Maggie: A Girl of the Streets

Maggie: A Girl of the Streets Summary | Plot Summary

The trials and tribulations of growing up in the slums of the city are described in the life of the Johnson family. From the beginning of the story, where Jimmie is leading a fight with other young boys, to the end of the story, where Mary grieves the loss of her daughter, there is much pain and suffering. However, most of the pain and suffering is caused by the characters' own actions or lack of action.

The tension in the Johnson family is unrelenting. From the moment Jimmie's father finds him on the street and breaks up the fight, the reader is fully aware of the bad family environment. When they near home, they encounter Maggie and Tommie. The author further demonstrates this point as Maggie pulls the baby even though he does not want to go with her. Maggie's indifference to Tommie's pain or shrieks is apparent, just like Jimmie's father's indifference to possibly hurting the boys when he kicks them. Once they all gather in the family home, a room in a tenement building in the slums of the city, the mother adds to the tension by creating a stir because of Jimmie's fighting. The broken relationship between the father and mother is apparent with the fighting and hurling of insults. When the father leaves to go to a bar, the writer has set the stage upon which the rest of the story takes place.

The first character to leave the story is Tommie, who dies at a young age. As time goes by, the children grow up and the fighting and drinking increases. Eventually, the father dies. The mother is continually landing in jail or being arrested for public drunkenness. Jimmie reaches the age where he assumes head of household. As he learned from his father, many nights Jimmie returns home stumbling drunk.

Pete, the older boy who breaks up the fight in the opening scene, reappears. Pete and Jimmie resume their friendship, but Pete notices how much Maggie has grown up. He finds her attractive and soon begins courting her. The fighting in the Johnson house reaches epic proportions, and Maggie leaves one night with Pete, which creates the biggest upheaval yet for the family.

Maggie stays with Pete for a short period and attempts to return home. However, Mary and Jimmie refuse to accept her back into their family. Maggie returns to Pete, who also rejects her. Having nowhere to go, Maggie turns to life on the streets as a "painted" woman. One day, years later, Jimmie comes home to tell his mother that Maggie has died.

Slum life, pain and suffering, alcoholism, and prostitution are the key elements in the plot summary. The story describes life in the slums, in which alcoholism and prostitution are prevalent. The uncontrolled use of alcohol leads to the downward spiral these characters' lives take. If they could just make good decisions, their lives would be so much easier. However, the decisions they make constantly increase their pain and suffering.