American Naturalism

1. American Naturalism Jack London Stephen Crane Theodore Dreiser

2. Contents Ⅰ. American Naturalism Ⅱ. Representatives Ⅲ. Appreciate The Open Boat

3. Ⅰ. American Naturalism 1. Background 2. Definition 3. Main Characters

4. Ⅰ. American Naturalism 1. Background a. Further Industrialization ☆ the appearance of an industrial proletariat and slums ☆ the westward expansion of industry, farming going to bankrupt

5. 1. Background b. Philosophical Bases ☆ Origin of Species (1859) Darwinism indicates that the origin of species is derived by descent, with variation from parent forms through the natural selection of those best adapted to survive in the struggle for existence. Charles Robert Darwin (1809 ～1882) English naturalist natural selection Human beast

6. 1. Background ☆ “survival of the fittest” coined by Herbert Spencer, who extended evolution into social system/realms of sociology and ethics. Herbert Spencer (1820～1903) English philosopher Emile Zola1840-1902

7. 1. Background c. French Naturalism ☆Emile Zola:French writer, the originator of naturalism The surroundings and heredity can decide one’s destiny. ☆ the purpose of a novelist was to be a scientist; watch the influences of heredity and environment destroy them; watch them overcome the inimical force of heredity and environment. This is the theoretical basis for naturalism.

8. 2. Definition The term naturalismdescribes a type of literature that attempts to apply scientific principles of objectivity and detachment to its study of human beings. The term was introduced to the United States by Frank Norris at the end of the 1880s. He had spent a year studying art in Paris and had been much impressed by Emile Zola. Like many other European writers and artists, Zola had been impressed by Darwin’s theory of evolution.

9. 3. Main Characters a. At the core of naturalism is determinism. b. An individual’s course in life is wholly determined by some combination of animal instinct, heredity, and environment. c. The universe is cold, godless, indifferent and hostile to human desires. Two concerns: social systems that destroy and dehumanize, and individual experience of loss and failure.

10. 3. Main Characters • d. Naturalism is a harsher and extreme form of realism. Realism Naturalism on the ordinary on the extraordinary a mirror a lens the observer the scientist moral or rational the accidental and physiological Naturalists look at the violent, sensational, sordid, unpleasant and ugly aspects of life, such as poverty, crime, war and prostitution.

11. Ⅱ. Representatives Jack London Frank Norris Theodore Dreiser Edwin Arlington Robinson Stephen Crane O’ Henry

12. 1. Jack London The Call of the Wild 《野性的呼唤》 White Fang 《白牙》 The Sea Wolf 《海狼》 Martin Eden 《马丁•伊登》(his autobiography) The Son of the Wolf《狼之子》 The People of the Abyss 《深渊中的人们》 The Iron Heel 《铁蹄》 Love of Life 《热爱生命》 The Mexican 《墨西哥人》 (1876-1916)

13. Martin Eden One of London's most important books is this semi-autobiographical account of a young sailor who struggles to improve himself and achieves eventual success as a writer, but grows disenchanted with fame and wealth. It represents both an indictment of the American dream and an important reflection on London's own background and career.

14. 2. Theodore Dreiser Born from a large, poor, religious, immigrant family at Terre Haute, Indiana on August 27, 1871. He spent his childhood in bitter poverty, lacking education, skill and status. His own harsh experience of poverty as a youth and his early yearnings for wealth and success would become dominant themes in his novels. Because of poverty, he dropped out from high school to seek jobs in Chicago. (At the age of fifteen Dreiser moved to Chicago and held jobs washing dishes, clerking a hardware store, and tracing freight cars.)

15. Later, with his high school teacher’s financial support, he studied in Indiana University for one year. He acquired his real education from direct personal experience and from independent reading and thinking. Spencer’s social Darwinism had a determining effect on his outlook and personal experiences led him to a pessimistic view of human helplessness in the face of instinct and social forces. Later in 1892, he began his career as a reporter, first with the Chicago Globe, and then with several other newspapers. In 1898 he married Sara White, but his roving affections (and resulting infidelities) doomed their relationship. The couple separated permanently in 1912. Since 1893, he began to write, first wrote short stories, and then long novels.

