Naturalism As A Genre Of Naturalism

Naturalism is a complex literary movement which infiltrated many books in the 1800s. One book in particular best shows the themes of Naturalism. The book, Ethan Frome, displays a multitude of motifs which further the main ideas and themes of the story. Motifs are used to highlight the theme. Due to the complex nature of the book, Ethan Frome written by Edith Wharton, motifs are used to further the ideas and themes presented in this tale.

How much power does Nature have? In the article, “The Politics of the Natural in the U.S History and Popular Culture” Noel Sturgeon analyzes several points in how nature is being used to make certain aspects “natural” and create a distinction in social identities. He gives a emphasizes in Nature being a tool of power for the reason people create laws or “natural laws” that create a separation

“[A] manner or technique of treating subject matter that presents, through volume of detail, a deterministic view of human life and actions.” (dictionary.com) Naturalism is defined as a word and type of literature Crane uses in the novella, Maggie. In order to avoid proper names along with pronouns in specific scenes, Crane uses a naturalistic device as a tendency. This throws the reader off-balance conveying a pure( documentary explanation. In this naturalistic work of literature, there is an unusual occurrence where the appearance of Maggie seems as if it's a miraculous event. Someone outside of nature. (“Death is treated...”)

When Jack London wrote "To Build a Fire" he embraced the idea of naturalism because it mirrored the events of daily life. Naturalism showed how humans had to be wary at every corner because at anytime death could be there, waiting for them to make a mistake and forfeit their lives. He used naturalism, the most realistic literary movement, to show how violent and uncaring nature really is and how no matter what you do nature will always be there. London also presented the basic idea of Darwinism and the survival of the fittest, basically if you are dumb you will die. Collectively, London used naturalism to show how in life, humans can depend on nothing

Through Naturalist writing styles that would revolutionize literature of their time, Stephen Crane and Jack London became staples of American writing. Similarities and differences of theme and element can be drawn in both, Crane’s short story, “An Episode of war”, and London’s short story, “To Build a Fire”. Naturalistic literature is a writing style, which was popularized around the 1880’s to the 1930’s. Naturalism mainly focuses on scientific principles that are applied to human character and nature, and shares some similar philosophies to realism. Both writers express different and similar perspectives, but give very insightful views on their opinions. London’s “To Build a Fire”, focuses on a man who is faced with the forces of nature,

The relevant outgrowth of American realism, another relatable writing tendency derived in 1880s. Similar as the purport of realism, Naturalism detailed theto suggest that social heredity and the environment had an inevitable effect in shaping human characteristic (Elliot 497). It opposed to literacy movements in the early period, such as Romanticism or Surrealism, in which subjects receive highly symbolic, idealistic disposition. However, naturalism contained relatively passive and obscure view of the world. Unlike the realism, it focuses more on literary technique, which insinuated a philosophical position: the human beings are considered as "human beasts" (Elliot 502). By utilizing a version of the scientific method to illustrate the surrounding, naturalism writers construct the laws behind the forces that govern human lives, which could be studied and understood by the audience. From the naturalism literature, nature was sculptured as an indifferent force acting in the lives of human beings (Elliot 507). The universe, typically, has been described as

Jay Gurian comments in his article, “The Romantic Necessity in Literary Naturalism: Jack London”, about how London, and other naturalist writers deal with the forces of nature:

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.

    Challenging the strict deterministic confines of literary naturalism, which hold that "the human being is merely one phenomenon in a universe of material phenomena" (Gerard 418), Edith Wharton creates in The House of Mirth a novel which irrefutably presents the human creature as being subject to a naturalistic fate but which conveys a looming sense of hope that one may triumph over environment and circumstance if one possesses a certain strength of will or a simple faith in human possibility.

Naturalism is a very intense style of literature that an author can use. With naturalism, the author is trying to convey knowledge acquired through the senses and experiences they them selves have been through. In the novel of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, he portrays elements of naturalism through his very own sights and experiences. During the depression John Steinbeck got a first hand dose of what it meant to deal with sordid aspects of life. Just like his book, he portrays his accounts using highly realistic settings, and brutal characters with foul mouths that deal with depressing issues of life. In the real world things happen, but in the world of Mice and Men, nothing ever seems to happen the way the characters hope.

Naturalism is an outgrowing literary movement from realism, a more specific writing method. The literature network states, “Naturalism sought to go further and be more explanatory than Realism by identifying the underlying causes for a person’s actions or beliefs” (Naturalism). Naturalism is used to explain more of the natural occurring events and social behaviors, the characters behavior and believes. One of the first and leading writers to use this literary method was Stephen Crane. Crane’s famous story, “The Open Boat”, is a perfect example of a naturalist piece of writing work. In the story, the characters are four men; The Captain, The Cook, The Correspondent, and The Oiler. The four men were initially travelling in a ship called the SS Commodore, when they hit a sandbar and the ship sank. The four men must travel in a small boat, in a terrible storm in the middle of the sea for more than 30 hours, trying to row their way to a lifesaving station in an island. The devastating days leave the four men to accept the fact that they might not make it home at the end of the day, but they do not have any control over their situation. Therefore, they only have one choice which is to accept their fate, and this story is based on a real-life experience Crane had.

Stephan Crane and Jack London incorporate naturalism, title significance and representation effectively through the relationship between God, man and nature, and life and death. Naturalism represents our individual control over our destiny and our actions as determined and limited through the natural world, specifically humanity. Stephan Crane and Jack London depict descriptive images of human despair illustrated by distressing environments and environmental forces within in their stories.

Naturalism is a basic style of representation based on the accurate depiction of detail. This meaning that anything told in the story is based on the real and natural world. In naturalist’ stories, the characters are usually up against a force of nature. In Stephen Crane's “The Open Boat,” he expresses the three basic characteristics of naturalism. His story expresses pessimism, detachment from the story, and determinism.

Naturalism is a theory in writing that focuses on the indifferent characteristics of nature. Naturalism was an extension of the outgrowth of literary realism in the mid 19th century. Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution influenced the thinking of these naturalistic writers. Two authors depict naturalism in their stories heavily. Stephen Crane tells a story about a lifeboat lost at sea in “The Open Boat” and Jack London depicts a man’s trials in the wilderness through “To Build a Fire”.

Naturalism was a literary movement that took place from the 1880s until the 1940s. It used realism as a mechanism to suggest that social conditions, heredity, and environment had a monumental impact in changing or defining human character. Naturalism exposes the dark areas of life and how they affected people, such as sex, violence, disease, prejudice, abandonment, disease, and even death. Naturalism, in short, is a need to return to the earth. (Williams, 571) A prime example of this literary theory