SH+2015+P4+Naturalism

= PERIOD 4 NATURALISM =

Aim PIECE: Isabelle Acree

(picture from Anna Gabrielsen)

The aim of naturalism in literature is to be realistic in the environment inside the story to make it believable. It was a writing style that tried to bring reality into play, even though reality might not always be pretty. “ It was a mainly unorganized literary movement that sought to depict believable everyday reality, as opposed to such movements as Romanticism or Surrealism, in which subjects may receive highly symbolic, idealistic or even supernatural treatment,” (“Naturalism”). The usage of naturalism became popular amongst minorities because it would allow them to tell the truth about their lives and how it shapes their and human character in general. However, the movement faced many problems: “Naturalistic works exposed the dark harshness of life, including poverty, racism, violence, prejudice, disease, corruption, prostitution, and filth. As a result, naturalistic writers were frequently criticized for focusing too much on human vice and misery,” (“Naturalism”). Since real life was oftentimes grim, the movement was frowned upon by many because of subject matter in the literature that could prove to be controversial.

"Naturalism (literature)." //Wikipedia.// Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 31 July 2015

Audience PIECE: Emiley Ala



Naturalism is pointing to the people who want to know the facts how they are, not what they could potentially be. Just the cold hard facts. One way to look at it was comparing it to the unknown. Put in the words of Robert T. Pennock, “If we could apply natural knowledge to understand supernatural powers, then, by definition, they would not be supernatural” (Robert T. Pennock). This provides an idea, an innovation to find the supernatural, an object, idea or being that is unfamiliar, or can’t be explained, and find what the science behind it really is. It gives scientist a reason to find out how the basics of how the world works. It gives purpose to the small, or bizarre phenomenons that get encountered everyday, but doesn’t get acknowledged. Not just in science, but in understanding how this universe really functions inside and out. Naturalism literacy holds opinions, ideas and finds out how the world would react to interference. Emile Zola was one of the first to write about this. He wrote “Naturalism involves the application to literature of two scientific principles: determinism, or the belief that character, temperament, and, ultimately, behaviour are determined by the forces of heredity, environment, and historical moment; and the experimental method, which entails the objective recording of precise data in controlled conditions” (Emile Zola). This, could be useful to others who want to understand how the world works. The audience is the curious researchers with an open mind to understand the culture and ideology around them.

Wikipedia. “Naturalism (philosophy)” 2 Aug. 2015< [|__https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naturalism_(philosophy)__] >

Britannica. “Émile Zola”2 Aug. 2015< [|__http://www.britannica.com/biography/Emile-Zola__] >

Historical PIECE: Emily Weatherwax Naturalism was developed and then became one of the most common styles of literature from 1890 to 1925. The Literature Network gave a rather forward definition of Naturalism, “More than a few atrocities in world history were perpetrated by those who misguidedly applied Darwinism to the social realm. Naturalism, for better or worse, is in some respects a form of Social Darwinism played out in fiction,” (Naturalism). This means that Naturalism has a historical context, because it was from a while ago, and coincidentally came about around the same time that Social Darwinism was coined. Its main historical impact, however, was on American Literature. There were a few European authors that used this style, but there are really only three notable European authors who wrote in that style, like Emile Zola, who was the actual creator of the term. American authors, like Jack London, wrote in this style the most. Another impact naturalism made on history was that, while similar to another literary style of that time period, realism, it differed in that “ Unlike, Realism which focuses on literary technique, naturalism implies a philosophical position,” (American Literary History: Romanticism, Realism and Naturalism: Naturalism). It made an impact by being a literary technique that didn’t involve literary elements, instead it viewed people and life from a scientific standpoint. The goal of naturalism was to show people merely as objects, and to be objective and detached while doing so. Then the stories would show how people were shaped by their environment and their genes. The authors of the time did that to attempt to show what was wrong with society, like living conditions and how people were being treated so people could fix it. Naturalism made history by attempting to change society through using scientific concepts hoping to change society, and instead changing the American literary scene of that time period, being one of the three biggest styles during that time.

Scheidenhelm, Carol. “American Literary History: Romanticism, Realism, and Naturalism: Naturalism” //Loyola University Chicago.// Loyola University Chicago, 14 August 2007.Web. 2 August 2015

Rahn, Josh. “Naturalism” //The Literature Network//. Jalic Inc., n.d. Web. 2 August 2015.

Cultural: PIECE __(Anna Gabrielsen)__ The modern day cultural impact of naturalism is that naturalism will show the full awfulness of the world. Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary defines naturalism in literature as “a theory … emphasizing scientific observation of life without idealization or the avoidance of the ugly,”(Naturalism). If a text is written with naturalism, it is not coddling the readers with fake pleasantness. This affects modern day readers by giving them the full force of the unpleasantness of life in the time that is being depicted. Readers wouldn’t realize how awful some events are due to more popular styles of writing that focus more on the good or made up truths to distract from the struggles of what really happened. Naturalism does the opposite, it has no cushioning about the dreadful truth of what was happening in the time period it is written. An example is John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath. Steinbeck writes about a family during the Great Depression and the hardships they go through because of what was happening. The full force of what is happening in the story hits the readers and makes them realize what it was actually like, to some extent, to live in that time period. Naturalism makes the readers realize the gravity of what happened in the story.

"Naturalism." Def. 3. //Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary//. Springfield, MA: G.C. Merriam, 1985. 788. Print.