Your homework for today was to read the next ten pages of Maggie: A Girl of The Streets. You were to annotate pages 10-20 for details relating to work and professionalism, and pages 1-10 for details relating to play and income.
- General reaction to the story: (Suggested: 5 minutes)
- Journal Assignment: (Suggested: 10 Minutes)
Last time, we started to talk about language, what your favorite words are. Today, I want you to consider the following questions
How does your language identify you in your society? [use our basic concepts to frame your response]
Group Discussion: (Suggested: 5-7 Minutes)
Group Presentations: (Suggested: 5-7 Minutes)
Class Conversation: (Suggested: 10 Minutes)
What are the different kinds of language in this story? What do they tell us about the characters? What does it tell us about the narrator?
Read and annotate the next 10 pages for work and income, the first ten pages for setting and class, and the 10-20 for cultural references.
Homework
Write a one-page blog post on the difference between your language and the language of one character in the reading.
Peter Tallau
March 1, 2011
Prof. Crowley
EH 200
There is a big difference between my language and the language that Jimmie uses in Maggie: A Girl of the Streets. Jimmie’s language is very much a product of his setting. He says things such as “Well, it was dis way, Pete, see! I was goin’ t’ lick dat Riley kid and dey all pitched on me” (221). He was trying to explain his actions to Pete. If I was trying to explain the same thing to a friend of mine I would say something along the lines of “This is what I did. I was going to fight back but all the other kids jumped me first.” I would use a lot less slang and abbreviated words in my speech.
The factor that makes the biggest difference in our language is the setting we are in. Jimmie was in a culture where this language was the norm. If I spoke like that in class or other places where I spend my time, most people would not understand what I was trying to say to them. Our setting has a lot to do on how our language is formed and how we speak it. We pick up on words that are said as we grow up and then we use those words when we get older. A lower-income setting like the one featured in Maggie would include people speaking like this while a middle-income setting would have a completely different vocabulary.
Comment by Peter Tallau — March 1, 2011 @ 3:25 pm |
The most prevailing example of a language difference between a character in, “Maggie: A Girl of the Streets” and myself, is the character Pete. When reading the story, Pete’s statements almost have to be deciphered. At one point in the writing he says, “I met a chump d’ odder day way up in d’ city. I was goin’ t’ see a frien’ of mine. When I was a-crossin’ d’ street d’ chump runned plump in the me, an’ den he turns aroun’ an’ says, ‘Yer insolen ruffin,’ he says, like dat” (238). In this quote, Pete was telling a story about how he went to the city and someone ran into him when he was crossing the street. If I were to tell the same story I would have simply said, “I went to the city and some kid ran into me when I was crossing the street”.
The time period and setting in which the story was written influence the style of speak the characters have. A story written today would not have the same style of writing because it would cause unnecessary difficulty for the reader. In class we talked about words and phrases that have a personal meaning to each person from just a different region in Maine. With the author of “Maggie: A Girl of the Streets” having lived in New Jersey and New York, he could have potentially been exposed to a more diverse culture than many people from Maine. This could have had an influence on the writing style that the author chose. The people in the story also seem to have an Irish nationality. Being from an Irish culture could also play a large role in the manipulation and formation of speech.
Comment by Justin Richards — March 1, 2011 @ 4:06 pm |
Logan Brown
We each contain a heart, lungs, veins and arteries which make us the same, but we are all far from the same. We are each an individual that walks differently, holds different values, and talks differently as well. We each have our own language that characterizes who we are. Some of us express our language through words. Others express their language through words, but we all express our language when we talk to those around us. When speaking to a boss or someone of authority, we tend to sound more sophisticated and knowledgeable compared to when we use with friends. The characters in the story Maggie: A Girl Of The Streets express a separate language than I. The father in the story is a great example.
When Jimmie is fighting in the streets his father comes along and says, “here, you Jim, git up, now, while I belt yer life out, yeh damned disorderly brat” (222). If this was my son I would be making sure that he was okay. I would never threaten to belt his life out or continue to kick him into the street like Jimmie’s father does. The fathers language reassures the reader that he is not a man to mess with and he doesn’t care if he is beating his son or not. The father also uses slang instead of complete words. My language would include get, you’re, and you. My language doesn’t include such harsh language such as the father’s.
