Henry David Thoreau, Walden/Stephen Crane, Maggie: A Girl of the Streets Essay

Jennifer Brummett
Dr. Simel Honors CAP 9 English
November 23, 2015
Green Group

Henry David Thoreau, Walden, and Stephen Crane, Maggie: A Girl of the Streets,
compare in their views on philanthropists, but contrast in their views on self-reliance and fate
versus choice. Thoreaus Walden is a first person narrative which goes in dept on his personal
thoughts regarding life while staying in a cabin near Walden Pond which Thoreau built himself.
He does this as a social experiment and believes in a simple, non-materialistic life. Stephen
Cranes Maggie, A Girl of the Streets tells a very different story of a girl named Maggie who
lives in a tenement in the slums of New York City in the late 1800s. The young girl is soon
forced into prostitution and falls into a whirlpool of depression after losing all hope. This story
shows some of the harsh but true concepts of life in that time, while using aspects of classic
realism. Though Thoreaus Walden and Cranes Maggie: A Girl of the Streets may seem
unrelated, they actually have related themes and the authors have comparing and contrasting
opinions.
Henry David Thoreau and Stephen Crane would agree on their views of philanthropy and
philanthropists. Thoreau and Crane both think that philanthropy is a good idea in theory but not
in practice (to be philanthropists). In Thoreaus words Our selfishness overate is why people
practice philanthropy. In other words, if one is a philanthropist, its because one wants the credit
and only does good for themselves, not others. Thoreau also wrote A man is not a good man to
me because he will feed me if I should be starving. This quote is Thoreaus way of saying that
just because someone helps you, it doesnt necessarily mean they have good intentions. It may
just mean they are philanthropists and are doing it for the credit.
Stephen Crane in his novel writes [He] did not risk [helping Maggie] to save a soul. For
how was he to know that there was a soul before him that needed saving? In this quote He is a
clergy member and a philanthropist who instead of helping Maggie out of the goodness of his

heart, avoided her because he knew there was no reward in helping a prostitute. Crane writes this
in his novel regarding the theory of philanthropists An old woman opened a door. When
Jimmy had no one else to go to, the old woman was there, and willing to help him. What Crane is
saying is that the theory of philanthropy is good. The old woman symbolizes someone who is not
a philanthropist but simply someone who does good deeds.
While Henry David Thoreau and Stephen Crane would compare on their views on
philanthropy, they would contrast on their views of self reliance. Thoreau believes that being self
reliant is a simple, day to day thing that your environment cant affect and essential. Thoreau
proves this with this quote, To maintain ones self on this earth is not a hardship but a pastime.
The purpose of this quote is to show how Thoreau thinks of self-reliance as a simple task,
something that is an average task. Thoreau also proves this with this quote; I lived alonein a
house which I had built myself...living by the labor of my hands only. When Thoreau stayed
near Walden Pond and lived alone and was self reliant, this quote explains that he was fine, if not
fine, superb because he was self reliant.
Crane has a very different opinion concerning self reliance. In his book, Maggies
isolation was her downfall and she had not control over self reliance because of her environment.
Her environment was so terrible she couldnt possibly get out of her situation, unless she
committed suicide. Crane writes, From her eyes had been plucked all look of self reliance. In
this part of the novel, Maggie had become a prostitute and had absolutely nothing left because
her environment killed any last speck of self reliance and hope left in Maggies life. Another
quote regarding Cranes contrasting views on philanthropy is The old woman was a gnarled and
leathery personage who could don, at will, an expression of great virtue. This quote is written

after Jimmy is beaten by his mother and has nowhere to go until an old woman offers him a place
to stay until Jimmys mother calms down.
While Henry David Thoreau and Stephen Crane would compare on their views of
philanthropy and disagree on their views of self reliance they would also contrast on their views
on fate versus choice. Thoreau believes that your fate is your choice while Crane believes that
your fate chooses you. Thoreau writes Read your fate, see what is before you, and walk on into
futurity. This quote is explaining that Thoreau thinks of fate as a choice. He also says What a
man thinks of himself, that it is which determines, or rather indicates his fate. In other words,
Thoreau is saying that depending on the type of person you chose to be determines your fate,
further describing his idea that fate is chosen.
Crane has a very different opinion. He believes that fate is not a choice and that it
chooses you. Towards the middle of the book Crane writes, The girl Maggie blossomed in a
mud pile. This quote shoes that Maggie didnt chose to blossom in a mud pile but it was
chosen by fate for her to grow up in a harsh environment. Crane also writes Either go to hell or
go to work. This is said by Jimmy to Maggie after Maggie is kicked out of her home and means
that Maggie can either get a job or go into prostitution. Maggie turns to prostitution, but not
because she wants to, it is because she has to since fate has chosen this path for Maggie to
follow.
Henry David Thoreau, Walden, and Stephen Crane, Maggie: A Girl of the Streets,
compare in their views on philanthropy and philanthropists but contrast in their views on self
reliance and fate versus choice. Thoreau and Crane believe that philanthropy is a good idea in
theory but not in practice. Thoreau also believes that being self reliant is a simple, day to day

thing that your environment cant affect and essential and that your life is decided by your
choices and you choose your fate. In contrast, Crane thinks that one cannot always be self reliant
depending on ones environment and that fate controls your life.