美国文学 论文

A comparison between realism and naturism in American literature

Abstract: Both sprung from France, while being two separate literary movements, Realism and Naturalism have at times found themselves to be interchangeable, sharing some deep running similarities. Many critics have suggested that there is no clear distinction between realism and its related late nineteenth-century movement, naturalism. However, these two literary movements are separated for reasons. Via the comparison, we will have a closer view at the similarities and differences between realism and naturism in American literature.

Key words: realism naturalism romanticism life and humanity pessimistic

As a literary movement realism occurred in Europe and the USA in the latter half of the nineteenth century as a reaction against “the lie” of romanticism and sentimentalism.

It expressed the concern for the world of experience, of the commonplace, and for the familiar and the low. Howells, Henry James, and Mark Twain are the movement's most famous practitioners.

The American realists advocated “verisimilitude of detail derived from observation”. The effort to approach the norm of experience---a reliance on the representative in plot, setting, and character, and to offer an objective rather than an idealized view of human nature experience. Many critics have suggested that there is no clear distinction between realism and its related late nineteenth-century movement, naturalism.

The definition states that, 'Naturalism in literature was a literary movement, which began in the late nineteenth century (1865-1900) in film, art, literature and theater that portrays common values of an ordinary individual.' Naturalism was a literary movement that suggested the involvement of environment, heredity and social conditions in shaping the human character. Naturalism or literary naturalism, originated as a French movement, where the naturalistic writers were influenced by the theory of evolution of Charles Darwin and the ideas of Hippolyte Taine, a philosopher. Naturalistic writers wrote stories that adopted the perspective that a person's character is determined by one's lineage and environment. The term 'naturalism' was coined by Emile Zola, an influential French writer. He was also an important contributor towards the development of theatrical naturalism. Some other famous writers associated with naturalism are Stephen Crane, Frank Norris, Jack London and Theodore Dreiser.

It seems that Naturalism is an outgrowth of realism. Like realism, it wants to present an almost photographically accurate version of "real" life. It's full of facts and details about an everyday world ordinary people may well recognize. Its characters speak the same dialects real Americans speak. So basically what are the similarities between Naturalism and Realism?