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).