Definition of Naturalism

Naturalism is a literary movement and sub-genre that came from Realism. The simple description of this literary style is one in which the author creates a scientifically accurate depiction of the story's events and other components of the work (Quinn). This comes at the price of creating very grim settings and stories as the real world is not perfect as it is depicted in some other genres of literature. The job of the author is to show how heredity and environment affect the actions and characteristics of the story's subject as a part of Naturalism (Quinn). Some of the main ideals held by authors of Naturalism come from the work of Charles Darwin in that humans are simply higher functioning animals rather than super intelligent creatures with souls (Sommers). A lot of times, Naturalism works are about the struggle of a protagonist being displaced from their regular environment and setting. Detailed descriptions of the events occurring come from this concept. The stories seem to be detailed and vivid records of events rather than an artistic story of a hero. One can see the connection to basic Realism as well as to Regionalism. In Naturalism, a focus on the setting is very important as well as the events being realistic, as found in the overall genre of Realism. Stephen Crane, Frank Norris, Theodore Dreiser, and Jack London are some of the most important American Naturalist because they were the ones that lead the literary movement to the style of Naturalism (Werlock). Most of these authors stuck to the ideal that the powerful will always control the weak and it is almost impossible to overcome a lot of hardships. This is what makes readers become attached to and very interested in the story and the characters as it is easy to sympathize with them and their rough situations. The sub-genre of Naturalism was a huge part of Realism and made contributions to literature that helped spark the popularity of the American novel.


Works Cited

Quinn, Edward. "naturalism." A Dictionary of Literary and Thematic Terms, Second Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2006. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= Gfflithem0538&SingleRecord=True. Online. February 6, 2011.

Sommers, Joseph Michael. "naturalism." In Maunder, Andrew. Facts On File Companion to the British Short Story. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2007. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= CBSS450&SingleRecord=True. Online. February 6, 2011.

Werlock, Abby H. P. "naturalism." The Facts On File Companion to the American Short Story, Second Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2009. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= Gamshrtsty0501&SingleRecord=True. Online. February 6, 2011.