As Jim, the babe, Maggie, and their father are walking home Jimmie struck his sister. In return his father says, “stop that, Jim, d’yeh hear? Leave yer sister alone on the street. It’s like I can never beat any sense into yer damned wooden head” (224). Again his father uses slang that is not in my language such as yer and d’yeh. His language makes it sound like it is alright for Jim to mess with his sister at home just not in the streets. Also, his father is showing that he has no respect for his son and just seems him as a low life who can’t ever do anything right. The words in my language would include making Jim apologize to his sister then grounding him when returned home. My language would not have included damned wooded head either. Instead I would have asked why did you hit your sister?
The fathers language is completely opposite of mine. I use true words in my language instead of slang. I also an encouraging form of language instead of a degrading form. His language identifies him as a bully instead of a loving father. My language is far from bullying terms. My language might characterize me as too outspoken at times, but never meaning to emotionally hurt another being. Clearly the father’s language in this story does hurt Jim and the way that he talks follows the actions he takes. His language is strong in a threatening manner not a knowledgeable one.
Comment by Logan Brown — March 1, 2011 @ 6:24 pm |
Kelsey Mehrtens
3/1/11
EH 200
Language Differences
Having lived in 3 distinctly different areas, a large city, a small city, and a rural area, I have seen how language changes from community to community in each area. In comparing myself to a character in “Maggie: A Girl of the Streets” in regards to language, one must look at the time period as well as the geographical area. Living most of my life in a small city, from the late 20th century to the early 21st century, I use their style of language the most. Pete, however, who grew up in a large city in the late 19th century, uses the style of language specific to that community.
Being born 99 years after “Maggie: A Girl of the Streets” was published, the language I use does not contain as many cut off words and is much more understandable for people in the time period in which I live. Instead of saying “Dat’s right! In d’ jaw! See? Hully gee, he t’rowed a spittoon t’ru d’ front windee” (237) I would say “Just like that! Right in the jaw! And then he threw the can right through the front window! I mean, really?” because it is more understandable than what Pete said and is a better representation of the language I grew up around.
Another language difference between Pete and me is the slang we use. Spending 13 out of 19 years in New England, one of the most frequent slang words I use is “wicked”. Where Pete grew up, the biggest slang phrase seemed to be “what d’ hell” (221). The language I use is much more sophisticated than Pete’s, especially when I talk to adults. Pete uses more colloquial language, while I tend to use words generally known to anyone who speaks English.
Comment by Kelsey Mehrtens — March 1, 2011 @ 8:47 pm |
The language presented by the characters in the story Maggie: A girl of the streets illustrates a distinctive style that may seem peculiar to the reader. In the beginning of the story, the reader is introduced to Jimmie, who is fighting in an alley way where one of the boys surrounding the fighters yells, “Run, Jimmie, run! Dey’ll git yehs (220).” Jimmie then replies, “Naws, dese micks can’t make me run.” These following quotes are very insightful when understanding the difference between the language of Jimmie, and that of my own.
Another example is when Maggie, Jimmie’s sister, finds out that her brother was fighting again. She yells to her brother, “Ah, Jimmie, youse bin fightin’ agin (224).” Jimmie quickly replies, “Ah, what d’ hell! Shut up er I’ll smack yer mout’. See?” So far, the language that Jimmie uses is very ferocious and demeaning. The way in which his language possesses these negative emotions reflects greatly on the way he was brought up and the town he lives in as well. This town, occupied by poor, drunk, and desperate people, seemed to share the same style of language as Jimmie.
Once, when Jimmie was going to the bar to retrieve a pail of beer, he came across his father. His father, swaying about in the bar, wrenched the pail from his son and drank the beer. Jimmie exclaims, “Look at d’ dirt what yeh done me (228),” while he kicks his father’s shins and then retreats out the door. However, as he runs from the bar, his father shouts, “I’ll club hell outa yeh when I ketch yeh!” His father than continued to say, “My home reg’lar livin’ hell! Damndes’ place! Reg’lar hell! Why do I come an’ drin’ whisk’ here thish way? ‘Cause home reg’lar livin’ hell!” This goes to show that the language Jimmie uses is very similar to his fathers. To me, I feel that their language is very degrading and improper to the language that we speak today. Furthermore, in today’s society, it’s very important to use words that are part of the English language. Unlike the words that are used by Jimmie and his father, which seem to not make sense and would be very difficult to distinguish in today’s society. Also, I feel that having integrity and being benevolent with our words and actions towards others is very important. Not being disrespectful or inconsiderate to those around me simply for fun and social standing.
