Abstract This paper analyzes Stephen Crane's Maggie: A Girl of the Streets. The author examines how the book is a reflection of the writer's childhood and childhood experiences.
From the Paper "Many of Stephen Crane's life experiences are also expressed in his writings, but not in the way casual readers would expect. Many people believe that "The Red Badge of Courage" is the result of Crane's personal acquaintance with the Civil War and "Maggie: A Girl of the Streets" was written following a time spent living in the slums of New York. This is not true in either case. Stephen Crane was born after the Civil War and according to Benfey, "Maggie: A Girl of the Streets" was started prior to Crane moving to New York (63). Although, the deterministic theme in "Maggie: A Girl of the Streets" is not a result of Stephen Crane's personal experience in the slums, it is a reflection of a dark period in his childhood, his unpleasant experiences with Christianity, and parental deprivation."
Abstract This paper uses Elizabeth Ammons' "Expanding the Canon of American Realism" to examine why Stephen Crane's "Maggie" and Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle" should both be included in the education curricula. The paper suggests that the inclusion of these two works will help teach a multicultural point of view.
From the Paper "In "Expanding the Canon of American Realism", Elizabeth Ammons argues that the canon of American realism needs to reflect its social context of multiculturalism. The canon of realism is defined by teachers who choose what texts they want to teach about, therefore the canon has been composed of works that are considered highly teachable. In that respect, it is subjective and can just as easily be changed according to one teacher's idea of teachability as another's. Elizabeth Ammons takes the..."
Tags: Elizabeth Ammons, Upton Sinclair, The Jungle, Stephen Crane, Maggie, realism, multicultural, Expanding the Canon of American Realism
Abstract This paper describes the four characters of the short story, "The Open Boat" by Stephen Crane, and shows how despite the fact that Crane provides only the most elliptical clues about the four men, the reader can understand a great deal about their characters. The paper examines how Crane provides us with clues about how the proximity of danger peels away carefully constructed outer layers of our personalities. This paper also analyzes the ways in which Crane creates a portrait of the sea as a marvelous complex, protean entity, perhaps in this one case the taker of human life, but far more importantly the source of all life.
From the Paper "Against this magnificence of the natural world, the men seem diminished. We come to understand that the captain is in general a brave man and not unintelligent ? he does help bring about their salvation with his suggestion that they use his coat as a sail. But we also understand that he views the sea as an enemy, as a foe to be met and either defeated or be vanquished by. His inability to see the connections among all natural things ? himself included ? diminishes him. The oiler, whom we come to understand is a man who always follows orders, is a reflection of the captain. He is a man who is good at following orders, and skillful at his craft, but not good at thinking for himself ? which would have made him an invaluable crewmember but means that he has relatively little to contribute once they are stranded."
This paper not only tells about the Stephen Crane short story "The Open Boat," but it also tells of Crane's early life, his writing career, his unique style of writing and the underlying themes that he uses in "The Open Boat."
Abstract This paper tells how Crane's family, travels, his real life experiences and the time era in which he grew up and wrote (the era of Social Darwinism and Devout Humanists) encouraged him to be the type of writer that he was. This paper also shows Crane's writing styles of "impressionistic color" and "detailed symbolism" and gives examples from the story. It shows too how Crane used the underlying themes of "picturesque imagery" and "incisive irony" in "The Open Boat."
From the Paper "Stephen Crane was one of America's foremost naturalistic writers. Crane exercised keen observations, as well as personal experience to achieve a narrative vividness and sense of contiguity realized by few American writers before him (Votleler 97). Stephen Crane was born in Newark, New Jersey in 1871. He was the youngest of fourteen children born to a father, a Methodist Minister, and a socially reform minded mother. Crane's family settled in America during the mid-seventeenth century. Although his parents were religious people, Stephen systematically rejected religious and social traditions. He is described as a temperamentally gentle man, however, was obsessed with war and other forms of physical and psychic violence (Baym 741)."
Abstract This paper summarizes and analyzes Stephen Crane's short story, "The Blue Hotel", and explains how Crane used his own personal life experiences to create the character of the Swede in the story. The paper describes the parallels that can be drawn between the Swede's life experiences and Crane's own life experiences.
From the Paper "The Swede is the first mentioned of three male characters that are venturing to the West. They come from the East and the Swede is by far the "wisest" of them all because he has taken the time to read the dime novels that describe in depth the dangers that exist in the wild, Wild West. The novels were highly exaggerated by propagandist type writers to help "sell" the west to adventurous types who could be lured to establish settlements and populate the area."
Tags: religious, christian, wild, west, propaganda, territory, selling, misconceptions, hotel
Abstract This paper is a book review of "Maggie, Girl of the Streets" by Stephen Crane. The novel is set in the late 1800's in New York. In his examination of the cultural context of the book, Crane reveals a world where poverty and violence are part of the culture that young people grow up in. The paper looks at the aspects of the human psyche that come from living with these conditions. The writer agues that Crane wants his readers to empathize with the characters and feel the injustice over the treatment that immigrants faced. The main theme of the plot is a tale of love between Maggie and her brothers? friend Pete. The writer concludes by stating that the book highlights the cultural reality of crime and desperation at that time.
