them . . . . and he found that they had all had the same experience" (p.114). This experience must indicate the real situation that people are treated as a disposable product by capitalists in order to make productivity without the view of humanity. Therefore, Jugris is forced to engage the worst job in the factory of fertilizer.

However, I believe the reason why Jurgis feels torture and mental anguish is because of not only the fertilizer factory but also his character that he cannot adapt to the environment at all. In the beginning of story, he is described as a man who has a confidence his power and ability for labor. In spite of the fact, the real situation always conflicts with him against his belief. Therefore, the real deprives his confidence gradually through the chapters. However, he cannot adapt to the environment that he has to be at the mercy of the factory and capitalism, because he has a free will that he has to protect his family, especially children and his wife, Ona. His free will would always give him doubt and question about the situation that people are treated as a part of the process, like as machine. Therefore, he finally hits his boss because he has to protect his injured wife from the insistence of sex in chapter 15. In addition to the truth that this novel exposes the true states of laborers, furthermore, I believe that this novel also indicates the conflict between naturalism and free will.

Sinclair and Toth: Continuity in Society

The last two books that our class has studied, "The Mole People" and "The Jungle", by Jennifer Toth and Upton Sinclair respectively, deal with similar aspects of humanity's suffering. Despite almost a 90 year gap between their publications, they both describe the way in which whole groups of people can be trampled by society. The two authors, however, take very different issues to heart and present their ideas in quite different ways.

I believe part of the reason for this is the level of removal of the author. Toth is initially further removed from the people she studies but proceeds to delve so deeply into their lives that leaving them becomes quite difficult. Sinclair also gets first hand experience with the evils of society that he writes about but leads a life that is less removed in comparison, prior to success with "The Jungle" having been raised in a poor family. Toth spent a year investigating the tunnels, letting them slowly become more and more a part of her life. In contrast to this, Sinclair spent seven weeks within Chicago's meatpacking industry in order to write "The Jungle" on the payroll of journal owner.

Despite these differences, in both novels the audience is introduced to the idea that there are those who fall through the cracks of society and although they work hard cannot gain a footing with which to improve their situations. While the chapters of "The Mole People" each focus on different characters and aspects of tunnel life, "The Jungle" focuses on the plight of Jurgis Rudkos' family. Although no less influential (but perhaps more so) than "The Mole People", the subject matter of "The Jungle" is innately different from that of Toth's ethnography. We are able to see examples of the idea of 'exigency' by comparing these two writers and on what or how they choose to carry their points and critiques. The time periods that each take place in dictate the novelty that they hold for an audience. While far reaching effects of Sinclair's writing such as the passing of the laws such as the Pure Food and Drugs Act (1906) and the Meat Inspection Act (1906) helped quench some of the fears that assaulted the "public's... stomach" in his novel, many aspects, such as the plight of the immigrant were largely forgotten about. This is why the work of Toth is still necessary and even exigent -- because as Sinclair says in "What Life Means to Me", "the sheer horror" of some literature that "[makes] it true" also is what "[kills] it" (What Life Means To Me, Sinclair, 351). An uproar may occur in response to a writing, says Sinclair but without the inclusion of "human anguish" an audience receives nothing more than "sugar-coated sentimentality".


http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Jupton.htm

The American Dream in the Jungle

The portrayal of the American Dream in Sinclair’s The Jungle creates an ideological critique. The two parts of our definition of an ideology were the beliefs and the customs and traditions that went along with the beliefs. In The Jungle, the primary motivation of the immigrant characters was “The American Dream,” “the wonderful dreams of wealth that had been haunting Jurgis” (Sinclair 22). This is the belief portrayed in The Jungle, that capitalism would bring happiness and economic prosperity. The traditions and customs of the ideology though are less admirable. To gain the wealth that they desired, men become greedy, such as the captains of industry that ran the inhumane stockyards. Poor men also were victim, such as Jurgis in his endeavor to quickly purchase a house. This system of greed is the underlying idea of capitalism that is supposed to end up providing the most efficient and substantial wealth for the most people. But, the ideology breaks down when the greed begins to hurt everybody, not only with the horrible working conditions, but the horrible products. For example Kristoforas died supposedly of “tuberculosis pork” in his “smoked sausage he had eaten that morning” (Sinclair 117). No one, not even the very rich, were able to obtain safe meat. So, the greed’s taking over everything had very negative consequences. This lack of providing for the well being of most people is contradictory to the basic tenets of capitalism, and therefore is used as a critique of the ideology of capitalism.

Ch 7 in The Mole People

Ch7 mainly deals with Sergeant Henry who has to capture homeless people in the tunnel. The story narrates his past memory, as if it is happening now, quoting hi swearing much of the time, how he starts the job and how he accepts it. Though the author and sergeant Henry know much of the condition of the people in the tunnel now, the narrator (Toth) portrays a time when Henry doesn’t know fully about the “ploy” (Toth 60).

