In the novella Maggie: A Girl of the Streets, Maggie tries to get herself out of the lowly life she lives but does not realize that her methods lead her closer to her destruction. This shows how Maggie is trapped by fate just like her brother Jimmie because of how they are raised. Maggie’s mother does not take on the parental role and instead leaves Maggie and Jimmie to fend for themselves while she gets drunk. Maggie then finds Pete who appears as her knight in shining armor and tries to find a sense of happiness with him. After Maggie’s mother kicks her out of the house she turns to Pete who does not want her either. Having no one else to help her out, she turns to prostitution. The path she takes consequently leads her to her own destruction.
Maggie is born into a world where she is constantly surrounded by violence. The first chapter in the novella notes on how Jimmie takes part in a fight between the kids in their neighborhood and the kids of another neighborhood known as Devil’s Row. This shows the violent environment in which Maggie grew up in. In the second chapter of the novella, Crane depicts how both of Maggie’s parents are
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Having no other way to survive she turns to prostitution in order to make money and make a living. In chapter seventeen Maggie offers herself to several men, each one being worse than the previous. This can be taken as a depiction of her path to her destruction. The first man she offers herself to is a “tall young man, smoking a cigarette with sublime air” representing Maggie at the beginning of the novel when she is innocent and not yet ruined (63). The last man she offers herself to is “a huge fat man in torn and greasy garments” that represents a ruined Maggie at the end of the novella (64). This is the last event in the novella in which Maggie is seen alive. In chapter 19 Jimmie declares Maggie dead. Inevitably Maggie is lead to her
After evaluating the short story “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker, I came to the conclusion that the narrator made the right choice of giving her daughter, Maggie, the family quilts. Dee (Wangero), her older sister was qualified for the quilts as well, but in my opinion Maggie is more deserving. Throughout the story, the differences between the narrator’s two daughters are shown in different ways. The older daughter, Dee (Wangero), is educated and outgoing, whereas Maggie is shy and a homebody. I agree with the narrator’s decision because of Maggie’s good intentions for the quilts and her innocent behavior. In my opinion Dee (Wangero) is partially superficial and always gets what she wants.
Summary: Maggie and her company woke up to change into safer place, tied up theirselves then swam, but vast waves made them scatter that Maggie and Felipe hold unto each other with the twins. Suddenly Rosa yanked and drowned, Maggie tried her best to save her but she couldn’t find her anymore. The three of them, Felipe, Maggie and Maria found theirselves in an abandoned house with an old couple called Mr. and Mrs. Youngs. After two days Maggie’s papa retrieve them to Houston temporarily.
When we meet our narrator, the mother of Maggie and Dee, she is waiting in the yard with Maggie for Dee to visit. The mother takes simple pleasure in such a pleasant place where, "anyone can come back and look up at the elm tree and wait for the breezes that never come inside the house." (Walker 383) This is her basic attitude, the simple everyday pleasures that have nothing to do with great ideas, cultural heritage or family or racial histories. She later reveals to us that she is even more the rough rural woman since she, "can kill and clean a hog as mercilessly as a man." (Walker 383) Hardly a woman one would expect to have much patience with hanging historical quilts on a wall. Daughter Maggie is very much the opposite of her older sister, Dee. Maggie is portrayed as knowing "she is not bright." (Walker 384)
Donald Pizer bases his argument on textual, historical, and critical evidence. In a textual context Pizer claims that the debate over the cause of death only began after the release of the second, edited version of the story. The key factor leading to the debate is the omission of a section of the original text that includes a “huge fat man” (Dowling 37) who is depicted menacingly in the scene just prior to the revelation of Maggie’s death. Pizer contends that the reason many claim Maggie is murdered by the fat man is not because of his inclusion in the story, but because of the attention drawn to him because of his omission. Pizer supports this assertion saying:
In this story, Maggie is a lot like her mother. They both are uneducated, loving, caring, and allow Dee to run over them. Maggie has been through more things than her mother has though, because of the incident that happened. Maggie has scars like Emily, except Maggie’s scars are from a house fire (319). The house fire has impacted Maggie’s life tremendously, since she is very self-conscious and shy. Walker stated that Maggie is “ashamed of the burn scars down her arms and legs (318). The mother is protective of Maggie and will be there for her whenever she needs her too. Even though her mother knows all her struggles, she still supports her and pushes her to be better. I think that is one reason she pushes her to marry John Thomas, because she wants her to become her own person and to be strong (319). The mother of “Everyday Use” is opposite from the mother in “I Stand Here Ironing”, because she is there for her children no matter what their financial status
Maggie is one of the daughters in the story. She is described as being like a lame animal, she walks with her "chin on chest, eyes on ground, and feet in shuffle" (Walker 87). Her mother gives the impression that Maggie is ashamed of the burn scars down her arms and legs that the fire left her with. Maggie is the younger of the two daughters. It seems as though she is still very naive and gullible. Maggie is uneducated like her mother and her lack of education has a lot to do with her character. Mama is able to persuade and control Maggie because she does not know any better. Maggie is seen as being a sweet, well behaved young lady. Possibly that is just Mama's favoritism between the girls showing through. Maybe Maggie really is that way, but we only know what we can perceive from Mama's story.
