Essay --

Stephen Crane established the naturalist style in literature, where concepts from real life atomic number 18 reconstructed in a fictional context to exemplify the plight of those trapped in the lower dregs of society. Naturalistic writers depict their characters as individuals oppress by their environment their acts are based upon their need to survive and the social order they fall into. The ideals of naturalism rent that human beings are not free, entirely that their actions are controlled and pre-determined intimatelyly by the setting they inhabit and the natural or learned traits they possess. Keith Fudge, author of Sisterhood Born from Seduction Susanna Rowsons Charlotte Temple, and Stephen Cranes Maggie Johnson states that Maggie A young woman of the Streets has been recognized as Naturalisms first novel (Fudge 43). The scientific philosophy comprised in naturalism originated from Charles Darwins theories of evolution that claim that only the fittest will survive. Throug hout the novel, numerous degrees of survival and extinction are depicted whether it is by Jimmie, Mary, Nell, or Maggie herself. Maggie A Girl of the Streets is indeed a realistic tale of both physical and mental survival. Cranes use of setting, tone, characters, and concepts of Darwinism illustrate this unequivocally. I will begin by fleshing out the concepts of Darwinism and Social Darwinism in the context of the novel and its relation to naturalism. Clarence Darrow spoke this famous line that exemplifies Social Darwinisms philosophy, which is universally misattributed to Charles Darwin, It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but rather the one most adaptable to change. The environment is of significant importance to s... ... of moral sense just as it exist in the Galapagos Islands of Darwin. Crane inserts isolated statements which serve to fortify the Darwinian aspects of the novella. There is a zeitgeist of natural history that runs thr oughout. The matter of fact retelling of dreadful events, such as when Crane writes, The babe, Tommie, died. He went away in an insignificant coffin, his small waxen hand clutching a flower that the girl, Maggie, had stolen from an Italian, she and Jimmie lived. helps illuminate this point. The first example of Naturalist literature, this novella is original in its approach to literary supposition it is not overly explicit nor does it call for change or revolution in a Marxist fashion, it is unadorned and free of opinion. Maggie Girl a Girl of the Streets solely recounts what is observable and the rules that are known to be true in the natural world.