In the middle of the Ch7, the narrator inserts a dialogue between J.C and Sergeant Henry. Interestingly, it was hard to figure out that J.C and Sergeant Henry are saying at the same place with facing each other. The reason is the narrator manipulates the dialogue without giving clear sense about the distance and also the narrator never mentioned until the author changes from telling story to showing their conversation. As I read further I could figure out they might interview in the same place because the author hinted us providing much of common knowledge between two characters.

Suggesting how should we accept the law in this harsh condition, the author intentionally manipulate the time and the distance between two characters in the dialogue.

Rollercoaster of Chapters

As we were questioned in class, how are the chapters in The Mole People arranged and why were they arranged in such a manner. As I looked at the chapters and reviewed what was shared in class about the certain chapters that we were assigned, I was able to see a pattern in the chapters. When I am looking at the chapters from chapter 1 to 24, I see that pattern of a roller coaster. How I have come to this conclusion is that looking throughout the chapters and how classmates summarized their chapters we see a pattern of good and bad and hope and hopelessness. It starts with chapter 2, Seville’s Story, as it was explained in class, this chapter can be seen as a bad chapter because it is about a kid that runs away but no one tries to help the family get their soon back. As we go further into the novel, I would consider chapter 7, about Henry as a hopeful chapter because he sheds some light in what he has done and is doing for the tunnels. In chapter 9 and 10, I would consider these hope chapters because the children still have connections with the life above ground and they do not consider themselves “houseless”. Chapter 11 is a good chapter because Bernard’s Tunnel is educated and has great pasts before there came to the tunnels. Chapter 14 and 15 are hopeful chapter because the many characters had a lot of street smarts and they knew they would survive and having outreach programs that help people in the tunnels. In chapter 20 and 21, I consider these chapters good because we see that they are about community and that the people within the tunnel have a system and it works well for them. In chapter 22, the women seem hopeless, as Josh explained because they are unhappy and “done” with life. In chapter 24 I conclude my analysis of chapters with this chapter being a bad chapter. In this chapter, Jennifer Toth, fears for her life and leaves the tunnels forever.

As we can see, the chapters go from bad to good then bad again. We always see that some chapters are hopeful and others have hopelessness. I see this roller coaster of chapters as a way to explain the tunnels in a mixed way because we see good and bad intermixed within the novel. I think the Toth does this well and that the novel is presented well. I like that The Mole People ends on a bad chapter because it keeps us reminded that, no matter how much you try to understand a sub-culture, sometimes it never works. It also reminds us that not every situation is great and sometimes when you try, you end up having a roller coaster experience.

Audience-Construction in Mole People

When I consider the audience-construction which is based on my theory in Mole People, it would be difficult to see how we are lead into the same field of the genre by reading this story in terms of discussion and argument, even though the audience-construction exists absolutely. Because the contents about people who live in the tunnel underground are really unfamiliar for us, it is difficult to bring up any specific mental images in our mind. The field of the genre is broad. Although we might be able to consider ambiguous themes, it would have a difference to the time when we read, for example, the novel Our Nig. At the time, it was really clear what kinds of the genre we should be lead into because the story has a logical development that starts from poverty, through discrimination and violence, to Frado's death. However, in Mole People, the story has not a fluid development but an intermittent development because each chapter has many characters and they seem to introduce their situation and explain what things happen in the tunnel on people.

That is, the process by which we are lead gradually into the field to the genre is hard to be found in this story. Furthermore, because the characters sometimes refer to any specific impression, our position may be not as an audience who discusses but as an observer who receives the facts about mole people.

However, as I wrote above, even though the story is unfamiliar for us, we are created as audience because we can compare some ideas between the fact of mole people and our life in above ground, their past state in above ground, and their current state in the tunnel. Although each chapter seems to be an intermittent development, the developments have any specific message that we can receive it immediately much stronger than the mental images. Therefore, we would be also constructed as audience by not the author but the characters who are mole people.

Jamall's Story

I believe Jamall's Story, or chapter 23, is very significant to the book. While the whole story seems as if there is no hope, and it seems as if he has given up, there is more to it. The underlying purpose of this chapter is to show how the tunnels can be a place of healing. Jamall even says so at the end of the chapter. He emphasizes this when he talks about the different places and communities within the tunnels, and how there is no need to evict the people in the tunnels, because they are using abandoned places as places to heal. There is something for anyone who wants to or is forced to go down into the tunnels. Furthermore his relationship with Cher helps this idea that the tunnels can help heal. The fact that he would stop drinking for Cher's sake is a huge indicator of this idea. He finally found something he cared for enough to begin to heal. When she dies however, Jamall gives up because he has lost his healing aide. He leaves the tunnels because he has lost the one aspect of the tunnels that can help him. However Cher still provided him with a way out with her story of the light taking her away. He continues to look for the beam of light to take him away, back to Cher. In Cher he found a way to heal, but when it is taken away, he tries to find this healing agent that he once found in the tunnels. Just as he found his Cher, anyone who enters the tunnels can find something to help them heal.

