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Realism in Literature

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Stories or novels that are written in the form of realism are material that a reader can really engage in and in some circumstances relate to. The idea of realism is to write about the social realities and everyday activities of ordinary people even if that includes the most horrific details. Realism became popular in the late 1800's to the early 1900's. Stephen Crane's writing about "Maggie; A Girl of the Streets  and Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn both evoke realism in its true form, painting an absolutely brilliant literary picture for their readers. In the story "Maggie: A Girl of the Streets," Crane takes a rather rigid approach into realism. The book tells the story of a young girl named, Maggie, and her struggle growing up in the Bowery of New York City. She is raised by a mother and father who are both physically and mentally abusive towards Maggie and her two siblings, Tommie and Jimmie. Maggie's mother has an unruly temper and it is enhanced when she is drinking. One instance in the book Maggie's mother goes off on a tangent on Maggie's father and Crane describes their altercation so vividly. The small frame of the ragged girl was quivering. Her features were haggard from weeping, and her eyes gleamed from frear. She grasped the urchin's arm in her little trembling hands and they huddled in a corner. The eyes of both were drawn, by some force, to stare at the woman's face for they thought she need only to awake and all fiends would come from below (Crane 10). This line in the story is very descriptive writing and imagery on Crane's part on what was really happening in the early 1900's in New York. The Bowery is an environment that is unsuitable to raise children. They are forced to grow up fast and do not have many career options or support at home. The story moves forward describing how Maggie, once a frail child, has now developed into a beautiful young woman as described in the lines: The Girl, Maggie, blossomed in a mud puddle. She grew to be a most rare and wonderful production of a tenement district, a pretty girl. None of the dirt of Rum Alley seemed to be in her veins (Crane 13). Maggie is unaware of her beauty until she becomes involved with Pete, a family friend. Pete is a young man who has also had to grow up fast due to his environment. Maggie is attracted by his display of manhood and foresees him as her rescue from her less than

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