Naturalism In The Sand Castle

John Steinbeck 's novel Of Mice and Men is a famous Naturalist work in American literature. Various elements of Naturalism is exhibited in this novel through its character types and story plot. Charles Darwin, an English Naturalist proposed a theory called natural selection, meaning that nature selects the best adapted varieties to survive and reproduce. Darwin also identified this theory as survival of the fittest. Steinbeck incorporated this belief of natural selection in many instances throughout Of Mice and Men using characters and their circumstances. One character named Candy has an injury and is old in age. They were leading factors in his fear of being unemployed. His dog’s old age and uselessness also resulted in its death.

When we think of women writers today we see successful, gifted and talented women. Although these women writers have been established for sometime their status of contributions to society has only been recognized way too late. During the late romantic/early realism period numerous women found success in writing despite the fact that they may have encountered numerous obstacles in their path. The characters these women wrote about almost have a kinship with themselves bringing out certain personality traits not seen written about women before. From these traits a voice emerges in literature that has been hidden from the public view. This new true voice of female self-discovery finally comes out for the public to see in

Naturalism is defined by the Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms (1990) as ‘a more deliberate kind of realism in novels, stories, and plays, usually involving a view of human beings as passive victims of natural forces and social environment’ (Baldick, p.221). The dictionary states that naturalistic drama in particular ‘usually has a broader application, denoting a very detailed illusion of real life on the stage, especially in speech, costume, and sets’ (Baldick, p.221). On the other hand, melodrama is defined as ‘a popular form of sensational drama that flourished in the 19th-century theatre […] the modern sense of melodrama derives: an emotionally exaggerated conflict of pure maidenhood and scheming villainy in a plot full of suspense’ (Baldick, p.201). Melodrama came before naturalistic drama, in the early nineteenth-century, but was taken over in popularity in the late nineteenth/ early twentieth-century by realism and naturalistic drama.

The song "Castles Made of Sand" was written by Jimi Hendrix in his album "Axis: Bold As Love," released in May of 1967. This song is basically composed of three narratives of life situations. The recurring theme throughout this song is slight variations of the line: "castles made of sand fall into the sea eventually." The overall message of this song seems to be that love, dreams, happiness and even life itself cannot be depended on to last.

However, none of the scholars has acknowledged non-duality within dualities of body/mind, self/other, and femininity/masculinity in these novels which makes this research unique. Looking at the novels through this particular frame of non-duality within duality, the study attempts to bring a new and useful addition to the scholarship on these novels which have not been worked by others. I analyze non-duality within dualities of self/other, body/mind and male/female in the selected novelists’ works through Irigaray’s ethical relation and ‘sensible transcendental’ to argue how the selected novelists defy the duality of the masculine discourse which opposes women’s self-development, and create a place for their female characters who are internally enabled and limited by the place of the other, as Irigaray defines love as a space between two distinct subjects in her ‘sensible transcendental’ and ‘sexual difference’. Through non-duality within duality, I argue how the female characters in these novels challenge the traditional binary oppositions by expressing their own female desires and articulating their subjective and gendered identity by having an ethical relationship with others within the

3. Humans goods are those goods to which humans have natural inclinations (i.e. to “know the truth about God” and the achievement of societal harmony).Ibid, 154.

Given that an individual’s identity is an ever-evolving concept, it seems unlikely people would define themselves through a fixed set of character traits. Identity is complex process that changes with the beliefs and ideas of the individual, and it is a necessary one in order for an individual to thrive in society. The changeability of one’s identity offers perspective about the world, and it allows them to gain personal insights about who they are and their place in this world. Anne Bradstreet expresses her shifting identity in her poems “The Prologue” and “Contemplations.” Through her writings, one witnesses Bradstreet contemplate the natural elements around her as well as her own Puritan ideals in an effort to gain spiritual

Literature, a body of written works, is something that I sometimes find myself leisurely immersing in. It allows for the limitations of my own ordinary situations to be seized momentarily whilst I let mind be free and my own imagination wander. The pursuit of self-discovery is present within many forms of literature and can be told through plots and central characters. I often discover new societal universal longings that arise from the novels pages which encourages me to reflect on my own sense of self. The unique interpretations and individual thoughts made by readers allows for a diverse range of reactions to literature. It allows for the words on a page to transform from still words, into a journey of personal expedition, where individuals deepen their connections to the characters as well venturing on a self-discovery expedition. I can relate with F. Scott Fitzgerald’s claim that “you discover that your longings are universal longings, that you’re not lonely and isolated from anyone. You belong”. I have recently read both a novel, The light between oceans by M.L Stedman, and a memoir, Reckoning by Magda Szubanski, that have allowed me to reflect upon my own sense of self and question my own societal universal longings.

There has always been a fascination with the self, often expressed in literature; Both Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886) and Daniel Keyes’ Flowers for Algernon (1966) published nearly one-hundred years later, explore the theme of the importance of self-knowledge.