Levels, Distance, and Light

The use of light is seen as a metaphor in both “Maggie” and “Mole People” as a symbol of hope (brightness) and degradation (darkness). One of the first things I noticed when reading “Mole People” was that the lower the levels underground got, the darker and more hopeless and lost the people were. This descent reminded me of how in “Maggie” Maggie walks away from the light of the city and further into the darker outskirts to her eventual death. Both texts show the decline of self with the heaviness of darkness.

“She passed more glittering avenues and went into darker blocks…” (52) Light continually slips away as readers begin to realize that this girl is Maggie after all and this is what she has become. Crane shows Maggie’s journey into the darkness, walking swiftly and looking into the faces of possible customers. “She went into the blackness of the final block. The shutters of the tall buildings were closed like grim lips. The structures seemed to have eyes that looked over her, beyond her, at other things.” (53) This image can sufficiently portray that of society towards Maggie, pursed lips taught with disgust and contempt, avoiding eye contact and looking away, making her feel small, dismal, insignificant and as if she doesn’t exist. Her own mother and brother threw her out, why not the rest of society as well? “Afar off the lights of the avenues glittered as if from an impossible distance.” (53) These twinkling lights of splendid luxury are far out of reach for Maggie, and are positioned here to show that happiness and love will forever be unattainable.

These quotes from Maggie, specifically the ‘buildings of society’ imagery and far off glittering lights have a real place in “Mole People” as well. Many feel scorned by society, and that’s why they hide in the tunnels unable to accept daylight without shame; “it is not uncommon to find homeless who have gone a week or more without seeing sunlight” (192). However, unlike Maggie herself, a lot of the people interviewed by Toth would rather stay in the tunnels and eventually go deeper instead of wistfully staring at the “glittering avenues”. These homeless, in my opinion, have been adversely affected by the darkness in both good and bad ways. Good for their sense of community and belonging, but bad because in many ways they have lost parts of themselves and have chosen to accept the life below. For some its perfect, for others I wish a happier outcome. The deeper the people go however, the more prevalent this idea of ‘losing yourself’ or ‘a lost soul’ seems to become. No longer a member of sunlight and fresh air, the tunnel has turned some of these people into creatures.

Darkness, oppression, and hopelessness will be the end of many Mole People just as it was the end of Maggie. Gwen, a woman in Chapter 22, shows strength I wish was in every person introduced. She fought the darkness and is pulling her life back together, while Maggie accepted her course of action as fate, leading to her death. In both texts, light offers hope, but in both texts likewise, there is evidence that the further one moves away from it, the more lost and destitute one becomes… perhaps to the point of insanity, or death. Levels or distance, darkness is waiting.

I Bet Maggie Is...

The end of Maggie’s life is questionable because we are not sure what happened to her. Though the author doesn’t depict clearly her death, Jimmie and Mary seem to accept her death in the next chapter. In the class, my mates said it is related to the purpose of degradation and devalue; to guess her character more; to make it more realistic for giving long impact (which is mine). After coming back to dorm and sleeping quite a lot, I re-thought about the effect of the way in Ch XVII (1893 edition) and how does it affect to the goal of pragmatism.

First, the readers are naturally tempted to guess the result of her condition, once they read ChXVII and XVIII. Living prostitute and wandering the sullen part of the city, is she dead at last or worse than dead? If readers don’t catch the clear answer same as me, they might ask and then about the cause of her wandering which made us guess, let alone whether she’s dead or alive. It’s just like passing to the next question when we are faced a difficult and ambiguous question in the math exam.

Second of all, by not showing her clear result, we can substitute the environment around us to Maggie. It is kind of making Maggie just like a white sketchbook and start to paint the color on it. Because Crane sketches the structure of her life path and her background, it is we, the readers that read and make independent and creative response ourselves.

Third, we simply assume and expect Maggie’s future. If she’s dead, then where goes her body? If not, Jimmie’s lying to her mother which shows more severe malfunction of a family. Not saying makes more questions to her existence and this is continued to the most ironic chapter. Not making it close to the tragedy or melodrama or Cinderella types or Pamela styles which generally show clear result of the plots, it emphasizes the importance of family in economic tragedy season, rather than showing an individual's tragic end.

Light as a Metaphor in The Mole People

Light acts as a metaphor in The Mole People by Jennifer Toth as the more hopeful tenants of the tunnels seem to live closer to the top. The more that light is represented in their description, the more hopeful and proud they seem to be. For example, Bernard lives very close to the surface as every time he creates a fire, he lets the smoke out onto the streets. I feel that the fire he creates can also be considered a metaphorai as is he the character who has the greatest passion for creating an orderly community in the tunnel. Aside from the fire, when Bernard is introduced, it is with a flashlight in a tunnel of darkness. To me, this was a very obvious metaphorai that Bernard creates a "light at the end of the tunnel" for those who live in his community. He creates order and looks over the people living there. Though not all of the character's in Bernard's Tunnel are as proud or hopeful as he is, he tries to show them that they should be thankful for running water and good food. In this sense, Bernard acts as a sense of hope, or a shining light, amongst his community.

