Poverty and violence are some of the aspects in which many people undergo within our societies. The state of our culture is not balanced, and thus there are those suffering from these aspects. It is only the strong who can survive under such conditions. Children are more said to be associated with such a lifestyle (Crane, Stephen, 2006, pg. 220-231). For instance, those coming from families or communities with low income are thereby associated with violence from which they consider it as a way of getting something on the table. Children are always brought up in different environments where they borrow such attitudes and behaviors. They experience a lot in their childhood stage and therefore have to live by the standards and limits.
The story of Crane about Maggie: Girl of the streets introduces us to a society where violence and poverty have dominated the area. Many children have chosen this kind of lifestyle so that they can survive. The dog-eat-dog is a setting that is depicted in this environment. Children are in the world of dog-eat-dog, where they use any means for survival (Crane, Stephen, 2006, pg. 220-231). This happens when they decide to harm Jimmie. A community where even the grown-ups/adults do not value the life of individuals might be a challenging experience. The children brought up in this community will always be in the act of violating the rights of other people. It might seem to be a curse or demons have dominated the community, but this is not the case.
Children always have a sense of unity, which makes them develop a particular aspect of perception, which makes them dealt with daily lives. For example, children form helpful groups which help them build their skills and life experiences and tackle everything that distracts their life. In this context, children form gangs, which they use as a unit of bullying their fellows. They claim that this is a way of surviving the kind of livelihood they have found people living (Crane, Stephen, and Diana Olsson, 1959, pg. 78-85). This is evident depending on the way the adults are behaving as they cannot act as responsible people even when they see Jimmie Johnson bleeding. The group of children uses weapons such as stones to threaten other people’s life. From Jimmie’s lifestyle, this can easily predict how this life could be even at the adulthood stage.
Growing from such an environment may lead to someone growing with fear of being attacked. People cannot work hard to live a successful life because they are always in fear of being attacked by a group of people. Gangs in communities create tension for the people within as they cannot work for the better part of their life. Poverty and survival are some aspects that should be looked into as people cannot meet their intended goals /objectives. According to Crane, people living under these conditions are likely and most likely to be lacking education and money (Crane, Stephen, and Diana Olsson, 1959, pg. 78-85). Education is the critical aspect of life that communities are entitled to offer to their children. An educated child will have different skills in lifestyle, and such vices will be rare to occur. Students concentrating in education forums will find it hard to engage in dirty games. They only value helping those in need, and this leads us to a situation where children’s behaviors are taken care of so that they become essential people in the future.
Those who have been brought up in poverty-stricken areas are, therefore, said to find it hard to attend and be attentive in the classroom. What they usually do is to find their fellow children and come up with ideas such as committing crimes and other vices to enhance their life. Some of those brought up under poverty and illiterate areas are more likely to engage in those gangs. Besides, education leads to poverty when not taken with a lot of seriousness (Stallman, Robert Wooster, 1955, pg. 528-536). Jimmies’ father is seen to be more concerned about the life of his boy. Treating and bringing up children well is one way of keeping them from toxic environments. The parents in this context describe people who emphasize more on survival as they do not soothe their children, claiming that is the only way to strengthen their perceptions towards life. In Bowery, the violent environment is useful as it teaches people how to live and survive via various life stresses.
Continued violent acts pull down growth and development in societies. For instance, in Bowery, there are survivors and those performing violent acts. The children in this environment are only taught how to survive other than being taught how to live a satisfying life. For a community to thrive well, parents should be at the forefront to ensure that the lives of their children are not in danger. Parents need to be keener an observant in ensuring that their children engage in activities that are more useful rather than joining gangs and start claiming that that is the only way to survive (Stallman, Robert Wooster, 1955, pg. 528-536). Besides, communities need to improve their living standards, which always aim a reducing the number of violent acts. Employment opportunities need to be provided for the parents so that they can know the importance of struggling other than surviving through violence.
Educational facilities are the primary factors for a successful life. Children who are well educated are likely to practice less in survival and violent acts as they are educated on how to solve some problems. Education also promotes peace as people can know the importance of one another. People assist each other in different ways, which leads to community building and harmony. From this context, parents should be educated on how to work out problems affecting their children. Forming some gang troops can be eliminated only if the parents enforce some strict measures which are accompanied by threats to enhance survival. It is always essential to understand what life is all about before getting involved in some situations (Stallman, Robert Wooster, 1955, pg. 528-536). The children who threw stones to Jimmie might not know what it takes for them to be alive. Despite the life aspects and environments around people, some believe they need to be abandoned for the well-being of others. People should not shed blood for some minor reasons. Society needs to look into some aspects that re of more critical than others comparing their benefits other than for material gain.
In conclusion, life experiences learned from this book Maggie: Girl of the streets by Crane should be a transforming piece to many people who consider violence and poverty are the aspects that can lead to a successful life. Demons might be seen as curses from the incidences caused by individuals, but the foundation one lays on the ground becomes the pillar of the type of life people want to live. This book brings our attention to the way people perceive some life aspects and make it their lifestyle.
References
Crane, Stephen. Maggie: A girl of the streets. Broadview Press, 2006.
Crane, Stephen, and Diana Olsson. Maggie: A Girl of the Streets. Landsborough Publications, 1959.
Stallman, Robert Wooster. “Stephen Crane’s Revision of Maggie: A Girl of the Streets.” American Literature 26.4 (1955): 528-536.