An Experiment in Misery by Stephen Crane

In this limited sense he is a realist.īut, Crane’s fiction is radically different from that of the realists, and this difference, carefully considered, helps us to grasp the special significance of his work.

And like the realists, Crane chose certain characteristic subjects and themes-slum life, war, prostitution, and alcoholism-and insisted upon the freedom to treat them from unorthodox points of view. It is inevitably applied, however, for Crane was doing his major work during the years when realism, under the powerful sponsorship of William Dean Howells, was sweeping the field in American fiction. Read moreĪLTHOUGH Stephen Crane’s fiction is often described as realism (especially in literary histories), the term is inappropriate and misleading. Stories: An Experiment in Misery A Mystery of Heroism An Episode of War The Upturned Face The Open Boat The Pace of Youth The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky The Blue Hotel. Great Short Works of Stephen Crane Includes : The Red Badge of Courage Maggie: A Girl of the Streets The Monster. (and) moral capability depends upon the ability to see through the illusions wrought by pride and conceit-the ability to see ourselves clearly and truly.' Crane is concerned with the moral responsibility of the individual. James Colvert writes in the introduction to this volume: 'Here we find once again the major elements of Crane's art: the egotism of the hero, the indifference of nature, the irony of the narrator. Maggie: A Girl on the Streets reflects the range of Crane's ability to invest the most tragic and ordinary lives with great insight. The Red Badge of Courage manages to capture both the realistic grit and the grand hallucinations of soldiers at war. In his short life, he produced stories that are among the most enduring in the history of American ficiton. Stephen Crane died at the age of 28 in Germany. The collected short work of an American master, including The Red Badge of Courage and Maggie: A Girl of the Streets.

An Experiment in Misery by Stephen Crane