ough to take the vague position of head of the family" (17). Jimmie virtually replaces his father at this point in the novel as "he stumbled up-stairs late at night, as his father had done before him. He reeled about the room, swearing at his relations, or went to sleep on the floor" (17). The mother chastises Maggie for leaving yelling "'Yeh've gone teh deh devil ... Yer a disgrace teh yer people'" (30) yet, the devil is what she is really leaving. Her mother can never realize that she is the bad in the situation and that Maggie simply hopes instead of accepts her position in life.Unfortunately, Maggie's hopes and dreams wither away as Pete leaves her without notice to chase after "a woman of briallance and audacity" (43). "Pete did not consider that he had ruined Maggie" (49) and simply brushed her off as just another fling. Maggie never recovered from Pete's dumping of her and instead of heading home to the sure temper tantrums and scornful attitude of her mother, Maggie turned to the streets.Jimmie provides the first scene in the novel as "the little champion of Rum Alley" (3). At an elementary school age, Jimmie already is an experienced fighter and has been hardened to thug life. Crane hints at Jimmie's innocence a couple of times, but the reader can easily perceive that Jimmie will grow up to what he naturally becomes. He finds a job as a driver and begins his descent into nihilism as:During that time his sneer became chronic. He studied human nature in the gutter, and found it no worse than he thought he had reason to believe it. He never conceived a respect for the world .... After a time his sneer grew so that it turned its glare upon all things. He became so sharp that he believed in nothing. To him the police were always actuated by malignant impulses and the rest of the world was composed ... of despicable creatures who were all trying to take advantage of himand with whom, in defense, he was obliged to quarrel on all possi...
