Stephen Crane Naturalism Essay

As I mentioned earlier as a child Theodore Roethke spent a lot of his time in the greenhouse his father and uncle owned. He observed nature and its true beauty in unique ways. The years he spent in that greenhouse truly helped him become successful in his writing career. A good number of his most famous works, as well as his less notable works reference nature in some way. I will discuss some of these poems showing the references to nature and repeated themes. Roethke tends to relate life and death to nature using imagery and detailed descriptions to captivate the readers.

During the Romantic era, writers were fascinated with the relationship between nature and humanity, often idealizing mankind’s connection with natural surroundings. William Cullen Bryant believed in nature’s ability

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.

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 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.

Naturalism and Realism both became important writing styles in the mid- nineteenth century. Naturalist writing portrays individuality within a character allowing a person to obtain humanistic themes. Realist writing is all about portraying real life and real situations. (Thesis)- Jack London’s “To Build a Fire” and Mark Twain’s “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” both display elements of naturalism and realism.

Ralph Waldo Emerson exemplified him being a clear examples of Bright Romanticism with his first inclusion of nature. An excerpt talking about the author about this manner can found in Cliff Notes under the

Realism is defined as “an attempt to make art and literature resemble life.” Realism generally tires to reflect real life, as previously stated, without, however the added negativity and sense of hopelessness that Naturalism does. Unlike realism which focuses on literary technique, naturalism implies it is a philosophical position. For naturalistic writers, since human beings are, as Emile Zola puts it, "human beasts," characters can be studied through the relationships they have to their surroundings. Below are three analyses of three separate texts, discussing whether they are: realistic or naturalistic, each text’s central ideas, and what the writer wanted the reader to realize about reality.

“[Jack] London possessed, to an extreme, the characteristics associated with creativity” (Schwebel 4). London is an esteemed American Literature author that lived from 1876 to 1916. London wrote many renowned short stories, many of which fall under the era of naturalism. Naturalism is “The term Naturalism describes a type of literature that attempts to apply scientific principles of objectivity and detachment to its study of human beings.” (Scheidenhelm). Naturalism describes life exactly how it occurs, and approaches explanations from a scientific standpoint instead of discussing the spiritual and supernatural. One of the key elements of naturalism is the explication of human relationships with nature.

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

Naturalism is a form of writing that imitates life in the most real and natural way. Its influence of on writers is significant, as writers attempt to portray the natural world through literature. Some authors found it easy to write in a naturalist sense, because naturalism often focuses on the plights of the lower class. Many writers rose from the bottom and were inspired by their previous experiences. Jack London is an example of someone who rose from the bottom. His early life struggles are displayed in “What Life Means to Me”. It is easier to understand why he writes naturalistic pieces such as “To Build a Fire” when looking at his younger life. London’s life story as seen in “What Life Means to Me” more or less mirrors the struggles

Naturalism is an extension of Realism, a movement that has taken hold in the late nineteenth century, and implies a scientific observation and interpretation of life, in which human beings are perceived as driven by passion and instinct, while heredity and environment rule their life (Cuddon 537). Through the use of literary devices such as metaphor, personification, and symbolism, naturalistic writers such as Stephen Crane, Frank Norris, and Jack London portrayed the common individuals' reality as ruled by forces external to one's will.

There are many books, short stories, and poems that were written in the naturalism movement. One book that comes to mind through this movement is Maggie: A Girl of the Streets by Stephen Crane. From there a short story of that time is “A Dark Brown Dog” by Stephen Crane. Then there is always a poem. One that is named “The Way of War” by Jack London. All these stories capture the idea of someone’s experience in life. Showing that hard times can make or break a person. They are able to

Anyone who has read American literature will know of the significance of naturalism as a literary genre in American literature. Merriam Webster’s definition of Naturalism is as follows: A theory that art or literature should conform exactly to nature or depict every appearance of the subject that comes to the artist’s attention, specifically a theory in literature emphasizing the role of heredity and environment upon human life and character development. Naturalism went from being a movement in the 19th and 20th century to the literary genre it is today. Even though some consider naturalism to be stereotypical and one-dimensional, naturalism remains an important literary genre in American literature today because of it’s ability to turn from a literary movement to a literary genre and it’s popular novelists and major characteristics remain front and center in American literature today.

Nature played a major role in this poet's life but it was not all about his physical senses that he took as reality. It was due to the fact that he was a "worshipper of Nature" (152) and he knew that "nature never did betray" (122) him. And those thoughts were what had comforted and encouraged him to connect with nature through his mind. He wanted to affirm to his readers that his mind not only receives sensation and