Stephen Crane: life and literary significance

Crane

Dear Sir,

For the inclusion of photos from Jacob Riis in our new illustrated edition of Crane's Maggie: a Girl of the Streets, I would like to make a number of suggestions based on my search for suitable material. For the purpose of this letter I am using just one scene and one photo that I have decided would go well with the particular scene.

The scene I have in mind occurs in the beginning of Chapter III, where an old woman begs in the street for a small sum of money every day. This is a specifically poignant example of the dehumanization suffered by the poor that Riis was so concerned about during his life. Many of his photos then also depict this theme.

What I have in mind for this scene is a contrast. I believe that "Saluting the Flag in the Mott Street Industrial School" would provide a particularly effective contrast with the old woman in the scene, while still allowing a connection with the text.

I have a number of reasons for this choice. Firstly I will address the points of contrast that I feel are very effective. The girls in the picture are young. They are at school, and filled with hopes and dreams for their future. The American flag that they appear to be enthusiastically saluting is symbolic of the hope presented by the United States to the outside world. The posture of the girls as well as the flag itself appears to speak of hopeful energy.

This contrasts strongly with the scene at the beginning of Chapter III. The old woman has finished her life. Of hopes and dreams she has nothing left. She is old and has no hope of making a success of any future life or career. Furthermore, the United States has let her down. She is obliged to live from the little she can scrape together on the streets every day. This is another contrast with the picture: the girls are indoors, where they will be all day, accumulating knowledge that would help them in their future lives. The old woman is outside, which is also symbolically outside of society and of social acceptance. Being old, she has spent a lifetime learning the intricacies of life, providing her with priceless wisdom. All this wisdom however has not prevented her from becoming a beggar in her old age. The girls in the picture are just beginning to be admitted into society, whereas society has finished with the old woman in the story, and thus she sits outside and begs where she only receives money from those not living in the vicinity.

This brings me to the connection points between the photo and the story. One important connection is the fact that the setting of the photo is an industrial school. Thus the setting is hardly luxurious. It is therefore easy to connect the rather drab setting of the industrial school with life in the street. The girls' clothing is also far from what one would expect a rich person to wear. There is thus a connection between the financial circumstances of the girls and the old woman. It is not hard to imagine that any of the girls may end up like the old woman when she has lived her life. It is all too easy for circumstances to deteriorate to the point where all early hopes and dreams are shattered. All that is left for the old woman is a few coins every day, and nothing more.