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NATURALISM in LITERATURE

What is it?

Overview

  • Naturalism was literary movement that started in the late 19th century.
  • Highlighted the cruel and unforgiving nature of the universe.
  • Typically, Naturalist pieces of literature were uncaring, unforgiving, and blunt.

Key Themes

Themes

  • Thee common themes of Naturalism are:
  • 1st Violence
  • 2nd Survival
  • 3rd Taboo
  • These themes usually formulated a plot in decline with random blips of happiness or false hope.

Violence

Violence

Because Naturalism highlights the nature of mankind, and mankind is naturally inclined towards Violence, it is obvious why this is a large part of Naturalism in Literature.

-Usually depicted as barbaric and passionate

An example of Violence is in Grapes of Wrath when Tom Joad brutally murders a police officer after killing his best friend.

Surviving

Survival

Naturalism is all about man's struggle to survive.

The Open Boat and Grapes of Wrath both give great examples of this.

-The Open Boat: four men are struggling against an unforgiving Sea in order to survive.

-Grapes of Wrath: A family strives to overcome starvation due to economic misfortune.

Taboo

Naturalism is supposed to be uncomfortable and bleak.

-Taboo definition: prohibited or restricted by social custom.

An example of this theme is in the Novel Grapes of Wrath when a woman breast feeds a grown man in order to prevent him from starving.

Literary Examples

Two of the best examples of Naturalism in American Literature are:

  • The Open Boat by Stephen Crane
  • The Open Boat is a short story about 4 men on a life boat stranded at Sea.
  • Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
  • Grapes of Wrath is a novel about a the Joad family during the Great Depression in the 1930s

Literature

What makes it Naturalism?

T

The Open Boat

The Open Boat has a few common Naturalist themes including:

-Survival

-Determinism

-Desperation

-Hopelessness

It also gives a perfect` depiction of how impartial Nature is to mankind

Grapes of Wrath and Naturalism

Grapes of Wrath

Grapes of Wrath is possibly the best Naturalism Novel of all time. It accentuates common ideas such as:

-Inciting Social Reform

-Having a Plot of Decline

-Depicting the cruelty of mankind

-Hopelessness against society

Social Reform

Simply Surviving

Social Reform

John Steinbeck has stated he wrote the novel to incite social reform. He does this throughout the novel by showing us how Tom Joad, the main character's, philosophy on life changes.

Helping Others

A Plot in Decline

Plot of Decline

One of the most common plot designs in Naturalism is Decline.

-Grampa Joad's Death

-Granma Joad's Death

-The Death of Jim Casy

-The burning of Hooverville

-Tom going into hiding

-Joad family still starves

All of these events show how cruel the world can be and this is one of the central themes in Naturalism

History

History

-Naturalism started in the late 1800s

-after Transcendentalism

-Authors often used the scientific method to write

-because of the idea that the whole universe is knowable

In Summation...

Naturalism

Two literary examples are:

Grapes of Wrath

The Open Boat

Closing

Naturalism Started in the late 19th Century

Naturalism was used to incite Social Reform

Timeline

Most Naturalism Stories have a plot of decline

Major Themes Included:

Survival

Determinism

Taboo

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Sources Cited

Sources Cited

-Literary Device Editors. "History, Function, and Examples of Naturalism." literarydevices.net/naturalism. 11/13/18 @ 18:08

-Papineau, David. "Naturlism." plato.stanford.net. 11/7/18 @ 15:18 (Metaphysics Research Lab)

-Augustyn, Adam. "Naturalism in Philosphy." britannica.net 11/2/18 @ 14:51 (Britannica)

-Campbell, Donna. "Naturalism in American Literature." public.wsu.edu 12/10/18 @ 17:57

-Carneades Editors. "What is Naturalism?" youtube.com 11/30/18 @ 15:14

(Carneades)

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