However, the light fades as you go deeper down into the layers of the tunnel. Flip, for example, lives where he can mind his own business as he "doesn't care for himself." When he is introduced, it is with a metaphor to darkness. The area in which he lives is a dark abyss, and he feels no need to make anything of himself down there. Therefore, the darkness is a metaphorai for his hopelessness and numbness.

Why are Chapter 15 and 16 needed in The Mole People?

In chapter 15 of The Mole People by Jennifer Toth, we learned that there are outreach programs to help the homeless in the tunnels. The outreach programs are ADAPT which stands for, Association for Drug Abuse Prevention and Treatment and HELP which stands for Homeless Emergency Liaison Project. ADAPT is a nonprofit organization that is funded by the New York Health Department to provide the outreach programs for the homeless. HELP is a service to aid the mentally ill homeless people in the tunnels (Toth 151). HELP is the only organization that “can forcibly eject the homeless from the tunnels on grounds of mental illness and commit them to hospitals” (Toth 152). Chapter 15 is important to include in The Mole People because ADAPT and HELP aid to keep people safe down in the tunnels as much as they possibly can. By having these programs, this allows the homeless to get out, of course only if that was a wish of theirs to seek help. This chapter shows hope for the homeless in the tunnels because people outside of the tunnel care about them and want them to be safe.


In chapter 16, we are introduced to Dark Angel; he is five foot seven with a slim body type, white with brown slicked-back hair and bloodshot eyes. As Henry explains, “’He is a dangerous individual,’ he says. ‘Very dangerous’” (Toth 167). The name, Dark Angel, could be referring to not only that he is evil but also a symbol of how deep he is within the tunnels. Chapter 16 is important to include because the Dark Angel is the ruler of the underground tunnels. Everyone fears him and they do whatever he wants for him. He has set a standard for himself, which is to be feared and avoided. Dark Angel created the most unsafe aspect for Jennifer. She had gotten use to the mole people but the Dark Angel made her fear the tunnels. She resulted to talking to others about him, the Dark Angel, to get information about him. Another reason why this chapter is a vital aspect to The Mole People is to explain that regardless how comfortable you get in the tunnels, there is always going to be something dangerous and Dark Angel allows us to witness this.

Thinning The Tightrope

The ordering of chapters that Jennifer Toth uses in "The Mole People" gives insight, perhaps, into her own ideas on the culture she has studied. The chapter that Toth places last is entitled "Blade's Piece". This story seems to me to build up the crux of the book's purpose. Blade says that the people of the tunnels are "just like people topside" only with "a different part in them" brought out (Toth 238). Blade notes that this part that is visible in the tunnel people is present in everyone, although the "topside people" do not agree. Toth calls Blade an "dangerously unstable person" but in the same breath says that she does not "believe him dangerous" (Toth 238). This sentence seems to contradict itself, but upon exploration, perhaps, can offer a new light with which to view each of the other stories, as well as those who are not the focus of the book, "the topside people in fancy suits" who include Toth, herself.

Blade's chapter is prefaced with a quote by William Saroyan, which implores its reader, "Remember that every man is a variation of yourself. No man's guilt is not yours, nor is any man's innocence a thing apart" (Toth 237). Toth's inclusion of this quote gives insight into her view of the people of the tunnels as well as those people who live in the comfort above them. In using this quote to possibly indicate the relationship between both sorts of people, Toth's ethnography becomes not only an exploration of tunnel culture but also of the entire culture of New York City.

Toth gives her audience two important ideas. First she uses Saroyan's quote, to note the community that every person functions in and the similarities that exist between us all, merely because we live and act, with "ungodliness or evil" but also in "kindly and gentle" ways (Toth 237). Toth furthers this idea by bringing attention to Blade; a character that she "never really understood". Blade, however confusing, seems to infatuate her. He, himself seems to have an odd relationship with her, because she reminds him of a classmate who stood up for him when he was young. This does not stop Blade from later threatening Toth, eventually causing her to leave the city, and although not explicitly said, seemingly to end her tunnel work. Toth seems to want to indicate the duality of humanity, the sides of a person that may be turned on and off, so easily. Blade tells Toth that she will "never understand [the tunnel people] because [she is] not one of them" (Toth 242). And indeed, Toth does not understand the people she studies. She constantly under or over estimates those she encounters, including Blade. However, in Blade's chapter Toth has her realization. After arousing Blade's wrath, Toth is faced with the question of whether she could kill Blade or not. Upon pondering this, she learns that she could, indeed kill him (Toth 246). Interestingly, Blade himself tells her earlier in the chapter that the main difference between the two of them is the ability to kill. Blade helps Toth explore the tunnels but also helps her explore the part of herself that is inside him, "inside everyone" (Toth 238). In the end it seems that Toth's realization comes from herself, and not those she studies. She sees that in herself there is the ability to kill someone she "still [can] remember only with a smile". In this instance Toth lets her reader see that she has straddled the "tightrope" between under and above ground. She knows the thin line between surface and tunnel too well at this point and can only just escape it. Sadly to do this, she must sever her ties with the tunnels and hope that others will as well.

