What is realism? What is naturalism? How do they find form in the works we've read in class? And what are their political implications?
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Professor Jennifer Glaser, English and Comparative Literature, University of Cincinnati
Realism and naturalism are two opposing world views that not only determine how one sees the world, but also has political implications. Realism is a point of view that focuses on free will and the idea that the human mind can only compose. Writing in the realist school is to be objective. Beauty is found through truth and truth is reality. Those who follow naturalism on the other hand see science as the predictor of fate. Many naturalist authors write with the intent to bring about some type of social or political change while realism merely critiques society.
ReplyDeleteRealism is a writer attempting to take a snap shot of an event, person, or culture. It is equivalent to a photograph or documentary. However natualism seeks to portray the truth like realism but includes a message. It is like a sociological approach where the writer makes general inferences and statements of events or a culture. For example the reading tonight demonstrates naturalism because it is portraying the reality and delivering a message about politics, greed, and those who are effected. In sister Carrie, Dreiser makes a double edged statement about women's rediculous want for "shiny things" and the inadequate, respectable work provided for women to aquire these things. In both works people fail due to forces they are unable to control.
ReplyDeleteRealism in literature is when a writer attempts to portray individuals as they really are. Naturalism tends to depict everyday life. They try to explain the actions of individuals through scientific analysis. They believe that their genetics and social environment shape the people and their actions. Naturalistic literature seems harsh and they often expose the darkness of life life poverty, racism etc...
ReplyDeleteRealism and Naturalism are closely related but naturalism focuses on the scientific workings of society and harkens on how they function in their given enironment. Realism focuses on the everyday but does not have a microscopic view like naturalism. In the readings we have read so far, Sister carrie hones in on naturalism the most. It depicted the tale of an immigrant farm girl who tries to survive in the city. She has to adapt to her new environment and the reader is given a look at how a person adapts to new situations. As I stated in class this was the time of the progressive era where wrongs in society were given light. The meat packing industry was changed due to Upton Sinclairs novel The Jungle. Other books came out of this time period to make the upper classes aware of a society that is struggling to make ends meet and the corruption that is present within America.
ReplyDeleteFrom Becky Boeing:
ReplyDeleteI believe realism is a type of writing that does not appeal to the reader because of its beautiful language or intriguing plot, but rather because it reminds the reader of himself or herself. Realism depicts the world as it is and allows writers to reflect the worlds they know. This enabled readers to personally identify with the characters in the writings and also allowed authors to fearlessly write the truth, whether ugly and sad or beautiful and happy.
Naturalism stems from this form of realistic portrayals but takes the descriptions a step further by tying them into the laws of nature. The main depiction is perhaps the "survival of the fittest" law. This is very evident in both "Sister Carrie" and "A Deal in Wheat." Dreiser stresses this point as he describes Carrie's encounters with finding a job. She is repeatedly turned away because she does not have any experience. Norris stresses this point by showing the battle between the two wheat dealers. In addition, Norris also stresses the natural rule that one cannot easily overcome his or her place in society and most do not have the power to do it at all. Mr. Lewiston is one of the few people who once stood in a bread line for free food because his life, along with the others who stood in the line, had taken turns beyond his and their control. At the end of the story we learn that he does in fact right himself but he knows there are so many others who were not as lucky. It is!
important to mention at this point in the story, Norris says that Mr. Lewiston change of events is due to luck and nothing more. This may be his strongest note that people are not in control of their lives - a strong scientific theory introduced by Charles Darwin at this time.
Realism became one of the most prominent literary movements in the early 20th century. The rise of the newspaper and journalism greatly influenced realism. It was also influenced by the rise of photography. It changed techniques in how people viewed the world. With realism, authors write as if looking through a camera. Cameras are objective. They record reality without comment. We see realism in W.D. Howells and Henry James’ writing.
ReplyDeleteNaturalism represents reality, the world as it is. Naturalism grows out of realism – and it is based on the theories of Darwin. It states that literature and science are not separate. Naturalism puts life under a microscope. Nauralism’s political motivation (life of the poor or immigrant) is that through writing, it can change American culture by making others aware of real life. Naturalism is the more political side of realism. We see Naturalism in the “Imported Bridegroom” by Cahan and Theodore Dreiser’s “Sister Carrie.”
Q: What is realism? What is naturalism? How do they find form in the works we've read in class? And what are their political implications?
ReplyDeleteA: I think realism is a form of writing that allows the reader to see a depiction of the writer in their everyday life. I think naturalisim is a philosopical way of explain what is real or nautral. I think we have seen both realism and naturalisim in some of the romanticized works we have read. We have seen realism in the Teddy Roosevelt work or the western works that discussed the American Dream. We have seen nautralism in any of the immigrant or slavery owrks read in class. I dont think that realism has any political implications because its more of the ideology of what is real. Where as naturalism would have more political implications since it is more of what is. The political implications would come from the influences in society during the 19/20th century.
