What Maggie Knew: Counter-Culture Analysis

Have you ever noticed how some people just stand out from the crowd? Like the clouds in the sky and blades of grass, people are all different. “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker has a good example of an interesting, unique character. Maggie is a young girl who is not only physically but also mentally scarred. The way the burning house, her stuck-up sister, and society affects Maggie makes her different from everyone else.

Maggie Vandermeer dwells in a contemporary society where proficiency in regards to social media is a rather dominant feature, especially in her search for a job and as an attempt to conform. As Maggie is not familiar with such social media’s, especially in comparison to the younger generation, this renders Maggie somewhat of a misfit and continues her path of solitude, as she has no friends or a job. Although Maggie routinely uses her cell phone to text or tweet, she has not yet integrated herself to this contemporary society, as the younger generation is remarkably adept with social media. Moreover, Maggie isn’t conversant with the proper norms that belong to social media. For example, at the beginning of the story, Maggie is woken up by her daughter, Lacey Vandermeer, who sends her a text at 1:27 AM. Next, she begins to Twitter stalk Lacey’s page until she discovers Lacey’s presumed lover named Dane Davis, and begins to stalk him as well. Maggie also seems to prefer face to face interactions, rather than communication with some sort of social media. This preference differentiates her from the younger generation, as they tend to prefer communicating through social media. For example, When Lacey suggests how she does not need to come over, Maggie insists on the value of face to face interaction. “The point was to have a visit with you,” Maggie says (Cullen, 36). When Maggie attends her job interviews, the interviewers, who are of that younger generation, stress the

Ronald G. Walters has been in staff of John Hopkins University since 1970, he is a professor of 19th-and 20th century social and cultural history. The emphasis of his teachings are on social movements within the time period. He received his undergraduate degree at Stanford and a PhD at Berkeley in history. He is currently co-chairing or chairing major committees for the Organization of American Historians and the American Historical Association.

When writing the Port Huron Statement, its authors explicitly mentioned two key features of American society that they found troubling. First, they considered the presence of racism and overall bigotry in the American South as "…the permeating and victimizing fact of human degradation" (Foner 283). The authors acknowledged the presence of practices that essentially dehumanized African Americans in the South, claiming that its existence is what "…compelled most of us from silence to activism" (Foner 283). In addition to this, the authors of the Port Huron Statement were also troubled by the existence of the atom bomb and the possibility that an all-out nuclear war could break out at any given moment. It is stated that the presence of the bomb brought awareness that "…we ourselves, and our friends, and millions of ‘abstract ' others…might die at any time" (Foner 283). While contemplating the aforementioned problems in American society, the authors of the Port Huron Statement also began to rethink the American ideal that "all men are created equal", finding paradoxes between the claim and what was really occurring in American society. They stated that the declaration "…rang hollow before the facts of Negro life in the South" (Foner 283) and was contradicted by the United States ' "…economic and military investments in the Cold War status quo" (Foner 283). These two

Although the roaring twenties are usually thought of as a time of universal prosperity, the reality is that unless one was Caucasian and well-to-do, society tended to shun the outliers (women, minorities, etc), propelling them out of political affairs and social scenes. Women rebelled, becoming increasingly promiscuous as the decade wore on. In 1920, it would have been unheard of to show an ankle, sport a bob haircut, or darken one’s eyes with what seemed like paint. By 1928, the younger generation was revealed as socially progressive, engaging in previously unthinkable behavior such as smoking, drinking in bars, and sex. Flappers became prevalent, with their flouncy skirts and short hair adorned with a jeweled headband. The decade earned its second nickname, “The Jazz Age”, from the incredible musical talents that emerged out of Harlem and other areas of the United States, leading to a less “restrained” entertainment.

Hippies are good representation of the counter culture movement, it usually involve drug abuse, sex and abortion. History professor Theodore Roszak points out the hippies and radical students have a same point, which is counter-culture. (Roszak, 1995) In his views, counter-cultural movement is all social protest movements in the United States, such as democracy movement, women's liberation movement, black civil rights movement, and anti-war movement.

