Originally uploaded by levian03gettysburg
The most important thing to remember while reading this piece is to keep in mind the effects our environment has on us. In America, we are expected to pick ourselves up by our bootstraps, but Crane calls this into question.
Maggie, the main character in the novella, shows that this American way of life may not be possible in every situation or even at all. “The girl, Maggie, blossomed in the mud puddle.” If you have read this, you would know that it means she has blossomed in her murky environment. She has something special that may help her rise above her situation.
In fact, maybe Maggie could rise the ranks of social class if she had any help whatsoever. In writing this piece, Crane suggests that we are all products of our environment, and in order for us to rise above our current social class we need a stimulus: someone or something to give us motivation. Maggie has no one to confide in, and therefore, she has no way out.
Though she never makes it out she nevertheless blossoms in a mud puddle. She shows this through the qualities that set her apart from the rest; she does not conform to the societal norms indigenous to this piece. Rather, she does everything she can to make it out, but she ultimately fails.
Blake Wilson's Weblog 
“Maggie” was perhaps Crane’s greatest short story and another piece that demonstrates his life-long fascination, oddly enough, with the color red (Maggie’s hair is red).