Naturalism takes the basis of realism and expands those ideas in order to assert that the individual is always overcome by an impersonal, unperceiving nature or by the single-minded expansion of commerce. In Peace Like a River, the Land family does experience trial, and is even pushed from their home, but this is not quite Naturalism. The places and people that they find themselves surrounded by are invested in the family’s situation in one way or another. There is no uncaring force that overwhelms the family, and though they do face tragedy, and Jeremiah does die, it is not in a naturalist fashion. Every threat the family faces, from Israel Finch and Tommy Basca to Jape Waltzer, is hauntingly personal. The feeling of an intensely personal threat is what drives Davy to fight back against Israel and Tommy, and what makes Jape such a horrifying villain, but this personal nature is exactly the opposite of Naturalism. Naturalism in American literature is one individual against a faceless mass from which that single human cannot hope to defend itself. The struggle is futile and the challenges that the individual faces are too powerful to be overcome. Naturalism is also a repression of the individual autochthony found so prevalently in American literature, although in the cases where the development of commerce overcomes the powerless human beings, Naturalism can serve as a reminder of the seemingly unstoppable forward momentum of American culture.

Naturalism as a genre depicts commonplace happenings dictated by powers larger than humans, such as nature or society. As Phillip Barrish puts it, “Literary works … traditionally identified with naturalism depict characters whose lives are controlled or ‘determined’ by immense, impersonal forces that the characters themselves can barely understand, let alone effectively resist” (116). Obviously, not all naturalist literature is created equal; different authors choose to focus on different aspects of the genre. Specifically, this study will be exploring the differences between divergent interpretations of naturalism: the first, a story controlled by the forces of nature, and, the second, a story manipulated by the power of societal structures.

Women all over the world today grow up and try to find their place. Many of whom struggle with the daunting task of discovering their passions. This idea can be played into the theme of women and their discovery of self. Authors who attempt to capture this theme create novels that are relatable and compelling to all audiences. Both Brooklyn written by Colm Tobin and Memoires of a Woman Doctor written by Nawal El Saadawi display this theme beautifully in their novels. While both novels are set in relatively the same time period, they have two very different settings. Brooklyn was set primarily in Brooklyn, New York while Memoirs of a Woman Doctor is set in Cairo, Egypt. In addition to their different settings, they both portray very different types of women. Saadawi’s work displays a very strong willed feministic character while Tobin’s novel illustrates a timid and easy going woman. By comparing the two, it shows that this theme of self-discovery is universal and can be applied to all women no matter their age, gender, and ethnicity. Both novels display a universal theme that all women, no matter their cultural background, experience similar feelings of uncertainty in themselves.

Rose Mary Walls’ character in The Glass Castle portrays someone who, upon first glance, doesn’t appear to behave at all rationally in any situation, from her eccentric, unpredictable attitude to her seeming lack of regard for the well-being of her children. A closer analysis, however, reveals her attitude and ideas not only to be more consistent within her character, but reveals her to play an important role in the development of the story and key to the experience of the reader. This essay moves to reveal Rose Mary’s role as a mirror to Jeanette’s experience throughout the story, as well as exploring her character through Jeanette Walls’ writing choices via diction and other literary tools to create a consistent character. By comparing the way Rose Mary is portrayed in the story before and after the Walls family’s move to Welch, her relevance to the story is revealed.

Naturalism is a philosophy which emphasizes “the effect of heredity and environment on human nature and action” (Zhang) and incorporates realism to “suggest that social conditions… and environment [have] inescapable force in shaping human character” (Zhang). Furthermore, the Stanford Encyclopedia of Natural Philosophy explains that to Naturalists, “reality is exhausted by nature, containing nothing ‘supernatural’, and that the scientific method should be used to investigate all areas of reality” (Papineau). Naturalism (in literature) is an idea that suggests everything about humanity is measurable, detectable, manipulatable, and traceable to a cause, and therefore the characters of Naturalist literature would be illustrated as simply the products of their environments; vessels devoid of spiritual guidance or fate that are subject only to their environments. An example of a Naturalistic novel is The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton; a novel set in late 19th century New York that follows Lily Bart: a young woman who was born rich but is slowly losing both her societal status and her money whilst she repeatedly avoids marriage, her only option to escape her fate: a life of poverty. With this in mind, The House of Mirth is an exemplary example of a Naturalistic novel because of its portrayal of characters as the product of their environments.

Permeating academia and achieving cultural acceptance, naturalistic philosophies actively influence nearly every facet of the human experience, including the contemporary church. Writing for a Christian audience, Bush devotes significant attention to accentuating the inherent problems of advancement philosophy, while demonstrating the logical inconsistencies of naturalistic propositions and adverse implications of adopting such perspectives consistently. This critique will summarize Bush’s publication, demonstrating his success in appraising advancement ideologies, while simultaneously highlighting the importance of a proper Christian response.