...During the late 1800s, a literacy movement called Naturalism occurred in America. Naturalist believed in the idea that peoples’ interactions with environments and other people are what shape them as humans. According to a naturalist named Becker, naturalistic writers approached literature with a “pessimistic materialistic determinism” creating novels and stories that are driven by the forces that rule human lives. To the naturalist, man always succumbs to nature, because he has no control over it. Naturalistic writers use their characters, plots, and settings to portray their worldview that man is controlled by natural forces that dictate his destiny and no matter how hard man tried to fight against it, nature is indifferent to man’s tribulation and will always win because man is weaker. Jack London wrote, “To Build a Fire” a literary work of naturalism. London’s main character is never named, but is referred to as ‘the man.’ The man is travelling in the Yukon alone with his husky dog on a day where the weather is 50 degrees below zero. The man was warned by an old timer at Sulpher Creek not to travel alone on a day like this because it is far too dangerous. Against the old timer’s advice, the man sets out for the freezing trail ahead without human company. Throughout the story, London reiterates that although the man is blind to his human weaknesses, his canine companion is in tune with his natural wolf instincts and understands that they are not able to travel against the...
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...Elements of Naturalism In their stories Frank Norris and Stephen Crane use elements of naturalism to put you into the story and see what the characters are going through. The term naturalism describes a type of literature that attempts to apply scientific principles of objectivity and detachment to its study of human beings. Unlike realism, which focuses on literary technique, naturalism implies a philosophical position. Frank Norris and Stephen Crane are key authors that used this way of writing. In Frank Norris’s story Fantaisie Printanere(921-927) this story shows naturalism by highlighting characters’ actions that were based on environment and experiences, not their free will. In the story it talks about how McTeague and Ryder were both drove to start drinking because of the past where they had basically failed. The book says that “McTeague had once been a dentist, and had had “parlors” up at the respectable end of the street. But after a while the license office discovered that he had no diploma; in fact, had never attended a college of any sort, and had forbidden him to practice. So McTeague had taken to drink. Ryer, some years back, had been a son of small stock-dealers on the outskirts of Butchertown, and had done fairly well until the Health Board reported him to the Supervisors because he had fattened his hogs on poultices obtained from the City and County Hospital. The result was a lamentable scandal, which finally drove him out of business. So Ryer had taken to...
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...Naturalism by Garland Naturalism is a literary movement that encapsulates the struggles of the common population. Hamlin Garland presents an excellent example of Naturalist literature in his short story “Under the Lion’s Paw”, published in 1889. In this short story, many of Dr. Stephen doCarmo’s characteristics of Naturalism are visible. Dr. doCarmo describes three broad characteristics of Naturalism: individuals are subjected to larger uncontainable forces, political undertones are prevalent within the work, and the subject matter of the work appeals to the middle-class. “Under the Lion’s Paw” possesses all three of these characteristics and radiates naturalism. Dr. doCarmo’s first and most important characteristic of a naturalist work, as well as what he refers to as Naturalism’s central belief, is that “individual human beings are at the mercy of uncontrollable larger forces that originate both inside and outside them” (doCarmo). Mr. Haskins is subjected to a larger force in the environment, “He’s been eat up ’n’ drove out by grasshoppers” (Garland 755). This environmental catastrophe diminishes Mr. Haskins livelihood and leads to another uncontrollable force as described by doCarmo: “‘animal’ drives, such as the need for food, sex, shelter” (doCarmo). Garland also acknowledges these “animal” drives: “There is no despair so deep as the despair of a homeless man or woman. To roam the roads of the country or the streets of the city, to feel there is no rood of ground...