The Difference between the Adults and Children in The Mole People

I would like to add more explanation to today's role playing statement. In "Children," chapter 9 of the book The Mole People, Toth describes how difficult it is for children to live and survive in the tunnel from the point of view of many adults and of a girl who is called Julie. For instance, there is a description about Teresa, a young mother domestically abused by her husband, who says that "She wants to get out of the tunnels before Dara is old enough to remember them.'I don't want her to remember this. . . . I want her to know I always loved her and took care of my children'" (p.86). This would mean that, generally speaking, many people consider that living in tunnel and being mole people is a kind of blot for them, even mole people themselves. Therefore, they must believe that they should not bring up any children in the tunnel, not only because of the filthy public hygiene but also because of the societal label about mole people. They already know so well how far is the distance between themselves and "above ground" in terms of social class. Most of them would have already experienced any disfavor because of that distance.

However, as I also said today, a girl who is named Julie has an ambition that "Everything I wish for I'm going to have because I've been such a good girl. And I'll grow up beautiful" (p.83). In spite of the fact that she also came to the tunnel from above ground, she can keep her motivation because she adapts to the environment of the tunnel. Because she does not have enough knowledge about mole people, she can adopt the circumstance and keep the motivation regardless of minding any prejudice from people even though she also knows that the environment of the tunnel is really bad.

Then, there is a difference between the fixed idea of the adults and the ignorance of Julie. it is really true that children who do not know about the above ground life can adopt much better in the tunnels than the adults. Most of them must throw away their hope for future. However, in spite of Julie's ignorance about the tunnel, she would be much happier than the adults. This situation is like a contradiction. The contradiction happens between ignorance and prejudice against mole people. Therefore, I believe that the root of all evil against mole people is based on the fixed image and prejudice that people cannot overturn in terms of the fact that mole people are forced to an uncomfortable life beyond the environment.

Love & Downfall

The idea was put forth today in class that women are, perhaps, seen as more pure than men in Charles Loring Brace's "The Dangerous Classes of New York" in relation to "Maggie: Girl of the Streets" by Stephen Crane. This is why, some speculated that Maggie's downfall is so awful. During the discussion, the phrase 'the bigger they are, the harder they fall' came to my mind. Maggie features, at first as a very standout presence in the midst of the dark and downtrodden inhabitants of the Bowery, referred to as a "most rare and wonderful production of a tenement district" (Crane Ch 5).

Prior to meeting Pete, Maggie lives in her imagination, "lands where... the little hills sing together in the morning" (Crane Ch 5). Maggie's purity is almost entirely absolute, especially when compared to that of her mother and brother. Her downfall is her desire for love, which she does not receive from the family members that she has. This ties into another idea discussed in our class, the necessity of the family unit. The desire for the love that she is not receiving is the chink in the armor of innocence that Maggie wears. This desire seems to directly correlate to the ease with which Pete is able to win her over. Her mother's rejection sends her into the arm's of Pete. Clearly if Maggie's home environment were a bit different, Maggie's sexual liaison with Pete would not have taken place (at least at this point in the novel).

However sad it is to see Maggie lose her purity, Crane's audience is only exposed to the horror of her accelerated slide down the moral scale. While her actions with Pete are unfortunate, an audience might at first believe that she at least will be able to fare as well as her mother. Sadly, the reactions of her family members are to reject and denounce. Maggie is pushed further down by this, displaying the link between loss of support (of family, friends, etc.) and the lowering of social status.

How light is portrayed in Maggie: A Girl of the Streets

Chapter seventeen of Maggie: A Girl of the Streets by Stephen Crane, has a great example of metaphorai; light. In the beginning of the chapter a girl, assuming to be Maggie, is explained to be painted (Crane 52). As the chapter develops, we are presented with the element of light, “She passed more glittering avenues and went into darker blocks than those where the crowd travelled” (Crane 52). The next stage of darkness is when, “the girl went into gloomy districts near the river, where the tall black factories shut in the street and only occasional broad beams of light fell across the pavements from saloons” (Crane 53). “Further on in the darkness she met a ragged being…she went into the blackness of the final block,” this is the progression of the light in the chapter (Crane 53). As the chapter comes to a close, the girl sees from “afar off the lights of the avenues glittered as if from an impossible distance” (Crane 53). At the end of the chapter it is explained that, “at their feet the river appeared a deathly black hue” (Crane 53).

