Overview of NaturalismNaturalism was an American literary movement that took place in the late 19th and early 20th-century. It is regarded as an extension of Realism and sought to portray common values of the ordinary individual objectively. Naturalistic views of the nature of human beings were heavily influenced by Marxism, evolutionary theory, and other scientific principles such as Darwinism. Naturalism presented characters that were frequently of low social and economic class whose lives were governed by forces of natural selection, instinct, and heredity. Naturalistic novels revolve around these characters by incorporating them into a harsh, deterministic universe that subjects them to the laws and forces of nature. Conflicts of “man vs. nature” and “man vs. self” are usually explored in which the stories either focus on man’s capabilities to conquer their environment or his battle to resist internal struggles that threaten to release the “brute within” |
Unlike Realism, which stressed the details of basic everyday human existence, Naturalism describes the ugly downfalls and struggles of human life. Instead of taking a politically correct approach, Naturalism deeply analyzes taboo aspects of societal and biological conflicts that every human faces. In The Red Badge of Courage, the main character Henry Fleming compares his experience in the army to being in a “moving box” that is filled with “iron laws of tradition and law on four sides” (Crane 49). The “moving box” serves as a metaphor for the predetermined and unavoidable laws of nature that imprison characters under the illusion of free will.
Naturalist narratives are thought to be told from an external viewpoint in regards to another’s life and struggles without making futile attempts of advocating for change. Naturalists simply take the world as it is, whether it be good or bad. This documentary style of writing provides for a creative breeding ground for fiction where primal emotions can neutralize human reason and where an environment can completely dictate a character’s fate in a novel.
Naturalist narratives are thought to be told from an external viewpoint in regards to another’s life and struggles without making futile attempts of advocating for change. Naturalists simply take the world as it is, whether it be good or bad. This documentary style of writing provides for a creative breeding ground for fiction where primal emotions can neutralize human reason and where an environment can completely dictate a character’s fate in a novel.