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...Naturalism in The Call of the Wild Jack London was born on January 12, 1876 to a working class family. He had to deal with a hard life from a very young age, but his constant struggling got him through most of the difficulties and by the age of 30, he was internationally famous for his books Call of the Wild (1903), The Sea Wolf (1904) and other successful literay works. Though he wrote passionately about the great questions of life and death and the struggle to survive with dignity and integrity, he also sought peace and quiet inspiration. He wished society to be reformed that he expressed through his writings. His stories of high adventure were based on his own experiences at sea, in the Yukon Territory, and in the fields and factories of California. Similar to a number of writers at that time, he died young, at the age of 40, impoverished (again), sick and suffering from alcoholism. To this day it is still unclear if he the cause of death was accidental morphine overdose or he commited suicide. He as well was a fairly controversial person, so that different authors look at him in various ways: ”The basic law of his thinking was logic. His literary style was the clear, obvious and unmistakable sentences of the beautiful English language. ’The Call of the Wild’ serves as the reference book of English stylistics on Sorbonne. He was the man of facts: not to be afraid of looking inside of the eyes of reality, a great view of life. But Jack London's inner debates did...
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...Well known for his stories such as A Call To The Wild and To Build A Fire, London took naturalism and made it into what is studied by so many students still to this day. Jack London’s fame as a writer came about largely through his ability to realistically interpret humanity’s struggle in a hostile environment. Early in his career, London became an interpreter of the things that are, rather than a creator of the things that might be. Due to this, he drew his plots, characters, themes, and settings from real-life experiences and encounters. London often is found describing the impact of nature in all of its raw power on both human beings and creatures such as dogs in his short stories. London incorporated passionate and shocking elemental dimensions...
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...Many debates have sparked due to the topic of naturalism vs. realism. Naturalism takes the power away from the actual person, it says that people exist entirely in the order of nature, and do not have a soul, or any mode of participating in a religious or spiritual world beyond nature. () Realism however, gives those human like characteristics back to the person. Literary realism has a concern with morality and ethics. It means that humans have a moral agency, they can make choices, take directions, and take responsibility for their actions. () Hamlin Garland’s “Under the Lions Paw” does a good job with strengthening that debate of Naturalism vs. Realism even more. The story incorporates both naturalism and realism making it difficult to decide actually what type of story it is. Even though “Under the Lions Paw” incorporates many realistic undertones, it is a story of literary naturalism. Naturalistic stories incorporate people being controlled by a force greater than them, usually nature. In “Under the Lion’s Paw”, the natural forces are grasshoppers. On page….in the book, Mr. Haskins says ... () Since the grasshoppers ruin their farm, they are forced to move out. They have no other choice and were defeated by nature, making this an obvious example of naturalism. Realist may argue that the story is a story of realism because of the ethical character Mr. Council. Many times throughout the story, Mr. Council makes many ethical decisions in order to help the Haskins family. For...
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...great example of this is Stephen Crain’s novel The Red Badge of Courage. Written in 1895, the plot mainly takes place in the Civil War, more specifically in The Battle of Chancellorsville. It is said that this battle was one of the bloodiest battles in the Civil War (The New York Times). The story centers around a young man Henry Fleming, who is very much obsessed with fame and recognition. Part of this obsession makes him join the Union Army, as an attempt to die with honor and to be forever immortalized by fame. Crane makes use of Symbolism through his characters, such as Henry, and the environment in which these characters are placed in. Through the use of Symbolism, Crane is introducing and informing the readers about the concept of Naturalism in such a subtle yet effective manner. Crane’s novel is filled with symbolism, take the title for example. Back in that time period, Civil War solders used the term red badge to describe a blood stain or wound attained through battle (McDermott). It was a symbol of courage, which is part of the reason why Henry wanted a wound so badly; he wanted to be seen as valiant to other Union solders. Henry’s wish did eventually come true, but that is where the irony lies. As it turns out in later in chapter 12, Henry receives an accidental head wound from his own fellow Union Solder after fleeing from battle....
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...Katrina Bryant ENG/301 American literature is any written work of art that is created in the United States. American literature is like all literature, it has literary experiences and contextual history of America. It depicts how America has changed is still changing today. American literature has changed over time just like most canons of literary works. The uniqueness of American literature is that America from its beginning had a special philosophy of life and freedom. The special philosophy of life and freedom that made American literature so unique was reflected in its writings. Americans believed and had faith that God was and is the given of all our rights and freedom. We as Americans had faith in ourselves that we could succeed in anything that we try doing. The literature that we Americans wrote made life worth living because it was displayed for the world to read and understand that life was what we made it. Also by Americans having the ability to spring back from diversity made life worth living and George Washington was a perfect example of this. Literary canon is basically a suggested list of readings that belongs to a country or a certain period in time. Literary canon contains literary works that is mainly by authors who are accepted as an authority in their field and their writings constituting a serious body of literature in any given language. The works that are collected that is included in a literary canon is approved largely by cultural and...