The counterculture movement started in the 1960s causing California to start another trend. The countercultural movement rejected the “Establishment’s” business-world values, and urged a mix of non-materialism, Asian religions, “free love,” and experimentation

Maggie: A Girl of the Streets, a novella written in 1893 by Stephen Crane, focuses on a poverty stricken family living in the Bowery district of New York City. This novella is regarded as one of the first works of naturalism in American literature and it helped shape the naturalistic principle that a character is set into a world where there is no escape from one’s biological heredity and the circumstances that the characters find themselves in will dominate their behavior and deprive them of individual responsibility. Throughout the story, the primary goal of the main characters is to escape the lives they lead and to find more comfortable lives away from their current problems, which differs from the romantic ideal that the main characters usually turn inwards to solve their problems.

The counter culture of the 1920’s has affected the way the American lifestyle is today. Counter culture is a culture that primarily consists of younger people, with values and lifestyles opposing those of the original established culture. (Dictionary.com) A need for change. The 1920’s are also known as the “Jazz Age,” which was coined by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and the “Roaring Twenties.” It was a decade of change. (Hakim, 41) The counterculture of the 1920’s resulted from the Age of Jazz, Flappers, and the Harlem Renaissance.

The turbulent societal changes of the mid-20th Century have been documented in countless forms of literature, film and art. On the Road by Jack Kerouac was written and published at the outset of the counter-culture movement of the 1950s and 1960s. This novel provides a first-hand account of the beginnings of the Beat movement and acts as a harbinger for the major societal changes that would occur in the United States throughout the next two decades. On the contrary, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, a Hunter S. Thompson novel written in 1971 provides a commentary on American society at the end of the counter-culture movement. Thompson reflects on the whirlwind of political and social activism he experienced and how American society had

Furthermore, this called for a demand of action after wealthy men wouldn't help individuals who were in poverty, instead giving their money to Gun business corporations to support the military. The wealthy were afraid that those oppose of their values for America would not benefit them in the coming years. This led the Student for a Democratic Society to write the Port Huron Statement about the economic and political institutions and criticize them for their social conditions during this time. They wanted to create

He seemed to be doing better than Maggie, and could provide a way to a better life. Pete showers attention upon Maggie, leading her to believe that he is genuinely interested in her. Sadly for Maggie, Pete is not what he seems to be. He works in a bar, and regales Jimmie and Maggie with tales of the fights he got into at his job (Crane 969). His attitude is one of fighting, and he’s proud of that fact, which a reader would be hesitant to trust. Even his shoes are described as “[looking] like murder-fitted weapons” (Crane 967), which seems to scream that he’s not a man that is going to do better. Maggie doesn’t realize this, though, when she must decide whether to go with him or stay home after the battle of her mother and brother. For her, it’s either a chance to remain the way she’s always been, or the possibility of improvement. She chooses Pete, which leads her to the downward spiral ending with prostitution and death. Maggie could have avoided this by saying no and staying home. Her life may not have led to grandeur, and instead meant a life in a terrible factory, full of monotony and unhappiness, but it would have kept her away from the awful place she ends in. Even if neither option was fabulous, she did have a choice.

Maggie, who is self-conscious of her appearance, and will “stand hopelessly in corners, homely and ashamed of

“Maggie” is a story that is pessimistic. It is not only a story of a character who ultimately succumbs to her situation by becoming a prostitute because she feels she has no other way if supporting

The 1920’s was a very upbeat and interesting decade. People know it as the “Roaring Twenties”, or “The Jazz Age.” It was the time of Prohibition, the introduction to jazz music, and partying. Prohibition was the illegal production and distribution of alcohol. Many people were against drinking, but there were still the many that enjoyed a drink once in a while. Bootleggers were people who illegally sold and produced alcohol so other people could enjoy it in secret. People went to speakeasies, which were secret hidden bars that sold alcohol they got from the bootleggers. Young women began rebelling by cutting their hair short, wearing dresses