The Flower

Melissa McMahon

Journal on Crane's "Maggie"

February 11, 2009

"The babe, Tommie, died. He went away in a white, insignificant coffin, his small waxen hand clutching a flower that the girl, Maggie, had stolen from an Italian. She and Jimmie lived."

Crane captures his reader with these visuals: a waxen hand clutching a flower, the enormity of abuse finally claiming his young life- and the children left behind…Maggie and Jimmie- both of whom will succumb to the horror of their situation- and lose their lives much in the way their younger brother lost his.

There is so much in this scene. The flower- a symbol of purity and of life, clutched in the hands of a dead child. Then there is the sentence that informs the reader that “She and Jimmie lived.”-as if reminding us that they did not escape, and we are left to wonder if they are the lucky ones, or if the child, Jimmie, is the one who is lucky. Crane paints his tale in horrific colors- never shying away from the truth behind the immigrant’s lives during that time. The abuse of alcohol, the generational continuance of abuse and destruction, and the struggle for one “flower”, Maggie- to survive these circumstances. We soon come to understand that it’s impossible for Maggie to shed this life for a better one- her roots are so stained and soiled- she literally has no options. Her decision to prostitute was made out of necessity. Maggie literally had no where to go.

Crane provides a richly accurate portrayal of those times, and in doing so, he gives outsiders a glimpse into a situation so dire, it would be a miracle to escape. “In 1896, Crane endured a highly publicized scandal after acting as a witness for a suspected prostitute.”-(Wikipedia) It is thought that during this “scandal” Crane wrote his story, “Maggie,” as an ode of sorts- an explanation of the awfulness of postitution and how it’s not always the way of the ‘wicked.’ He recognized the fraility of humanity and of circumstance, and he took it upon himself to educate the others around him. While the story ends tragically for the characters, it haunts the reader long after it has been set down. The remarkable vividness of Crane’s work is unparalleled. He was truly talanted beyond his years.

No matter what has been thought about Crane, it cannot be denied that he was one of the most courages writers ever. He went against the grain and wrote of the things most don’t want to acknowledge…and doing so, provides us with a richly told tale of survival and the grittiness of life.