Some people have become tough; others are born with a certain resilience that makes them less susceptible to the beating down of their surroundings or their predispositions. Stephen Crane's character Maggie in his work Maggie: A Girl of the Streets is one of those unique few who has something more to her being, a fiber that is stronger. Others in Maggie's situation would likely buckle under the pressure and succumb to what some may see as an inevitable fate. Maggie, however, withstands large amounts of pressure and survives for much longer than a weaker personality would. She falls prey to the stereotype that a person is born exceptional or humble, but Maggie shows great power and willpower during her trials. It is her strength that fights the evil that surrounds her. She is in battle with herself: on one side there is Maggie, the girl not from the streets but rather the girl who wants more for herself. On the other side there is Maggie, the stereotype, the girl who cannot escape what she is destined to become. Influenced by forces beyond Maggie's control, she falls prey to the story's title and leaves the path. Maggie, as Crane describes her, “bloomed in a puddle of mud” (Crane 18), but although the beautiful flower is visible, it is covered in mud. Maggie would be an easily forgotten character if it weren't for her resilience that manifests itself in her resistance to what becomes her fate. Crane uses many means to change Maggie: the environment of the Bowery, her role as a surrogate mother to baby Tommie, the juxtaposition between Maggie the child and Maggie the adult during her confrontation with her brother Jimmie. Likewise, Maggie is exposed as a romantic interest for another character… in the center of the card… the biggest battle is within her; The street girl's toughest task lies between her ambition and her cultured lifestyle. Although she ultimately fails, it is the journey she has taken that sets her apart from her opposites in Maggie: A Girl of the Streets. The novella ends with ambiguity surrounding Maggie's true fate and the possibility of her death. If her heart no longer beats during Crane's final period, it is replaced by the obvious death of Maggie's ambitions and aspirations, the Maggie she wanted to become. He ultimately fails and abandons the path, but Maggie's circumstances are to blame. The Bowery brings out the worst in everyone, but that's especially true of Maggie Johnson. While it is possible to overcome certain situations, Bowery and the life Maggie is forced to live kills the flower that “blooms in a puddle of mud” (Crane 18).