Republic of the Philippines

University of Antique
College of Teacher Education
Sibalom, Antique

Topic: Naturalism
Reporters: Ruslie U. Viceda
Lyca Donna I. Domingo
Cherrylyn Alagos

What is Naturalism?
 A literary movement that used realism to explore the effects of heredity and social
environment on human character.

Naturalism in Literature
 Influenced by Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution.
 They often believed that one’s heredity and social largely determine one’s character.
 Naturalistic works exposed the dark, harshness of life, including poverty, racism,
violence, prejudice, disease, corruption, prostitution, and filth.

Characteristics
 Pessimism- is one of the primary characteristics of naturalism.
 Determinism- is a characteristic of naturalism, defined as the opposite of the notion of
free will.
 Detachment from the story and the attempt to maintain a tone that will be
experienced as ‘objective’ by the reader.
 Surprising twist at the end of the story

Famous Writer
Ẻmile Zola
Most prominent literary naturalists and one of the first to use the term to describe his style of
writing.

American Naturalism
Naturalism in American literature traces to Frank Norris, whose theories were markedly
different from Zola’s, particularly to the status of naturalism within the loci of realism and
romanticism; Norris thought of naturalism as being romantic and thought Zola as being “a
realist of realists.

Theater
In theater, the naturalism movement developed in the late nineteenth and early twentieth
century. Naturalism in theater was an attempt to create a perfect illusion of reality through
detailed sets, an unpoetic literary syle that reflects the way ordinary people speak, and a style
of acting that tries to recreate reality.
Key themes of Naturalism in literature
 Survival, determinism, violence, and taboo as key themes.
 The “brute within” each individual, comprised of strong and often warring emotions:
passion, such as lust, greed, or the desire for dominance or pleasure; and the fight for
survival in an amoral, indifferent universe.
 Nature as an indifferent force acting on the lives of human beings.
 The forces of heredity and environment as they affect – and afflict – individual lives.
 An indifferent, deterministic universe.

Key Figures of Literary Naturalism

Stephen Crane
The works of Stephen Crane played a fundamental role in the development of Literary
Naturalism. While supporting himself by his writings, he lived among the poor in the Bowery
slums to research his first novel: Maggie: A Girl Of The Streets (1893).

Frank Norris
Benjamin Franklin Norris (March 5, 1870- October 25, 1902) was an American novelist during
the Progressive Era, writing predominantly in the naturalist genre. His notable works include
McTeague (1899). The Octopus: A California Story (1901), and The Pit (1903).

Theodore Dreiser
Considered by many as the leader of Naturalism in American writing, Dreiser is also
remembered for his stinging criticism of the genteel tradition and of what William Dean Howells
described as the “smiling aspects of the life” typifying America.

Authors of the Naturalism Movement and their works

There were quite a few authors that participated in the movement of literary naturalism. They
include;
Edith Wharton (The House of Mirth (1905) )
Ellen Glasgow ( Barren Ground, 1925)
John Dos Passos (U.S.A trilogy (1938)
John Steinbeck (The Grapes of Wrath, 1939)
Richard Wright (Native Son 1940)
Saul Bellow (The Adventures of Augie March, 1953)

Impact of Naturalism on Literature

The literary naturalism movement had a tremendous effect on twentieth-century literature.
Donald Prizer, author of Twentieth Century Literary Naturalism, conducted an analysis to see
exactly what attributes tied the different naturalistic texts together and gave them their
naturalistic identity. In other words, a reflection on Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s quote “Man is born
free, and everywhere he is in chains.” Is what Donald Prizer striving for. He states “The
naturalistic novelist is willing to concede that there are fundamental limitations to man’s
freedom, but he is unwilling to concede that man is thereby stripped of all value.”
References:
 Boundless. ‘Literary naturalism.” Boundless U.S History. Boundless, 02 April. 2015-
Retrieved 30 Apr.2015
from https://www.boundless.com/ u-s-history/textbooks/boundless-u-s-history-
textbook/race-empire-and-culture-in-the-gilded-age-1870-1900-21/the-rise-of-realism-
161/literary-naturalism-864-5234/
 http:en.wikepedia.org/wiki/Naturalism_%28literature%29
 https:www.newworldencyclopedia.org