Naturalism

A detailed Summary of Naturalism

Naturalism in literature is, in essence, an approach that proceeds from an analysis of reality in terms of natural forces like heredity, environment, and physical drives. "Naturalism has its roots in the renaissance, its backgrounds in the Middle Ages." (Walcutt 4) (ONE) Authors in the Naturalist movement tended to deal with the harsh, often disgusting aspects of life. The subject matter in naturalist works differs from realism in that it often deals with those raw and unpleasant experiences which reduce characters to shameful behavior in their struggle to survive. These characters are mostly from the lower middle or the lower classes. They are poor, uneducated, and unsophisticated.

The setting is most often the commonplace and the unheroic, and life is usually the monotonous routine of daily existence. But the naturalist discovers those qualities in such characters usually associated with the heroic or adventurous in their dealings with such everyday and routine happenings. The suggestion is that life on its lowest levels is not so simple as it seems to be. There is also almost always discussion or inference of fate that affects a character, and to that end the controlling force is generally society and the surrounding en

Characters from this movement are conditioned and controlled by environment, heredity, chance, or instinct. They do, however, have compensating humanistic values which affirm their individuality and life. Thus, their struggle in life becomes heroic and they maintain their human dignity. "The primary goal of the late nineteenth-century American Naturalists was not to demonstrate the overwhelming and oppressive reality of the material forces present in our lives. Their attempt, rather, was to represent the intermingling in life of controlling forces and individual worth." (TWO).

Crane is attempting to combat the sheer blind devotion that was common in his time. I believe Crane is trying to, albeit rather subtly, undermine the church. Crane is saying that people should not put aside their own search for the answers to their questions, and be so controlled by the external forces in their surrounding environment, such as the church or government. He says this because the leaders in place in the society are often no more 'enlightened' than the common man. Though he seemed to thoroughly disapprove, Crane is successful in demonstrating that the church of his time was a controlling force in the common man's everyday life. Thus, this work is a fine example of the Naturalist movement.

The founder of the Naturalist movement in Literature was Emile Zola. Zola redefined Naturalism as "Nature seen through a temperament." Emile Zola was born in Paris, and his father died when Emile was only seven, leaving his family with substantial financial problems. His mother was then largely dependent on a rather meager pension. In 1958 Zola moved to Paris and became friends with the painter Paul Cezanne and began to write under the influence of the romantics.

Another work of specific interest in the Naturalist movement is Thomas Hardy's "Her Dilema". On the surface of this piece, Hardy details a simple exchange between a man and a woman in a church. The man is death

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Approximate Word count = 1329
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English