Stephen Crane's short story, "Maggie: A Girl of the Street," takes place at the end of .
The main character is a young girl Maggie who was born into a poor family who enjoys getting drunk and fighting. Maggie one day turned into a beautiful women who had hopes and dreams to explore a different type of life. Maggie always looked for the better things in life, and the best in people. Maggie's brother Jimmie is a ruffian at heart. Jimmie felt that anything could be settle with a mean fist and a drink.
The plot of the story surrounds a young ragged innocent Maggie who struggles through life and changes through the course of events in Rum Alley a tenement district in New York. Maggie and her brothers suffer an intolerable life with abusive alcoholic parents. Maggie and Jimmie were able to survive the horrible life that was dealt to them. In the course of Maggie's life, she turned into a beautiful girl, untouched by the squalor around her. Jimmie felt that his sister needed to find herself a job or she would go to the devil with her good looks. For the first time in Maggie's life, she made a decision to work at a collar and cuff factory. When Jimmie brings home his friend Pete, Maggie was drawn to his charm. Maggie is so taken with him that she does not realize that Pete will ruin her innocence and she will fall into a life of indecency. The social life that Maggie never new drew her away from her mundane life, and away from her mother and Jimmie. Jimmie felt betrayed by his friend, and by his sister who he always thought was special. Maggie longed for a life of wealth, and to be accepted in a good social life. Up until now, Maggie felt worthless, unwanted, and bothered by their poverty.
Jimmie and his mother confronted Maggie about leading a sinful life and tried to convince her to change her life style. The mother was so obsessed with the fact that Mary was disgracing the family's good name.
