8220;Crane wanted to picture the truth unsparingly, as he saw it, in terms as violent as the life was violent, not for the purpose of starting a crusade, but because he believed that an art which glossed over or ignored so much of the American scene was narrow at best. ‘We are most successful in art when we approach nearest to nature and truth, ‘ he said”(141-142). Crane’s brutal descriptions of life and harsh portrayals of the slums are what give his work a unique twist in comparison to other American literary works of the time:The curtain at the window had been pulled by a heavy hand and hung by one tack, dangling to and fro in the draft through the cracks at the sash. The knots of blue ribbon appeared like violated flowers. The fire in the Parra 7stove had gone out. The displaced lids and open doors showed heaps of sullen grey ashes. The remnants of a meal, ghastly, like dead flesh, lay in a corner. Maggie’s red mother, stretched on the floor, blasphemed and gave her daughter a bad name (Crane, 21-22).In this scene Crane paints his depressing, gloomy yet utterly real setting and is able to convey his thoughts and views of his experiences. This technique is often repeated and occurs often in his writings. Crane is credited and recognized for having the ability to do this so well. “Both realism and symbolism, the two major directions of modern fiction, have their beginnings in Crane’s work”(Peden, 150). The caliber of Maggie’s reality was too graphic for many people of the time to handle and was therefore looked down upon by many. Upon first being published Maggie was not released due to its graphic nature. Crane later made some minor adjustments and sent it back to the publisher for publication. He was once again denied due to its contents. So rather than having to adjust it once again, Crane borrowed money from his brother and had it privately published at his own ex...