fall in love and Maggie manages to get her father to pay for her two
In “Everyday Use,” Mama illustrates the relationship between her two daughters. Both Maggie and Dee are like opposite poles, making it seem like their relationship is non-existent. Dee is a well-educated, good-looking young woman; who is so concerned with style, and fashion that she lacks the meaning of family and heritage. Maggie, however, is a simple, scarred young girl who truly understands the meaning behind family, and heritage. In “Everyday Use,” Alice Walker demonstrates through Mama’s eyes, the strain in Maggie and Dee’s relationship through Maggie’s actions towards her estranged sister’s visit, and Dee’s remarks and dominance over her younger sister.
The mother describes her younger daughter, Maggie, as ."..not bright. Like good looks and money, quickness passed her by," and ."..perhaps a dog run over by some careless person rich enough to own a car, sidle up to someone who is ignorant enough to be kind to him...That's the way my Maggie walks." The reader already feels the older daughter Dee, although ."..stylish...with nicer hair and a fuller figure...and full of knowledge" is more like the careless person rich enough to own a car. Although Maggie and her mother make attempts to improve the appearance of themselves and their home for Dee's arrival and seem eager to see her, having no relation to Dee the reader is given no reason to like her. Already Walker is placing value on "slow, self-conscious," Maggie, who plans on marrying and staying close to home, and casting, Dee, who is attractive and cosmopolitan, and could conceivably bring greater resources to her sister and mother, in a negative light.
“Why am I here I hate him!” She yells. “Woops haven’t gotten used to this yet” Maggie whispers. It’s like Maggie is in her brother’s body but his soul is gone.
No chance in the world of being what she needed to be. A year and a half later, she’s fighting for the championship of the world. You did that…Because of you, Maggie got her shot. If she dies today, you know what her last thought will be? ‘I think I did all right.’”
Maggie lives with a poor and dysfunctional family and a hopeless future with only the small possibility of change. The environment and setting she grows up in do not support anything more than a dull, dreary and pathetic future for her. An old woman asks Maggie's brother Jimmy: "Eh, Gawd, child, what is it this time? Is yer fader beatin yer mudder, or yer mudder beatin yer fader? (Maggie, 10)" while he runs to Maggie's apartment one night. The lack of love and support of her family hinders Maggie's ability to live a happy and fulfilling life. Without knowing that someone loves her no matter what she does or how she acts Maggie may feel desperate enough to change her situation by any means she can, and without any useful guidance. Even without any positive influences Maggie grows up different from the low-life's living with and around her. Crane explains Maggie's uniqueness in the passage "None of the dirt of Rum Alley seemed to be in her veins. The philosophers up-stairs, down-stairs and on the same floor, puzzled over it" (Maggie 16). Maggie's uniqueness gives her the chance to improve her life, but only a slim chance. Even though Maggie differs from the people around her they remain sleazy, making it harder for her to change her life because she must go outside of her community for help.
There are many things which contributed to Maggie’s ultimate downfall and demise. At the end of the Novella, Maggie dies and it was because of the pressure that the tenement put forth on her. People, religion, expectations, traditionalism are all things that led to her downfall and
Have you ever seen the Disney movie Cinderella? Cinderella was always jealous of her step sisters always being up lifted, while she was always degraded by her step mother however, at the end everything changed for Cinderella just as it did for Maggie. There are a numerous of themes throughout the story “Everyday Use”. Race is showed when Dee leaves home and comes back embracing her African American cultural. Family also plays a major role in “Everyday Use”. In “Everyday Use” Maggie’s characterization presents her as ignorant; however, a closer look reveals Maggie ignorance is not a representative of her potential but, rather her mother’s bias.