From the Paper "The books reveals not only the life and times of Maggie, but that of her family, consisting of five people, and the living conditions and lifestyle they experienced growing up in a tenant house. The novel goes on to tell the tale of Mr. And Mrs. Johnson, who abused the children and fight often, leading to damaging traits in Mary (Mrs. Johnson). The plots centers on the falling in love between Maggie and her brother Jimmie's friend Pete. Unfortunately the tale ends poorly, with things falling out between the couple, and Maggie prostituting herself to survive until she ends up paying the ultimate price of her miserable life by killing herself."
Abstract This paper looks at the work of Stephen Crane, a writer from the latter half of the 19th century. In particular, it discusses how many of his short stories involved an ironic twist or unexpected positioning of two events. It compares two of these stories, "The Open Boat? and "The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky", in order to evaluate Crane's mastery in the use of irony. It examines how, in ?The Open Boat,? the irony is evident throughout the story, while in ?The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky,? it is in the last 100 words; instead of the new bride witnessing the horrible death of her new groom, her presence brings a completely unexpected peace between the two men. It shows how, in one case, the irony is of cosmic proportions, and in the other, gentle and humorous, demonstrating Crane's great range of skill in the use of literary devices.
From the Paper "Crane created situations of extreme experiences, confronted by ordinary people. His characters were not larger-than-life, but they touched the mysterious edges of their capacities for perception, action, and understanding. They also drew on personal experiences of his. While he was born after the Civil War, he reported on wars and was aware of the true horror of such events. He also worked other personal experiences into his stories. "The Open Boat" is based on a real event in Crane's life. Traveling from Cuba to Florida, the steamship he was on sank, and he, along with two crewmen and the captain, battled the ocean for several days before three of them finally made it ashore alive. In fact the incident wrecked his health and contributed to his early death (online-literature.com/crane/)."
Abstract This paper explains that the reader of Stephen Crane's "The Red Badge of Courage", initially notes the theme of courage in the opening scene, when the reader sees Henry regarding the warriors he learned about in school as personifications of courage. The author points out that, throughout the novel, the ability of Crane to describe courage in real, raw terms is particularly striking, especially in the way it evokes the understanding and sympathy of the reader. The paper stresses that, in addition to the strength of Crane's language in evoking the feeling of courage, the author's ability to describe the conditions of war with striking realism only serves to underscore the depth of courage it requires from its combatants.
From the Paper "In addition to Henry's courage in the face of fear (for he most definitely is afraid after his first day of fighting), there are several other characters in the novel that exhibit courage in different ways. For example, Hasbrouck is not only the personification of bravery in his ability to ?lead his men into battle,? but also in his care of his men. In addition, Henry's friend, Jim, is almost stoic in his ability to face the reality (and high probability) of death on the battlefield. Even Henry's mother shows (perhaps the most difficult kind of courage), when she sends Henry to war in spite of her fear, and places her faith in the will of ?the Lord"."
Tags: sympather, reader, fear, personification, language
This paper reviews Verner W. Crane's "Benjamin Franklin and a Rising People", which outlines Benjamin Franklin's contributions to the formation of the United States.
975 words (approx. 3.9 pages), 0 sources, 2007, $ 34.95
Abstract This paper explains that Verner W. Crane's thesis in his book "Benjamin Franklin and a Rising People" is that, as Franklin rose to affluence with his inquisitive, questioning mind, his extensive research, writing and inventing, at the same time, his fellow citizens, the 'rising people', also began to question the conventions of the British government, which led to the American Revolution. The author points out that Crane examines Franklin's contributions by working chronologically through his life. The paper relates that, throughout the book, Crane uses excerpts from various letters, newspapers and writing pieces of Franklin's to show exactly the kind of man Franklin was. The author concludes that Franklin was definitely a one-of-a-kind person, who was crucial to the beginning stages of this country.
From the Paper "Crane explains that Franklin was a very talented writer but James did not allow him to display his abilities enough for Benjamin's liking. To counter his brother's stubbornness, Benjamin began writing letters that were published in the paper under the name Silence Dogood. This habit of using a ghost-name stuck with Franklin as he used it several other times throughout his life. Nonetheless, James eventually found out about Benjamin's ghostwriting ways and expressed his displeasure."
Abstract This paper examines Realism and Naturalism movement and how Mark Twain, Henry James and Stephen Crane captured the spirit of their times. The author discusses how writers sought to preserve a distinct way of life threatened by industrialization, immigration, the after effects of the Civil War, and the changes in society. The paper focuses on three books, The Adventure's of Huckleberry Finn, Daisy Miller, and The Open Boat.
