Naturalism
Realism’s Pesky Little Brother?
Naturalism
Naturalism is a literary movement that took place from the 1880′s to the 1940′s. It is a type of Realism. Naturalist writers were strongly influenced by the writings of Charles Darwin, and the theory of evolution.
According to Naturalism…
Human Character is D-SHAPED
Social conditions
Heredity
(Both heavily influenced by Charles Darwin)
Attitudes towards controversial subjects
Pessimism
Environment
Determinism
(all achieved through Detachment)
Detachment
Narrators are detached from the story. This means that it should be an objective tone.
Also, there is sometimes a forced detachment by having nameless characters. This puts the focus on the plot and what happens to the character, rather than the character itself.
Determinism
Determinism is basically the opposite of the notion of free will. Naturalists generally believed that characters only have a small amount of influence on their life. Most of their life is shaped by nature or environmental factors, and characters can do nothing about it.
Literary Naturalism in the United States
In the United States, the luminaries of the genre are Theodore Dreiser, Jack London, John Steinbeck, and Edith Wharton.
All four of the principal naturalists were skeptical of organized religion and beliefs in human free will.
Naturalist Subject Matter
Naturalistic works often include what many people of that time would call scandalous subject matter: the dark harshness of life, poverty, racism, sex, prejudice, disease, prostitution, and filth.
Differences from Realism
While Realism believed that it should show things as they really are, naturalism also wanted to determine “scientifically” the underlying forces (nature) that shaped the reality.
Although it is Realism, American Naturalism was mostly a reaction against the mainstream Realism. Realism discussed middle-class or “local color” topics, with taboos on sexuality and violence. Naturalism broke those taboos and talked about everyone, including poor people.