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...Keisha Brown Naturalism, in literature, is an intensification of realism. Realism was a literary movement that occurred between 1870 and 1900. In realism, the author attempted to write about the way life was and not what it should or ought to be, however, naturalism, gave a more accurate depiction. It focused on ordinary people and their surroundings. In “Long Black Song”, Wright did an amazing job depicting how life was at this time. He incorporated race, gender, and the psychological drive of his characters in his writing so that the reader could get an accurate representation of life at that time. Gender plays a significant role in understanding what society was like when this story was written. In the first scene, you already can tell what the role of females and males were. A female was supposed to bear children and stay at home; they were seen as property, while the male was supposed to provide for the family. Sarah was at home with baby Ruth, while Silas was out of town selling cotton, so that he could make a living for the family. (pages 191-192) You also understand how a female was viewed as property. When Silas believed that Sarah had sex with another man, his words showed that he saw her in a certain way. On pages 195-196, Silas yells at Sarah and threatens to beat her for lying to him. In this day and age, it is frowned upon, for man, to raise his hand to a woman. However, in this time, it was just the way of life. Race had a very strong impact on society and...
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...Alex Hollingsworth Helen Driver Literature 221 November 20, 2014 Magnus Derrick: The Governor As the leader of the farmers’ defense league, Magnus Derrick has many troubles and hatred from many others within his league. His dialect is short of a redneck that we see today because of his short worded phrases and cut down words that only the people in his community can understand him. The governor has the features of an athlete even at his age, and his sons’ are two of the different kinds that he likes to describe them in many ways short of very descriptive. He tends to fit just right in to the community, the valley of farmers, with his sense of argument means to get what he wants no matter the consequences and in turn makes enemies like a leader of a gang or rebel group. Magnus is just like many other American’s during his time and beyond, the follow the rule of law. Almost sixty years old, Magnus Derrick, an all-American politician and leader that always commands his presence like a military officer, gambles his principles and way of living to his own ruin through the use of the enemy’s bad means for his good cause in the form of rebellion. One way that Magnus portrays as an all-American, is not just the fact he is a farmer but he knows how to talk and negotiate like an American. He tends to smile a lot and talks easily to strangers and shares personal stories like any other American would. Another attribute of The Governor is his ability to be polite to anyone by shaking...
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...Naturalism was a philosophical movement during the late 1800s to mid 1900s, that marked a movement toward greater emphasis on nature, rather than materialistic society, and the natural world. The philosophy of naturalism teaches that nothing exists beyond the natural, that which can be discerned through science and natural observation. All humans are the product of certain circumstances; we are a caused species, not a self-causing. Naturalists [different word…claim] that there is no supernatural world, no God nor gods that affect our lives or give us Purpose. Instead, humans are made from the circumstances created by the universe, which is governed by natural laws. We have the free will to affect our circumstances in a way that would lead to a more beneficial conclusion for ourselves. Naturalism leads to the search for the cause of a problem, instead of the solution. Naturalism, like all philosophies, entered the literature of its time. This literature was marked less by what naturalism could offer society than by the power of nature. Literary naturalism was characterized by the power of nature over society, the fight of an individual to remain attached to civilization, and by the attempt to portray situations as clearly and as scientifically as possible. This blended with realism to stark descriptions, depictions of racism, pessimism, and some of the worst aspects of society. Zora Neale Hurston wrote Their Eyes Were Watching God in 1937, at the end of the movement. Their Eyes...