Metaphorai is evident in this chapter through the object of light. Light serves as a journey through Maggie’s last day on Earth. In the beginning of the chapter the light is bright as it is explained to be “painted,” in other words, bright. When we first see that she is going into darkness, it is illustrated that Maggie or “the girl” goes from “glittering avenues into darker blocks” (Crane 52). The next evidence comes with more information. Not only is the girl going towards the darkness, she is also going towards the river. Also knowing about the river we are also informed that the black factories sometimes let off “beams of light,” symbolizing that her life is getting darker but she also has some good in her. That this “new self” isn’t completely who she wants to be, but she thinks it’s too late to change the innate nature she has taken on. As the girl gets more and more into the darkness she meets a “huge fat man in torn and greasy garments,” which could symbolize the degrading factor of where her life has led her (Crane 53). The audience is told that the girl sees lights from afar but that they seem to have “an impossible distance,” this distance could be explained that she remembers “the light” in her past life but that she is too far off the beaten path to regain that life (Crane 53). She sees the once she reaches the river of a “deathly black hue” that she has reached the end of her journey (Crane 53). Light can be used as the metaphorai in the novel, Maggie and the light can help us understand the journey that Maggie, the girl, went through during her last day before her tragic and sudden death.

Breaking Assumptions in Realism

Frankly, I’m still confused about the concept that I wrote on last week, between ‘witness to self-identify’ and ‘self-identify to witness’, even though I wrote the post about the film, Children of Invention. Hence, I put more time into thinking about the sequence of recognition and I think I found what’s different in terms of literal effect to the readers and audience.

First of all, I think ‘witness to self-identify’ in the film has a role of showing the deep-deep stories. Probably, I venture to guess, most audiences definitely know how an individual’s life would be ruined by pyramid schemes. However most audiences who do not have friends or family members ruined by the pyramid schemes or by the fake company promising quick economic rewards, may not know specifics about their daily life and the process of selling their house and meeting mothers asking for rescue. The film provides the frames the audience has probably heard before but may not have any knowledge about. To make the audience understand and align to the protagonist, it unravels the plots full of specific and objective details.

This viewpoint is also found in Maggie. The novel deals with the consequent events, though the gaps between two incidents seem inconsistent. Why tragedy happens and what kinds of stories are hidden at the NY slum in 1890s. From showing a child who delivers beers to a saloon to depicting a girl in the end to be a prostitute, the novel gives an opportunity to break our assumption which is constructed by media or the common sense.

Unlike Children of Invention, the novel seems to pay attention to the viewpoint of ‘witness to self-identify’, rather than using both of them. Say to experience the personal events, this really happened around the people in the slum (and in the pyramid scheme), and then to evaluate our personal identity compared to the people in the novel, and judge our society from that experience.

Maggie & Frado / Crane & Wilson: Similarity & Contrast

"Maggie: A Girl of the Streets" by Stephen Crane and "Our Nig" by Harriet Wilson contrast one another in several interesting ways. The two novels have different functions in our curriculum and feature great difference between author and context. However, the two novels also show much by way of similarity in storyline.

"Our Nig" is placed in the Uplift section of this course curriculum while Crane's novel is featured in the Critique portion. These sections "represent different purposes and contexts for documentary literature" and thus should factor into the reader's view. These two words may shed some light on author purpose for writing. Uplift can be looked at as elevation of something, be it spiritual, or social, or intellectual. Giving "Our Nig" this type of heading or context poses its audience (or this class) to view the work in, perhaps, a positive or more revolutionary light. We see the writing as something that edifies and supports.

"Maggie: A Girl of the Streets" is part of the Critique section of this course. Crane's writing seems to be quite critical of the social situation that he uses as the setting for the novel. However, the inclusion of this novel in this section intrigues me because the things that take place in Wilson's and Crane's work seem to showcase similar things. Both feature female protagonists in negative environments that seem to eventually be cause for their demise. Although the ending of Wilson's novel is slightly more positive than that of Crane's, they both feature the downtrodden and highlight the horrible actions of those people who should be concerned for them.

Each protagonist seems to begin with a fair amount of strength, both Maggie and Frado show character that helps to keep them apart or emotionally above their negative settings. Both girls are submitted to much degradation and neither really overcomes it. However similar the women of the stories are, the authors of each are quite different. Perhaps Crane and Wilson provide the context that differentiates their writing. The more socially mobile Crane is able to write a novel to critique circumstance while Wilson's novel is a symbol of progress for a people, as it was the first novel written by an African American in the new Americas.

The Importance of Outcome

As we discussed in class on Tuesday, what is most important about "Maggie, A Girl of the Streets" is the outcome of the story. Maggie makes a valiant effort to escape poverty and support her family, but the outcome is not as positive. She ultimately fails in doing so as she succumbs to prostitution and ends up killing herself. Though, at first, Maggie takes the position of strength in her family, we see later on that they feel she is "gone teh deh devil."

Though her fate is obviously a sad one, I couldn't help but think back to other feminist novels we have read, seeing as her weaknesses are only slowly unveiled to the audience. The audience may have hope for her because she takes a "blue collar" position and becomes involved with Pete, who might support her financially. However, we find in the end that Maggie does not succeed in finding happiness or money.

In "Revolt of "Mother"" by Mary E. Wilkens Freeman, the reader gets a sense of strength and wisdom from the mother figure because she succeeds in proving to her husband that she knows what's best for her family. Therefore, the outcome is positive and our feelings of admiration for the woman's character is strengthened.