Comment by Marshall davis — March 1, 2011 @ 11:58 pm |
The difference between my language and the language used in Maggie: A Girl of the Streets, by Stephen Crane, is not close at all. How Pete talks and his vocabulary is a product of the setting he is in. In the story, Pete tries to explain a story to Jimmie saying, “Mos’ e’ ry day some farmer comes in an’ tries t’ run d’ shop. See? But dey gits t’rowed right out!” (236). If I knew Jimmie, and i was trying to relay a story to him I would say something to the affect of, “Some farmer came in and tried to tell everyone what to do in the shop, so he was thrown out of the place and told not to come back.” I would try to convey my point in a simple way so anyone could understand what I was trying to say.
What keeps our langouage and vocabulary different is the setting we are in. Setting has everything to do with how one talks, how they make decisions, and how their personality is. People use vocabulary that is the norm for the area they are in. If I went to any one of my friends and spoke in a different language or used slang and abbreviated words in the way I spoke then they would look at me like I was going crazy, because they are not used to that style of speaking.
Comment by Dan Volz — March 2, 2011 @ 12:58 am |
Jon Klages
Eh 200
Adam Crowley
3/1/11
The biggest difference between the language used in the story and the language that I use is the idea of none real words. In the story there are many situations where the characters don’t use real words. A great example of this is Jimmie. It is said well in the story when Jimmie says “ah, come off! I got dis can fer dat ol’ woman an’ it ‘ud be dirt t’ swipe it. See?”(228). Not one lick of that resembles any kind of proper English that would be taught in a school. The reason that Jimmie talks the way he does it because he isn’t educated and he doesn’t know the difference. If Jimmie was living in our society he would be looked down on for the way he talks. When you grow up in a society where you are never corrected for the way in which you do something then you won’t know the difference.
Also the way in which Jimmie talks to his family isn’t something any one would be proud of either. In the begging of the story it says he is swearing at his father and is terrified at his mother. That kind of language would also not be accepted in a more professional society. It is said well in the story when Jimmie says “When I catch dat Riley kid I’ll break ‘is face! Right! See?”(226) Here Jimmie is talking about fighting like it is no big deal and that if he doesn’t fight then he will somehow be less of a man. This kind of language would be looked down upon in the society in which I grew up in too. So overall Jimmie speaks as though he is uneducated because at the end of the day he is.
Comment by Jon Klages — March 2, 2011 @ 4:57 am |
Jaimie Beers
Professor Adam Crowley
EH 200 Approaches to Literature
2 March 2011
In the story “Maggie: A Girl of the Streets” the author is telling about an Irish family. When reading the dialogue of this story I found that the language was different from what I am used to. Their language is very different compared to my language. Comparing my language to one of the characters you can see many differences between the two. For example, I will compare my language to Jimmie’s.
One of the biggest reasons that our language is different is how we talk. When you read the dialogue of Jimmie you see that he shortens a lot of his words when he talks and he pronounces and says some words differently. Instead of using full words he changes a lot of them to letters and just shortened versions, and some of the words he uses are spelled like he would say them. When I talk I use “slang” words sometimes and I may take the “g” off of a word, like the word thinking, but with Jimmie he does it with most of his words. Like he was mad at his father for taking the pail of the old woman’s, “look at d’ dirt what yeh done me, d’ ol’ woman ‘ill be raisin’ hell” (228). You can see that some of the words are just letters, and words like “yeh” are used instead of “you”. When I talk I like to make sure that I pronounce my words, and try to make sure I don’t use slang.
Growing up in Maine you hear many different words and phrases that are used, and then when you go different places they aren’t used at all. One of the words that is heard a lot around where I’m from is “wicked.” Growing up in northern Maine I have heard this word a lot and also use it all the time. But when I have gone on vacations and have been around people not from Maine they don’t understand what I mean when I say it. A phrase that Jimmie, and also other characters in the story, used a lot is “d’” instead of the word “the.” For example, “ah, where d’ hell was yehs when I was doin’ all d’ fightin’,” (222). It seems that Jimmie, and other characters in the story, use it a lot. Instead of saying the full word “the” they just say “d’.” This shows that all cultures and societies have their own different language styles.