16. Major Works Sister Carrie（1900）, the story of a kept woman whose behavior goes unpunished. Jennie Gerhardt（1911） His Cowperwood trilogy based on the life of the transportation magnate Charles T. Yerkes. The Financier（1912） The Titan（1914） The Stoic（posthumously 1947） The 'Genius' (1915), a sprawling semi-autobiographical chronicle of Dreiser's numerous love affairs, was censured by the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice. Its sequel, The Bulwark, appeared posthumously in 1946. An American Tragedy（1925）

17. Sister Carrie (1) The Story About a young country girl who moves to the big city where she starts realizing her own American Dream by first becoming a mistress to men that she perceives as superior and later as a famous actress. (2) Achievement in Naturalism ① Verifiable Reality ☆ material from his real life ☆ three verifiable premises:

18. Sister Carrie the harsh environment of the shoe factory life of materialism enjoyment in Chicago life in New York theatre ② Influences of Environments upon People ☆ Circumstances push Carrie higher and higher, but also draw Hurstwood lower and lower until to his death. ☆ determinism on human’s fate ③ Human Desire and Instinct ☆ Carrie’s desire to achieve her American Dream ☆ Hurstwood’s desire to embrace a true love ☆ Drouet’s physical instinct and vanity

19. 3. Stephen Crane Stephen Crane, born in New Jersey, was the youngest in a devout family of fourteen children. His desire to write was inspired by his family: his father, a Methodist minister, and his mother, a devout woman dedicated to social concerns, were writers of religious articles, and two of his brothers are journalists. His father died, when he was nine years old. Crane’s life was very short. His career as an author lasted only from 1892 to 1900, but up to now his many works have been remembered. 1871 – 1900

20. Major Works Poem The Black Riders and Other Lines 《黑衣骑士及其他》 War is Kind 《战争是仁慈的》 Short Novel The Open Boat 《海上扁舟》 The Blue Hotel 《蓝色旅馆》 Long Novel Maggie: A Girl of the Streets 《街头女郎麦基》------the first naturalistic novel The Red Badge of Courage《红色用英勇勋章》------his masterpiece

21. Maggie: A Girl of the Streets  It is the harrowing story of a poor sensitive young girl whose uneducated alcoholic parents utterly fail her. In love and eager to escape her violent home life, she allows herself to be seduced into living with a young man, who soon deserts her. When her self-righteous mother rejects her, Maggie becomes a prostitute to survive, but soon commits suicide out of despair.

22. The Red Badge of Courage The story is set during the American Civil War. Henry Fleming enrolls as a soldier in the Union army. He has dreamed of battles and glory all his life, but his expectations are shattered in his encounter with the enemy when he witnesses the chaos on the battle field and starts to fear that the regiment was leaving him behind. He flees from the battle. Later he returns to the lines and feels sore and stiff from his experiences. In the heat of the battle, he picks up the regiment's flag with his friend when it falls from the color sergeant's hands. Following the conventions of a bildungsroman, Henry has matured after the final battle and he understands better his strengths and weaknesses.

23. The Red Badge of Courage Confederacy (South) Union (North) key Words courage manhood self-preservation the universe’s disregard for human life youth and maturity

24. Ⅲ. Appreciate The Open Boat 1. Characters: Captain, Oiler, Correspondent, Cook 2. Tone: Humorous and contemptuous and tragic, all in one. 3. Themes: Naturalism Stephen Crane believes that we live in a universe of vast and indifferent natural forces, not in a world of divine providence or a certain moral order. 4. Style: Impressionism, Figures of speeches, Symbolism

25. 5. Plot Structure 1) Exposition: 4 men are in a lifeboat after a shipwreck. 2) Inciting Incident: The captain sees the lighthouse. 3) Rising Action: The men try to row the boat to the shore. 4) Climax: The men jump off the boat into the water as the boat overturns. 5) Falling Action: The men swim to shore. 6) Resolution: The correspondent, cook and captain are rescued, but realize that the oiler has drowned. 7) Dénouement: As the dead oiler is carried onto land, the other three men finally understand the power of the sea and how lucky they are to be alive.

26. Homework 1. Search for Sherwood Anderson’s personal information and report to the class. 2. Read his masterpiece The Triumph of the Egg and give a simple summary.