Realism is a style of writing in which the author tries to portray the world as accurately as possible. A good way of thinking about realism is through the lens of a camera. The author records real life surroundings and occurrences to the best of his/her ability. Henry James wrote in a realistic way without his perspective.
ReplyDeleteNaturalism is a style of writing in which the author portrays the world using predominantly scientific influences. Often times this kind of writing is linked with looking at life under a microscope. This literary style is often linked with Charles Darwin because his new ideas were inspiring writers to incorporate ideas such as evolution and survival of the fittest into their work. In "A Deal in Wheat" by Frank Norris, there are many ideas that stem from Darwin's theories. When Mr. Lewiston transforms from wheat farmer to hat maker, to having a steady job it is a perfect example of his evolution.
Realism helped pave the way for naturalism. Realism tried to capture the harsh reality and the truth, like in newspapers and journalism. It tried to teach moral lessons and critique human manners. In its time, it rivaled Romanticism. Romanticism revolved around feelings, beauty, art, sentiment, and the ideal. Realism threw those notions away and decided to keep portraying reality as they knew it. William Dean Howells and Mark Twain were examples of Realistic type writers. Huck Finn showed the harsh nitty gritty way of life. Naturalism was the new kind of thought. It critiqued industrial wealth. It is pessimistic, lower class, and scientific. It got a lot of inspiration from Darwin. It holds on to the idea of needing to adapt and survive. It had the idea of fate, that everything was planned out. Naturalism had the idea that the literary and the scientific were not that different. Both types of writing styles are successful in there own way.
ReplyDelete-Dione Hardin
Realism and Naturalism are two very important literary movements in the late 19th and early 20th century. Realism is depicting the world the way it really is without any fluff or added details. The realism movement began in France and then spread to the Americas. Realism is based on real things that aren’t always happy or exciting. A lot of realism works opened the eyes to upper class and political figures because it showed how the lower classes in society really lived. Naturalism is based more on scientific ideas especially of Darwin and the idea of evolution, and natural selection. In naturalism Darwin’s idea of natural selection was often applied to human class interactions. Many upper class people believed that they were there because they were the fittest for survival. While the poor were down there because they were weak and didn’t have the ability to survive. The book Sister Carrie is a good example of Naturalism in the book she had to adapt to her new situation or she won’t be able to survive the real world.
ReplyDeleteRealism and naturalism during the 1900's had similar points, but overall were very different. They were both in reaction to the romantic style of writing in the late 1800's. Writers felt like they now had to describe American life to the American people to show the hardships or realities that some people lived in each and every day. Realism focused on giving the description of human behavior and the environment exactly how it was. There should have been no opinions or subjective views in this form of writing. Also more dramatic issues among the middle or lower class would have been written about to show political leaders or the wealthy how they lived. Naturalism dealt with writing about how people were controlled by social, behavorial, and instinct. Rather than a thought behind a human's action, there was a scientific reason why they would do something. Charles Darwin wrote his "Origin of Species" in this way to demonstrate how evolution occurred and scientific facts. There was no plot or story, just knowlege.
ReplyDeleteylndsye8: Lyndsey Miller
ReplyDeletesorry.
I believe that realism is an attempt to describe natural behavior when naturalism is a theory about natural behavior. Naturalist writers focus more on a person’s life and less on the actually person, when realism describes the whole person. W.U.B Dubois was a realism writer because he focused more on natural behavior. Mark Twain was also a realism writer because of Huckleberry Finn and other works; he focused on describing the natural behavior of Huck. Naturalism writers are among famous, Darwin. Darwin brought a lot of new ideas to writers and also some sort of “theory to life” into author’s writings. Both Naturalism and Realism impacted writing and have their very own way to write
ReplyDeletedanielle paolercio^
ReplyDeleteBased on our class readings of both realism and naturalism, it seems that the two concepts are related in some ways but are also different. Both arose as responses to the Victorian style of romanticism and were in effort to portray life as it is, not as how people want it to be. Gone were the days of beautiful love stories set in scenic backdrops, and in were the newspapers and journalism that brought the rise of realism. These new media outlets objectively reported life as it happened and the general public could almost feel as if they were there when the newsworthy stories took place. Realist authors wanted to show life as is, rather than in an idealistic way.
ReplyDeleteI think that naturalism arose as a furthering of realist ideas by expanding on the notion that life 'is what it is' and leading into the ideas of evolution and determinism. These concepts were popularized at this time and are most commonly associated with the scientific community but are also relevant in literature.
Alison Dzwonczyk
Realism is when you treat the subject that you are reading as if it was a description of you everyday life. Naturalism is when you treat the subject that you are reading as if it is a view of our human life and our actions. Sister Carrie would go in to places of business and ask if they have any form of work for her. Every time she would do this thou, she would get turned down by the owner because she lacked the skills needed to do the jobs they had. This would be an example of realism that we have read in one of our assigned readings from class that stuck out to me. The author is very descriptive and went into detail about the landscape outside of the train. He focused a lot on the clothing and what the man on the train was wearing. Someone who writes with the style of naturalism effects people politically and someone who writes with the style of realism does not.