From the Paper:
"Writing periods have certain characteristics that mark them as unique. Local Color, Realism, and Naturalism are no exception, but they also have one thing in common. Just as a facet of a jewel reflects whatever light it may receive, so too do the works of Mark Twain, Henry James, and Stephen Crane reflect a distinctive aspect of their time period."
Abstract An examination of the work of Mark Twain, Henry James and Stephen Crane and a look at how their work reflects a distinctive aspect of their time period. The author looks at how these authors aimed to preserve and to convey a picture of the distinct ways of life at the time of their writings. From the paper: "Writing periods have certain characteristics that mark them as unique. Local Color, Realism, and Naturalism are no exception, but they also have one thing in common. Just as a facet of a jewel reflects whatever light it may receive, so too do the works of Mark Twain, Henry James, and Stephen Crane reflect a distinctive aspect of their time period."
Abstract Analysis of Stephen Crane's novel as one of the most foremost literary achievements of the modern era. Its powerful images of the Civil War. Ethical aspects of war. Crane's theme that American rugged individualism was replaced with a new spirit of competition and industrialization. Realistic depiction of protagonist. Many quotations.
From the Paper "Once the line encountered the body of a dead soldier. He lay upon his back staring at the sky. He was dressed in an awkward suit of yellowish brown. The youth could see that the soles of his shoes had been worn to the thinness of writing paper, and from a great rent in one the dead foot projected piteously. And it was as if fate had betrayed the soldier. In death it exposed to his enemies that poverty which in life he had perhaps concealed from his friends.
The ranks opened covertly to avoid the corpse. The invulnerable dead man forced a way for himself. The youth looked keenly at the ashen face. The wind raised the tawny beard. It moved as if a hand were stroking it. He vaguely desired to walk around and around the..."
Abstract This paper explains that Stephen Crane wrote "Maggie: A Girl of the Streets" to tell the story of a girl of promise who succumbs to the brutal circumstances of her life in the slums of New York City's Lower East Side. The author points out that in the book the reader sees the way the vicious cycle of poverty leads individuals to go to extremes in order to survive but, in the end, the adversity is too difficult to overcome and everything falls apart. The paper relates that, in "Maggie", the reader can already observe the realism of Crane's writing, which characterizes his style in his books.
From the Paper "Maggie, the novel's central character, grows up in the middle of abuse and poverty in the Bowery neighborhood of New York City's Lower East Side. Maggie is a child living in the tenements of the Bowery. Her father and mother are both alcoholics, resulting in a very violent and abusive childhood. She and her two brothers are suffering from illness and starvation all the time. The younger of the two boys dies, but Maggie and Jimmie survive all the illness and starvation. Maggie is a beautiful romantic who hopes for a better life than what she has known in her childhood. All Maggie knows is what her mother and father have become and the horrible examples they are for her and Jimmie. As this suggests, within the framework of the social structure provided by the Bowery slum, Maggie is different."
Abstract Stephen Crane, through his impressive naturalism, is one of the greatest novelists, short story writers and poets in American history. This paper shows how nowhere are the elements of the naturalism for which he is acclaimed more evident than in his famous character, Maggie, from his novella, "Maggie: A Girl of the Streets". This paper argues that it is because of Crane's strong naturalist views, as well as biographical details of his own life, that he is able to propel his character, Maggie, from a fictional literary interpretation into the quintessential example of "a product of her environment" that remains in the collective imagination of literate humanity.
From the Paper "Another element of naturalism is that it extended the tradition of realism, and thus aimed at an even more faithful, unselective representation of reality that was presented without moral judgment. Moreover, it emphasized man's accidental and physiological nature rather than his moral or rational qualities thereby making individual characters seen as helpless products of heredity and environment. This also meant that they were motivated by strong instinctual drives from within and harassed by social and economic pressures from without. As a result, naturalistic characters had little will or responsibility for their fates, and the prognosis for their outcomes was generally pessimistic at the outset."
An examination of American realism as it is portrayed in three of Stephen Crane's short stories - "The Blue Hotel," "The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky" and "The Open Boat."
Abstract This paper examines three short stories by Stephen Crane, with an eye towards revealing how each one represents the finest in the American realist tradition. The paper analyzes "The Blue Hotel," "The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky" and "The Open Boat." Through the three texts and his characters, the paper discusses how Crane shows human heroism in a time of crisis.
From the Paper "The speech, just like the dialogue of the previous story, is undeniably salty, undeniably the speech of ordinary men with rough edges. For instance, as Johnnie grows exasperated by the agitated Swede, he finally says, "Kill you? Man you're off your nut" (Crane, 14). A little later, as a perplexed Scully tries to confer with the frantic Swede, he refers to "illictric" street cars instead of "electric" street cars while detailing what the future holds in store for Fort Romper. Later, of course, we learn that Fort Romper is in "Nebrasker" and far removed from any wild gun fights that might be troubling the Swede (Crane, 16). In the end, the Swede does die, just as he foretold all who would listen and we discover that the sullen men around him could have stopped it (Crane, 16)."