Comment by Jaimie Beers — March 2, 2011 @ 5:15 am |
Nathan Gosselin
EH200
Language
There are probably differences with all the characters’ language in the story “Maggie: Girl of the Streets” and in my own language, but I am going to talk about the differences between Pete’s language and mine. There is a part in the story where Pete and Jimmie are having a conversation and Pete says “Hully gee! Dey make me tired,” he said. “Mos’ e’ry day some farmer comes in an’ tries t’ run d’ shop. See? But dey gits t’rowed right out! I jolt dem right out in d’ street before dey knows wheer dey is! See?” (236). Through out the story the author Stephen Crane gives us an indication of the character’s accent in the dialog. By reading the above quotation gives the reader an idea of some kind of an accent and this is a difference between my language and Pete’s language, the accent in which we speak. Another difference in my language and Pete’s language is shown in the quote above when Pete says “See?” the use of words to make sure the listener understands is a difference in our language. I don’t usually use those kind of words in my language but Pete does, and he does frequently there are other instances in the conversation were he uses “See?” to make sure Jimmie is understanding.
Pete uses swear words in his language, I do not use swear words in my own language. Pete uses more than one swear word during the conversation he has with Jimmie : “”Well d’ blokie he says; ‘T’ hell wid it! I ain’ lookin’ for no scrap,’ he say-see? ‘But,’ he says ‘I’m ‘spectable cit’zen an’ I wanna drink an’ purtydamnsoon, too’ See? ‘D’ hell,’ I says, Like dat! ’D’ hell, I says Like dat! ‘D’ hell’, I says See? ‘ Don make no trouble ,’ I says. Like dat. ‘Don’ make no troube’ See? Den d’ mug he squared off an’ said he was fine as silk wid his dukes –see? An’ he waned a drink damnquick Dat’s what he said See?” (236). Pete uses the swear word hell four times, and the swear word damn twice in one sequence. In my own language I do not use swear words, it is probably because my parents did not use them when I was growing up. Another reason I do not use swear words in my language is because of how it makes me sound. I think it makes a person sound less intelligent, When Peter uses swear words through out his conversation with Jimmie it makes me think that he is not very smart.
Comment by Nathan Gosselin — March 2, 2011 @ 5:45 am |
[...] Day 1: More on Maggie, Language [...]
Pingback by Proposed MWF Syllabus « Approaches to Literature — March 2, 2011 @ 1:02 pm |
In our day to day lives we experience a number of different things between people such as taste in food, taste in music, different hobbies and a number of other things, but one thing that is usually the same of people from the same area is the way that they talk. To me, in my culture, the people who surround me speak clearly, however if I were to be set in an Irish neighborhood in New York City, I would most likely be misunderstood and in turn would have a difficult time understanding the people of that neighborhood.
In the story Maggie: A Girl of the Streets by Stephen Crane, there are many obvious differences between my language and the language of the characters. My language is much more formal and clear than how Maggie speaks. The difference comes from where we have grown up. The dialect Maggie experiences in her culture is much different than the dialect I experience in my day to day life. For example, when Maggie has noticed that her brother Jimmie has been fighting she says “ Youse allus fightin’, Jimmie, an’ yeh knows it puts mudder out when yehs come home half dead, an’ it’s like we’ll all get a poundin’” (224). If I were to say the same thing I would say “You are always fighting, Jimmie, and you know it makes mom angry when you come home half dead, and then we’re all in trouble.” Although for the most part I just took Maggie’s words and translated them in to clearer English, some of the phrases she uses wouldn’t really be heard in my culture today. Language is something that is taught, and dialect is something that is inherited from a person’s direct surroundings.