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...Three forms of American literature during the 19th and 20th century are realism, naturalism, and local color. All three are very different styles of writing however, each one can have sub categories. Naturalism is another major literature movement of that occurred in America. Naturalism is a form of literature that attempts to apply scientific principles of objectivity and detachment to its study of human beings. Naturalist study human beings being governed by their passions as well as the easy the characters’ lives are governed by their environment. Some of the major themes of naturalism are survival in an amoral world, the struggle with the brute within, and futile attempts of man exercising free will. One of the many authors of the naturalist movement is Stephen Crane. Crane wrote the “Blue Hotel” in which he demonstrates the characters struggle with survival in an amoral society. The Easterner fighting the urge to tell everyone that he also knew Johnnie was cheating. This action eventually ends up getting the Swede killed. Local color authors sought to preserve the way of life that was often threatened by industrialization, immigration and reconstruction. Some of the key factors to local color is speech and manners while it also focuses on the dialect, and often focuses on regional characteristics. Some major themes of local color include escape, and constraints of society. One writer of local color was Kate Chopin who wrote “The Awakening.” In “The Awakening”...
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...Many authors are notorious for their never ending use of cliff-hangers. Others, merely leave unanswered questions throughout their works. Stephen Crane is one of these writers. According to Julie Armstrong, “One of America's most influential realist writers, Stephen Crane… produced works that have been credited with establishing the foundations of modern American naturalism.” This conveys just what an amazing writer Stephen Crane truly was. Much of Stephen Crane's fame comes from his novel, The Red Badge of Courage. As said by Aaron Ezis, “Crane is less well known for his short stories, essays and poems, including An Experiment in Misery and In the Depths of a Coal Mine.” Along with this, critics often point out that Stephen Crane often asks...
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...shifted from a higher creator to cosmic accident. The vast majority of history has shown humans to be theistic; the most recent dot on the string of time has been that of naturalism. Where Christianity has dominated western thinking for so long, it now finds itself in the minority voice of reason. Even Christians themselves have taken to blending their views to remain contemporary. L Russ Bush addresses this proliferation of naturalism in The Advancement. Brief Summary Bush produces an eight chapter discourse on the evolution, propagation and fallacy of a view that espouses inevitable naturalistic progress. One that believes biological life and humans in particular are evolving into a constant state of improvement. That believes science to be the replacement of God. Bush coins this worldview, “the Advancement”. Bush says that Christian stability has been replaced by naturalisms unstable relativity. Meaning no longer has meaning. Truth itself is subjective and new is always better. Bush begins by introducing a number of pre-modern and modern philosophers. Bush succinctly steps us through the evolution of this modern thinking and contrasts that against the Christian worldview. He outlines the ascension of scientific method and Darwinian dominance, noting the prevalent methodology to be based in naturalism. The consequences of science in the absence of God become a major theme. To avoid this consequence humans have revised the idea of God with the introduction of theological...
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...Realism and Naturalism Old Grannis and Miss Baker - Necessary or Needless? June 17, 2013 In "Frank Norris' "Drama of a Broken Teacup": The Old Grannis - Miss Baker Plot in McTeague", Donna M. Campbell disagrees with the critics that have argued that the Old Grannis - Miss Baker storyline in McTeague, is out of place and unnecessary. Rather, Campbell claims that the storyline is not deserving of the abuse heaped on it, and argues the alternate, that it is essential to the plot of McTeague, helping us both with the storytelling itself, and also with advancing the naturalistic nature and style of the stories of the other two couples in McTeague, Trina and McTeague as well as Zerkow and Maria Macapa. Campbell's main argument is that based on the two types of stories in the text, naturalistic stories as well as commonplace, "local color fiction", embodied in the actions of all three couples in McTeague, Norris is able to fully examine and explore what naturalistic writing is meant to entail. Using Norris' own words in his letter to Isaac Marcosson, Norris claims that he is writing a novel of "straight naturalism with all the guts I can get into it" (P. 48). According to Campbell, "Thus each pair of lovers functions on several levels: as representatives of varying social levels and codes of manners; as unwitting victims of the world of forces; as "owners" in several senses - of money, of passions, of restraint; and finally as characters in plots suitable to the differing...
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