This makes me wonder... Can we still consider "Maggie" a strong, female character and therefore overlook her outcome? Throughout the novel, I felt constructed to respond this way towards Maggie and personally still might consider this a feminist novel because of her efforts.

Distance as a Reflection of Determinism

Maggie: A Girl of the Streets by Stephen Crane uses increasing distance between the narrator and the characters to emphasize the increasing determinism in the characters’ lives.

Booth says “the narrator...may be more or less distant from the characters in the story he tells” (Booth 156). In the beginning of Maggie, the narrator is very close to the characters. The narrator even describes their feelings like an omniscient narrator. “[The boy] felt that it was degradation for one who aimed to be some vague soldier, or a man of blood with a sort of sublime license, to be taken home by a father” (Crane 6). This is describing when Jimmie is dragged home by his father. When Pete comes to visit Maggie, “her heart is warmed as she reflect[s] upon his condescension” (Crane 23). The narrator gives an up-close view of the characters to the reader. This changes though in later chapters.

“A girl of the painted cohorts of the city went along the street. She threw changing glances at men who passed her” (Crane 52). The reader is left to assume that this mysterious girl is Maggie as a prostitute. Then later in her walking the streets, after meeting a customer, “the varied sounds of life, made joyous by distance and seeming unapproachableness, came faintly and died away to a silence.” This is the readers only clue that Maggie either was murdered or committed suicide. This distant and unclear reference to Maggie causes her character to fade into the background of her surroundings and for the reader to focus on them. Maggie becomes merely a part of her environment, that Crane so poignantly says is “joyous by distance”, instead of the individual that she originally was.

This use of changing distance between the characters and the narrator is parallel to the chronological order of the story. Also, the distancing reflects the slow losing of control over the characters’ lives and their succumbing to the deterministic factors at work.

Anti-Sentimentalism vs. Children of Invention

As Melissa presented today, anti-sentimentalism is when the literature is portrayed by stressing reason over emotion and sentimentalism is when the literature is portrayed by emotion not reason. By knowing the definitions of both anti-sentimentalism and sentimentalism we are able to determine that Children of Invention directed by Tze Chun is in fact a sentimentalist film. Some examples and justifications of this are that we were attached to Tina and Raymond throughout most of the film. When Tina thinks about the old house or when she realizes that she no longer going to live there, she becomes sad and the audience feels sympathy with her. When Elaine gets frustrated with the kids and ends up slapping Tina, we see Tina’s reaction and feel as if we are standing nearby witnessing the entire event. Although Raymond stays neutral most of the film, we still see that he has feelings about what is going on with the family and his mother’s struggles. When Tina and Raymond go through the events of looking for the bank and finding food they can afford, we see that Raymond takes the role of being the bigger brother and the burdens of the role, through his emotions. Although most of Raymond’s emotion is frustration we, as the audience, still feel pity for Raymond and Tina.

Elaine’s feelings and emotions center around her having to provide for children when there is no money. She goes at all lengths to achieve success. As we see Elaine going into the trap of the pyramid scheme, we see that the end does not look promising for Elaine. She does not see the signs of failure because she is naïve.

A Style Doesn't Fall Far From the Tree

As Gullason points out in his suggestion, Stephan Crane shows his philosophy to the literature in his novel, dramatized realism, which was strongly influenced by his father and Riis. His goal, I think, for the novel is, namely, changing the world. He had to enjoy listening to what his father said for the cruel truth of the world, and he perceived the difference between fantasy romantic novels and the real happenings in the slums.

As he grew up and extended his interests to the dark side of society, he must consider how he can devote to “encourage [citizens] to take an active role” for sharing the economic equality and reducing living tragedies. Probably, he wanted to deliver a shocking account to the readers of what he saw and heard which is definitely a real part of our world. And his conclusion might be not to exaggerate or adore too much what he saw, but to deliver the image as raw as when he heard first from Riis, his father’s writing, and the world itself. Because his goal was close to making readers experience realism, he seemed to try to literally show us with presenting objective discussion.

If we see a part in Maggie, which assumes that Crane referred to what Riis complained about in the world, it would be a boy delivering beer. "He saw two hands let down the filled pail, and he left" (Crane). In this part, the author tries to have the readers put on a mask, and help us to feel what it's like to be a boy wandering to sell beer for making a living on slums. He shows the boy's viewpoints and makes it more real to the readers: "Straining up on his toes he raised the pail and pennies as big as his arms would let him" (Crane).

Naturalism and Free Will in Maggie: A Girl of the Streets

In Maggie: A Girl of the Streets, Stephen Crane includes the idea of Naturalism into the story and the figure of the characters. I believe it must be seen in some specific remarkable chapters, especially from chapter I to IV because these scenes indicate how Maggie and Jimmie are constructed in their figures as children of poverty and violence. In these scenes, it is really clear that they are living a hard life against their will. They are involved in a villainous circumstance, including not only the slum alley but also the domestic violence by their parents. In order to live through the worst circumstance, they have no choice but to decide their own way and the way of life without obeying the circumstance. That is, they just adopt the situation to survive. I cannot see the idea of Free Will in their behavior because they have to not consider but obey the circumstance.

