Subject: English and Literature
Style: MLA
TOPIC: Compare and contrast between Maggie: A girl of the Streets and Snow of Kilimanjaro
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Compare and contrast between Maggie:
A girl of the Streets and Snow of Kilimanjaro
Maggie a girl of the streets,
a novel written by Stephen Crane and Snow
of Kilimanjaro, a short story by Ernest Hemingway, are literal works that have many thematic
similarities. Stephen Crane features and develops
an unfortunate character throughout his novel to convey various thematic
concerns. On the other hand, Ernest uses Harry, the main character in his work
as a vehicle of his artistic message. Minor differences emanate from the styles the authors have used to convey their
ideas. This paper will compare and contrast the various themes and styles
brought out in the two works and outlined
how these issues and techniques apply
to the development of each the story.
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Maggie A Girl of the Streets, feature poverty
as the principal element that drives the
character Maggie to unfortunate life. Maggie’s both parents are habitual drunkards and usually mistreat her and
her sibling, Jimmie. Later when her
father dies, life turns to a hell and Maggie has to work at the T-shirt
factory. Jimmie, on the other hand, hardens up and ends up as a teamster. However,
Maggie’s job does not last for long because of her disturbing drunken mother,
Mary. In Snow of Kilimanjaro, Ernest brings out poverty through Harry’s
nostalgia. Harry recalls the burning down of his grandfather’s log house, an
incident that forced him to live in the
custody of his neighbors. However, the
setting of the other part of this story happens in a vibrant environment.
The
poverty levels in the childhood age of these characters lead to desperation and
eventually loss of hope in their lives. Maggie upon losing her job desperately
starts to date her brother’s friend, Pete who works as a bartender hoping that
he would support her from the pangs of poverty. Unfortunately, Mary and Jimmie
coldly banish Maggie from the tenement, and she moves in with Pete. Nellie,
“a woman of brilliance and audacity” lures Pete to dump Maggie and he does so,
a situation that further frustrates Maggie’s dreams and expectations. This
string of misfortunes drives Maggie into prostitution in later scenes of the
novel.
On
the other hand, Harry has dreams of becoming a great writer, and during one of his memories, he remembers a story he had
saved to write and more other twenty stories
he has not written yet. However, Harry attributes his fate to bad decisions he
made. Unlike Maggie’s situation where the consequences were unconditional,
Harry decided to follow wealthy women
terminating his dream. Moreover, a difference in this theme of hopelessness
appears when Harry remembers helping Williamson, a soldier who was hit by a
bomb with morphine. This thought helps him feel relieved of his pain from the
Gangrene disease he was suffering from.
Harry uses this notion to comfort himself
in of his situation.
Both
works exhibit instances of moral decadence significantly. Both Ernest and Stephen
feature prostitution in their stories, however, caused by different situational
differences. In the case of Maggie, prostitution remains the only solution to
her desperation, as she faces rejection
at home when Pete dumps her. On the contrary, Harry’s reasons for prostitution are “to kill his loneliness.” He once fought with an officer over a
prostitute while at Constantinople leading to his escape to Anatolia. Harry
recalls how his behavior caused chaos and consequent break up between him and
his first love.
Another
similar theme in these stories is violence. Maggie
A Girl of the Streets begins with a confrontation between Jimmie and a
gang of boys in the neighborhood. Pete helps Jimmie get out of this violence
hence becoming friends. However, later after doing
a series of misfortunes, Jimmie loses his caring heart and becomes a hardy
teamster. The author says that all Jimmie cared for was his truck. In another
event when Jimmie learns that Pete is dating his sister, he gets so upset and
instigates a fight upon attacking Pete. We also see that Maggie’s parents are
both violent especially when drunk. The short story Snow of Kilimanjaro revolves
around violence. Harry fights a soldier in Constantinople
over a prostitute in one instance and runs
away to Anatolia. Harry is quarrelsome and talks in a rude way to Helen. Harry
also helps a soldier who is hit by a bomb with morphine to reduce pain because
of violence. Harry further remember of a boy at the ranch who saved his horse
feed by shooting a thief.
Betrayal
is another thematic concern evident in both Maggie,
a girl of the streets and Snow of Kilimanjaro. Her mother and Jimmie banish
Maggie, the main character from the tenement after they learn of her relationship with Pete. Following that event,
Nellie “a woman of audacity” convinces Pete to leave Maggie and he foolishly
does it without hesitation. Maggie has no an option of where to go and when she
makes her way back home, she faces rejection.
It is paradoxical how her mother and brother join the neighbors in badmouthing
Maggie instead of defending her embracing her from her betrayal by Pete. Later,
Mary learns from Jimmie that Maggie has died and she sarcastically says, “I
forgive her” when comforted by neighbors (Gullason and Crane, 1979).
Harry’s
case in Snow of Kilimanjaro is different since in most cases he betrays those around him. For instance, through
a stream of consciousness, Harry had written a left to his ex-lover while still
within another relationship. His wife
finds out, and they eventually break up.
Harry is not remorseful for his actions
and moves on to find a wealthy widow,
Helen who he admits not to love. Nevertheless, Helen is always there for Harry
and loves him so much. She even mentions that Harry is not only her husband but
also her possession.
A
significant difference of between these books is on the perception of women in
the society. In Maggie A Girl of the Streets,
the position of women is in prostitution, alcoholism, entertainer, and objects of pleasure to men. Women should remain
either in the house or out working in
very harsh and unconducive working
environment. In this story, one needs to apply masculinity to earn respect from
others. Jimmie portrays the character who
believes fights will solve all respect issues. On the other hand, in Snow of
Kilimanjaro, some women are assertive. The second wife of Harry decides to
terminate their relationship when she learns that he has been cheating. The story sheds
new light on women, not to sit
down and have their feelings played with like babies. Apart from the bunch of
prostitutes in Constantinople, other
women such as Helen are wealthy. It is
ironical that Harry depends on Helen yet we expect it to be the other way
round. Ernest tries to develop women as strong
characters and not as victims of circumstance.
In
conclusion, it is evident that the story Maggie a girl of street and Snow of Kilimanjaro heavily relate regarding themes they address. However, a
slight difference comes in how the two authors develop women characters
throughout their stories. Stephen develops Maggie and her mother as victims of
circumstances. In Snow of Kilimanjaro, women are do not stoop so low to
be driven by fate and circumstance. For instance, Helen proves to be
independent of men since the death of her husband and child as opposed to
Maggie who turns to prostitution when she breaks up with Pete.
Works Cited
Gullason, T. and Crane, S. (1979). Stephen
Crane: Maggie, a girl of the streets. New York: Norton.
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