Maggie Critical Essay

Surviving Better

If looking at this planet in aerial view from God’s perspective, does anything draw our attention? There are billions of ordinary people who fight to survive and earn an extra bottle of beer for dinner. Although living in different areas, some of the circumstances and environment of their lives are remarkably similar. Yet, people always have very different outcomes of lives and achievements. There are some flickers shining when observing this world. What makes those people special? What makes them survive better?

In the book Maggie: A Girl of the Streets, the author Stephen Crane establishes the main character, Maggie, and her literary foil, Nellie. These two characters are “cut from the same cloth” because they are both born in the “mud puddle” as the narrator describes the society. They are both adorable girls who have desires of wealth and success. They try to ingratiate themselves into the city gentry, yet they are different from each other in terms of dealing with relationships, which can reflect their standpoints on self-reliance.

When Maggie falls in love with Pete, her desires begin to be shown: “She envied elegance and soft palms. She craved those adornments of person which shw saw every day on the street, conceiving them to be allies of vast importance to women.”(Crane 36) She has desire of “elegance and soft palms” and “adornments” in order to deserve Pete. She attempts to well-dress herself to be confident in front of him and attract him. Her desires are comprehensive and applicable to many women, at least to Nellie. Nellie has similar desires, which are shown by her dress. “Her linen collar and cuffs were spotless. Tan gloves were stretched over her well-shaped hands. A hat of a prevailing fashion perched jauntily upon her dark hair.”(Crane 65) Nellie is a gold digger who plays with feelings to be superior. She dressed herself as a rich or a noble, which she never is. The linen collar, cuffs, tan gloves, a hat of a prevailing fashion all indicate her wealth or desire of wealth. They were both born in poor and in the same city that is dirty and remorseless. However, the outcomes of their lives are remarkably different.

“The girl, Maggie, blossomed in a mud puddle.” (Crane 23) She is like a lotus which grows in a mud yet never contaminates with it. She is adorable and special, yet ignorant. When she pursues her love, her self-reliance turns weaker over time. In the beginning of their relationship, Maggie is restrained, although she feels the impulse of being with Pete in the dancing hall. When Pete asks for a kiss, “Maggie laughed, as if startled, and drew away from him.” (Crane 35). However, as Maggie loves and cares about Pete deeply, her status is lowered by herself: “From her eyes had been plucked all look of self-reliance. She leaned with a dependent air toward her companion. She was timid, as if fearing his anger or displeasure.” (Crane 57). She abandons all her self-reliance, and relies fully on Pete. Her “timid” feeling of “fearing his anger or displeasure” indicates her status is limited, and she allows Pete to gain superiority over her. She is like a dog at the corner, begging for food with eyes filled with gratitude. Nearly the end of their relationship, Maggie has completely gives away herself: “The air of spaniel-like dependence had been magnified and showed its direct effect in the peculiar off-handedness and ease of Pete’s ways toward her.” (Crane 65) Maggie’s absolute dependence on Pete makes him no longer interested in her. She is now a dog who could be abandoned anytime by her owner. In contrast, Nellie, as a gold digger, perfectly manipulates who loves her. When her lover shouts at her asking her to say, “she bended over and whispered in his ear. He smiled again and settled in his chair as if resolved to wait patiently.” (Crane 69). She is able to manipulate her lover with words so he can “wait patiently”, which indicates that she gains superiority in the relationship and remains her self-reliance. Nellie is a literary foil in the book to emphasize Maggie’s weakness: self-reliance. The contrast between the two characters shows that even though they share the same starting line and goals, Nellie, with self-reliance in mind, survives better. Her appearance is the way Maggie intends to achieve yet loses herself.

Apparently, character Maggie is a girl who is innocent and ignorant. She is willing to give anything she has in order to have Pete’s love in return. However, in the end, she doesn’t even receive much attention from him. Maggie is the character of “something for nothing”.  Without her self-reliance, she gives everything yet still gains nothing. Nellie, on the same platform in the beginning, learns to be herself and trust nobody to gains superiority. Ralph Waldo Emerson once writes in his article Self-reliance that: “Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind.” Nellie or Pete might have no morality and true love in mind, but they reserve their “integrity”, or self-reliance, in order to be a survivor of the city.