The cruel reality of poverty is examined in Stephen Crane's Maggie: A Girl on the Streets. In it, Maggie Johnson, born in the rough streets of New York, dreams of having a better life, one with culture, money, and meaning- the opposite of the one she was born with. Though she believed that her dreams were becoming tangible, with the aid of Pete, she ultimately returns to the streets and is destroyed by them. Throughout …showed first 75 words of 797 total…

…showed last 75 words of 797 total…spite of everything, Maggie achieved a level of individuality. She chose to free herself from a life that was dragging her down, unlike the other characters who accepted their situation. She ultimately succeeds in giving meaning to her life, but fails to live the one that she wanted because of the extreme social restrictions that constricted her; this is also true for many other individuals that fought for a better tomorrow, but ended in perdition.