Comment by Lindsey Oliver — March 2, 2011 @ 1:41 pm |
Aimee Mortensen
March 1, 2011
Approaches to Literature
Adam Crowley
Magge: A Girl of the Streets written by Steven Crane uses challenging language between the characters in the story. The language they use is a cultural reference for them, and easy for them to understand. However for the reader it is fairly difficult. The way in which the language in the story differs from the language I know, is that in the story they use a lot of slang words. It is difficult for me to understand this language because I am not from that culture or time period. Our author states, “ yer fader, damn ‘is soul” (226). It is evident right here that the character is saying “Your father damn his soul” however, it is not easy for the reader to read this. I found that I had to re-read most of the dialogue in this story because it is hard for me to understand the language. “Eh, Gawd, child, what is it dis time? Is yer fader beatin’ yer mudder, or yer mudder beatin’ yer fader?” (227). This type of language they use is slang, and it is evident that culturally we are from different areas because it is easy for them to understand what they are saying but it is difficult for me.
Through the use of miss-spelling words the author can point of the type of language used in this culture. This type of writing can prove to us that maybe these characters are not educated because of their use of language, but also that culturally this is how they talk. It is normal for them to talk like this but also shows us a different way in presenting language to a given audience and how much language can impact the story.
Comment by Aimee Mortensen — March 2, 2011 @ 2:05 pm |
Alex Martin
Adam Crowley
EH200
2 March 2011
Language is a complicated part of life. It creates barriers between people speaking different languages or sometimes even the same language. This occurs often in the short story “Maggie: A Girl of the Streets” written by Stephen Crane.
When reading the story I feel like there is a barrier between myself and the characters. One example of this is done by a character named Pete. Pete exclaims, “Hully gee, dose mugs can’t phase me. Dey knows I kin wipe up d’ street wid any t’ree of dem” (237). Pete uses a lot of slang in his communication, basically just saying that no one messes with him because he could be them in a fight.
Another example of the difference in language between my life and the life of a character in the book is a person’s upbringing. This means that since I was brought up in a small rural town in Maine I will talk like most people from Maine talk. But it even differs from people in Maine. Being close to the border many people speak a mix of French and English. This occurs in the book, being in an Irish community, they all seem to talk the same. Crane writes about an encounter Jimmie has with his father, “Give me d’ can. See” said the man. “Ah, come off! I got dis can fer dat ol’ woman an’ it ‘ud be dirt t’ swipe it. See” (228)? Putting myself in this situation in the book, I would be struggling to understand what he is trying to say to me. However in the story it’s normal conversation.
Language is an important aspect to one’s life. It relates to all of the frames we have discussed in class. A major role in your language occurs with where and how you were brought up. The people that raise you play a very influential role in your upbringing and you are very likely to act like them as you begin to grow.
Comment by Alex Martin — March 2, 2011 @ 2:09 pm |
Language is a product of one’s environment. We can see examples of this everywhere we go in colloquial phrases and geographically specific vernacular. Even from individual to individual, our language varies depending upon our upbringing. In Maggie: A Girl of the Streets, the characters possess a severely limited vocabulary. Their language is crude and at times, difficult to understand. This is apparent in any dialogue throughout the story. One such example comes from the character Pete, whom spends much of his time trash-talking. At one point he says, “I met a chump d’ odder day way up in d’ city” (238). We can see from this example that the characters frequently drop letters from words and replace “the” with a single letter “d.” We can also glean from this statement, clues as to Pete’s environment that cultivated this manner of speaking. He calls someone a “chump,” popular slang in the cultural setting for insulting someone’s person. He also says that he met this person “way up in d’ city,” implying that Pete’s own home is not in the city.
One thing that is similar for both the characters in the story and myself is that we come from rural backgrounds. The language in such areas can be unique to the place. Accents and certain pronunciations of words can derive from living in places where contact with a variety of language can be restricted, as is the case in Maggie: A Girl of the Streets. Maggie and Jimmy grew up in an extremely poor neighborhood with drunkard, inattentive parents. Each night they want home to, “in the middle of the floor lay his mother asleep. In one corner of the room his father’s limp body hung across the seat of the chair” (229). With this kind of home environment, we can begin to understand why the language of the characters is so narrow.
This is where the language of these characters and my own differ. I was raised in a rural environment, but my parents were caring and attentive and exposed me to language early in life. I learned to read before I was four and was always encouraged to read and provided with abundant books. For several years, I lived next to a library, and thus was exposed even further to reading; which resulted in a comparatively distended vocabulary.
Comment by Lindsay Riedel — March 2, 2011 @ 2:27 pm |