A Comparison of Walden and Maggie: A Girl of the Streets

Two Distinct, Critical Views of American Society

Abigail Records
CAP English
Red Group
November 23, 2015

A Comparison of Walden and Maggie: A Girl of the Streets

Two Distinct, Critical Views of American Society

Henry David Thoreau, in Walden, and Stephen Crane, in Maggie: A Girl

of the Streets, compare in their views on philanthropy but contrast in their
views of self-reliance and fate. In Economy, chapter 1 of Walden, Thoreau
describes his spiritual quest to live a deliberate, simple life in the woods. He
supplies for himself what he considers the four necessities of life: food,
shelter, clothing, and fuel. The chapter is filled with anecdotes, advice, and
individualistic and transcendentalist ideals. Cranes Maggie: A Girl of the
Streets tells the tragic story of a young woman who is driven by poverty and
solitude to prostitution and, ultimately, an untimely death. Through these
works, each author presents a distinct, considered critique of 19th-century
American society.
Henry David Thoreau and Stephen Crane would agree on their views of
philanthropy. Both believe that philanthropy is a good idea, in theory, but not
in practice. Thoreau writes, Philanthropy is almost the only virtue which is
sufficiently appreciated by mankind. Nay, it is greatly overrated; and it is our
selfishness that overrates it (63). Thoreau views philanthropy as a vain
pursuit. Philanthropists are motivated by self-interest, doing good to receive
praise or to make themselves feel moral. Thoreau complains that do-gooders
abound. Doing-good, he asserts, is one of the professions which are
full (60). Crane is concerned that the wealthy and upstanding are
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underrepresented amongst true philanthropists. When describing an old

beggar woman who crouches on Fifth Avenue in hopes of donations, Crane
writes, She received daily a small sum in pennies. It was contributed, for the
most part, by persons who did not make their homes in that vicinity (43).
The poornot the residents of the upper class Fifth Avenue neighborhood
give alms to the woman. The poor are philanthropic because they
sympathize with the needy. The old woman, in turn, sympathizes with
Maggie in her time of need. She says to Maggie, ere yehs are back again,
are yehs? An deyve kicked yehs out? Well, come in an stay wid me tehnight. I ain got no moral standin (Crane 84). Maggies morally superior
neighbors turn their backs on her when she needs a place to sleep, while the
woman with no moral standin allows the girl to stay the night. Both
Thoreau and Crane would agree that philanthropy, like morality, is
conditional.
Thoreau and Crane would disagree on their views of self-reliance.
Thoreau views self-reliance as a virtue, while Crane believes that self-reliance
is a luxury. Thoreau tells a story about an Indian man selling baskets. In the
tale, the Indian man tries to sell his baskets to a lawyer. He navely thinks
that the lawyer will buy the baskets because he would have done his part,
and then it would be the white mans to buy them. He had not discovered
that it was necessary for him to make it worth the others while to buy them,
or at least make him think that it was so, or to make something else which it

would be worth his while to buy (Thoreau 19). Thoreau disapproves of the
Indian mans reliance on the lawyer. He believes that one should strive to
rely on oneself and avoid debt. When writing about the trappings of civilized
life, he wonders, But how happens it that he who is said to enjoy these
things is so commonly a poor civilized man, while the savage, who has them
not, is rich as a savage (Thoreau 28). The savage enjoys the freedom of selfreliance. Crane, on the other hand, believes that ones circumstance may
hinder self-reliance. Maggie depends on others, not by choice, but out of
necessity. Crane notes, From her eyes had been plucked all look of selfreliance. She leaned with a dependent air toward her companion (73). He
describes a scene in which Maggie confronts Pete, She was apparently
bewildered and could not find speech. Finally she asked in a low voice: But
where kin I go? (Crane 86). Maggie has no place to go, and her position in
society renders her with few choices, if any at all. Unlike Thoreaus noble
savages, Maggie does not have the luxury of self-reliance.
Thoreau and Crane would also disagree on their views of fate. Thoreau
argues that one can create his own fate, while Crane believes that ones fate
depends on the circumstances of his birth and is beyond his control. Thoreau
makes his stance clear when he writes, The youth may build or plant or sail,
only let him not be hindered from doing what he tells me he would like to do
(59). He believes that one can do whatever he wants to do if he sets his mind
to it. Thoreau claims that, What a man thinks of himself, that it is which

determines, or rather indicates, his fate (10). Crane views fate as a cruel,
untamable force. He writes, In the street infants played or fought with other
infants or sat stupidly in the way of vehicles (Crane 39). The infants are
doomed from birth, born into a life devoid of proper parental oversight. They
are destined to live the lives of their parentslives with no options. Crane
writes about Maggies final night on Earth, Afar off the lights of the avenues
glittered as if from an impossible distance (89). The lights of the avenues
symbolize hope, a meaningful connection with society, and a reason to live.
Maggie can see the opportunities, as if from an impossible distance, but
fate prevents her from reaching them.
In their works Walden and Maggie: A Girl of the Streets, Henry David
Thoreau and Stephen Crane compare in their views on philanthropy but
contrast in their views on self-reliance and fate. Thoreaus Transcendentalist
notions are evident in his characterization of the idyllic life of a self-reliant,
non-material man who creates his own destiny. Naturalist Stephen Crane
writes about the harsh realities of urban tenement life and the fate of
ragged, romantic Maggie who has no choice but to rely on others. Both
authors are critical of modern societyeach with a distinct perspective.

Works Cited

Crane, Stephen. Maggie: A Girl of the Streets. Boston: Bedford, 1999. Print.
Thoreau, Henry David. Walden and Civil Disobedience. New York: Barnes &
Noble, 2005. Print.