However, I believe that Maggie uses her free will into the only scene which she decides to commit suicide. Of course, it might be said that she has to die even though she wants to survive because of her circumstance, especially her mother's violence. That is, if the circumstance around her had been totally different from her birth to death, her tragic ending might be changed. However, even though it is true that she died against her original will, the decision to commit suicide is decided by Maggie's will absolutely. In other words, she would decide herself in order to be liberated from the worst circumstance. In spite of the fact that she has been cornered into death by the circumstance, her death overturns that the circumstance let her obey the power forcibly. Therefore, I believe there are two ideas, namely Naturalism and Free Will, in this story.

Nature and Nurture

Maggie: A Girl of the Streets by Stephen Crane tells the story of a family living in the slums of New York City. He clearly depicts the events of their daily lives and presents the challenges they face because of their living situation. In his autobiography, Jacob Riis discusses his ideas regarding the conflict of nature and nurture. 

Riis states that, "moral citizens, regardless of their economic status, should be given a chance to improve their lives" (Documenting the Other Half). In Crane's realistic story, Maggie and her family are products of the environment in which they live; their home was referred to as "a mud puddle" (Crane 16). Because of the destructive environment, the characters are doomed to live hectic lives strained by poverty. This disagrees with Riis statement. Through the story of Maggie, Crane argues that the development of character is dependent on both nature and nurture. Maggie and her siblings get trapped in a circle of depression; they live in a particular environment because their parents were not nurtured and do not know any other way. In return, the parents are only capable of providing unstable living situations for their children, without the knowledge of how to properly treat members of their family. 

Capturing an Audience through Religious Appeal

“Maggie, A Girl of the Streets” by Stephen Crane was about the life and times of the impoverished in the slums of New York City, 1893. Written around or before this time, Crane’s audience was obviously the literate, implying the middle to upper classes. During this time period, his novel was considered shocking and was severely censored and edited and was only printed by a private company. If this is the case, how would Crane have had to fashion his audience immediately in the first chapter of the book to keep their interest and support? The answer, I feel, has to do with his appeal to religious cues and morals.

The first image we see is the show down between the children of Rum Alley and Devil’s Row, names chosen for symbolic importance. Jimmie represents the children from Rum Alley, a perfect title for his own home full of raging alcoholics. The children from Devil’s Row also are presented with a likeness to their street; “Howls of renewed wrath went up from Devil’s Row throats” (3). In this single sentence the reader already envisions these children as demons. Jimmie is then described as having the “look of a tiny, insane demon”(3), and the reader now perceives that this intersection is more then a pinpoint of behavior, but is prevalent beyond and throughout the novel. Other references to the children like “assassins” and “barbaric” further reflect the nightmarish reality of the slum world, creating a living hell. For the assumingly religiously inclined and educated readers of the 1890’s, this corner where the two alleys intersect shows a parallel to certain audacity concerning the Devil and blasphemous over consumption of alcohol. This vision of raging vicious demonic children fighting is powerful enough to cause awareness within the reader of the unfolding setting and story.

Religious cues are used again throughout the novel, but this instantly came to my attention when reading Chapter 1, especially since they were primarily on the first page. This scene immediately stirs up moral values and captures the audience’s attention when given these cues more then just saying ‘some savage kids were fighting in a dirty street’. Could this have been Crane’s purpose in engaging his audience?

Pragmatism vs. Determinism

Although pragmatism and determinism may seem like opposing forces, they are in fact part of one another. Determinism is the idea that outside factors determine the fate of characters. Pragmatism is the idea that actions predict effects, and therefore the characters can control their actions and therefore their fate. But, like in “Children of Invention,” these can work together to promote change.

The mother and her children in “Children of Invention” were in many ways victims of their situation. The woman was a single mother with very little money, and she needed money to support her children. She could have waited the several months that it would have taken for her to get her realtor’s license, but she needed the money quickly. This led her to search for other options, such as the dangerous pyramid schemes that she ran into. But, this led to the unpleasant consequence of going to jail. So, the mother learned at the end of the movie that it was a better idea to wait and look for a slower way to make money. This shows that although characters are limited greatly by their situation, there are multiple ways to act with varying levels of success.

This idea of multiple options for action is also reflected in Maggie. The different ways to react to a situation are shown in Maggie and her brother Jimmie. Maggie is dreamy and naive. Jimmie is violent and accepting of his situation. Jimmie in the end fairs better. This shows again that situations are largely deterministic, as is shown by the lack of truly desirable fates in Maggie. But, there are options.

These two examples show that pragmatism, although it doesn’t overcome determinism, can help to decide on a better individual option in the situation. Pragmatism doesn’t help us to moralize, but it does help us to learn.