ReplyDeleteRealism is a portrayl of the real world not a fantasy world. While many stories created an idealized world for readers, realism documented life. As Howells said beauty is found in the dark and ugly Truth not in a sentimental pretty made up account.
ReplyDeleteNaturalism emulates realism in its harsh truthful depictions but instead of just documenting reality they tend to manipulate reality to make a point. Naturalism is more scientific from its strong Darwin influence and shows the implications of social phenomena. Realism is found in Howells commentaries and in the works of Henry James. Naturalism is found in "Sister Carrie" and "A Deal in wheat."
Realism and Naturalism both have great political implications. People may have found new power in seeing their real lives depicted as literature. Realism also may have made ordinary people more introspective instead of escaping into a fantasy and made them think of ways to better their lives. Also, the lack of heavy moral judgements and the portrayl of people that make moral mistakes as understandable people and not monsters may have influenced the mores of the day.
Naturalism was itself motivated by politics and must have made an impact in its day. By showing the plight of common people as determined by social forces, the naturalists made a strong arguement for social change.
I agree with Mary Grace in the fact that Realism is the observing literature, like a documentary or research paper. It was a time of change culturally and politically and Realism writers were documenting the change as it progressed.
ReplyDeleteNaturalism seems to follow a similar route but yet veers off when thinking about progression. Naturalism bases itself off of scientific theory such as Darwinism. The opinions and self taught theories were shown to the reader via a moral story or plot based setting. Where as Realism just depicts the actual case step by step
Authors who write in a realist or naturalist mindset are very similar in that they both depict society and humanity in a unique way. Realism takes a look into how a society works and how it is changing. Eric Arthur Blair, who wrote under the pen name of George Orwell, was a great realist author who in works like "Down and Out in Paris and London" and "The Road to Wigan Pier" took an in-depth look into a changing society at the time.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Mary Kakaris's post about naturalism. Naturalist writers observe societies and culture with the idea that genetics and social environment shape people and their actions. They use a scientific approach to analyze what they are writing about.
I don't necessarily think that realism and naturalism are opposing views, since naturalism is a offshoot of realism. Both take the world and present it frankly, honestly and without any veneer, but naturalism takes it a step further by using science as a factor. Naturalists are also very scientifically motivated, attempting to explain everything through science. Determinism is a core value of the naturalists, whereas realists view things with a much more libertarian (not the political party) sense. Both were, in fact, used as impetus for for political change. One of the most prominent examples was Upton Sinclair and "The Jungle." This led to both the Meat Inspection Act and the 1906 Pure Food and Drug Act (both passed under Teddy Roosevelt).
ReplyDeleteIn realist writing, and author is attempting to portray the gritty, undesirable aspects of life as realistically and truly as possible. This genre is the literary equivalent of a photograph whose purpose is to capture a moment in history. The beauty of realism is its ability to depict the real ugliness of life.
ReplyDeleteNaturalism is similar to realism, but has more of a scientific nature. Naturalist writing focuses on the idea of determinism and social Darwinism. Naturalist writing is also more likely to have a tutorial aspect, or a political or social undertone.
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ReplyDeleteRealism is a writing style that depicts everyday events without a romantic sentiment. Realism shows that life can be mundane, unfortunate, and downright nasty sometime.
ReplyDeleteNaturalism follows the same principals of realism except that it has a stronger darwinian theme and in turn a political aspect to it. The darwanism is seen very strongly in "A Deal in Wheat" where we see two well off men who are the "strong" ruining the lives of many and they see it a fun competitive game. The strongest character gets duped by his smaller competitor and laughs it off saying he only lost "a hatful of dollars" and that he isn't going to prosecute the lower competitor for his breach of contract. This is clear example of the strong surviving and flourishing while the weak suffer.
Realism is the attempt of a writer trying to depict everyday realities into literature. This approach is based upon truth, honesty, and fails to sugar coat anything. On the other hand, naturalism is more of a scientific approach to literature. This aspect focuses on fantasies and attempts to replicate aspects of real life. Darwinism had a huge effect on this aspect of literature. Each of these literary approaches have been depicted in our readings in class. I don’t think realism has any political implications since it focuses on reality and truth as opposed to naturalism… since naturalism can sometimes be based solely on theory and not facts.
ReplyDeleteRicky Ellis
ReplyDeleteRealism came about with the rise of the newspaper and field of journalism. It allowed for changed techniques of representing the world as we see it. In the view of a camera the world is seen as objective and records reality. Naturalism reprsents reality and deals with darwinism. Literary and science are not separate in this view of the world. Naturalism is interested in power and social darwinism. The survival of the fittest in society is a respresentation of this. There is also pessimistic and determinism aspects to this concept. Life is studied under a microscope to study people.