Naturalism - Definition

Naturalism is a literary genre that is often compared to Realism. It came about sometime in the late nineteenth century, while Realism was developed in the early nineteenth century. Naturalism works are often reported to have been started by a French woman, but many other writers are skeptical about that theory (Sommers). There were many other American authors who adapted the Naturalism writing style.

Naturalism is a genre based mainly upon the ideas of Charles Darwin (Sommers). Darwin was a scientist who believed that humans were simply highly developed animals with no sense of free will at all. He believed that everything that made up their character had to do with their genetics and the environment that they were raised in. In this way, naturalist writing became almost like a study or a science experiment on what we think of as common animals (Sommers). This can also be compared to Realism, which viewed humans from a scientific and neutral standpoint (Campbell).

Because of Darwin's theories, the stories in the Naturalism genre could generally be supposed to follow along the same basic story line. This story line was about a person whose actions are driven by his own compulsions and desires, yet he cannot decide how his destiny will pan out in the end (Sommers).

Naturalism works were also written with mainly the same techniques (Sommers). Most of the stories were presented as sort of factual, scientific journal entries about how the main character reacts to events in his or her life, almost like Realism. In this way, the style also resembles almost a case study about a particular animal that we would find today. In these stories the subject, who could also play as the "hero", is placed in an unfamiliar place. The character is then studied, and their reactions to the location are recorded. This is almost reminiscent of an experiment in that tests are done to see how the subject will react to change. As previously mentioned, the character acts upon his or her own instincts but is still forced to accept whatever ill end they may meet (Sommers).

Sommers, Joseph Michael. "naturalism." In Maunder, Andrew. Facts On File Companion to the British Short Story. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2007. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= CBSS450&SingleRecord=True (accessed February 15, 2011).

Campbell, Donna M. "Realism in American Literature." Washington State University - Pullman, Washington. Web. 15 Feb. 2011.