Stephen Crane Maggie: a girl of the street review - Essay Example

“Ironic and Symbolic Structure in Cranes Maggie” by Joseph X. Brennan In the article under consideration, its Joseph X. Brennan analyzes the use of irony as well as symbolic structure of the novel by Stephen Crane “Maggie: A Girl of the Streets”. In this very article, the author presents the first detailed analysis of both the use of irony and symbols in the novel on sentence, chapter, thematic and character level. At first, Brennan briefly summarizes the work on the novel conducted by other critics and states that none of them has presented a sufficient analysis of the piece.

Here he also discusses historical and artistic importance of the novel under consideration. In accordance with Brennan, the novels “insistent, and at times even oppressive, ironic tone” is the “most remarkable single characteristic of “Maggie” (304). He claims that it is both “all-pervasive” and “most elusive” aspect of the novel. With the aim to prove it, Brennan starts with the analysis of overt manifestations of irony, such as the characters words, and then goes to the “ironic manipulation of theme and character” (304).

For instance, the author of the article discusses the use of the word “respectability” in the fourteenth chapter; he analyzes the episodes in which the word is used as well as its implications that contribute to the overall ironic effect. As a kind of conclusion of the analysis, Brennan reveals the central thematic irony of the novel: “the self-righteous condemnation of a woman who is good by the very society responsible for her downfall” (Brennan 316). In addition to this, Brennan deals with the use of symbols in the novel by Crane.

He analyzes symbols. For example, the author of the article discusses such symbols as blue ribbons and lambrequin used by Maggie to somehow improve the interior design of her home. In the course of the analysis, it appears that these two symbols stand for Maggie herself. Overall, Brennan discusses symbols both independently and in their fusion with irony, which also help understand the main theme of the novel mentioned above.Work Cited:Brennan, Joseph X. "Ironic and Symbolic Structure in Cranes Maggie.

" Nineteenth-Century Fiction. 16.4 (1962): 303-315. Print.