Stephen Crane, an American writer who emerged during the late 19th-century, separated himself from other writers by using his personal life experiences and observations as inspiration for some of the vivid novels and poems he created. Crane’s works include the usage of realism, a form of writing that realistically describes its subject matter as it is or how it really appears. Crane’s realism, which was both innovative and new, later helped spur the beginning of American Naturalism, a movement that is intertwined with realism, but further emphasizes how our environment and natural forces can determine our decisions and outcomes. Throughout Crane’s career as a writer and poet, he wrote some of his most popular works using realism. Realism, …show more content…
The era of naturalism began around 1890 as an extension of realism and lasted until around 1915. According to Martin Schütze, author of The Sewanee Review, Frenchman Emile Zola is the “chief protagonist of naturalism” and formulated the chief principles it emcompasses. Naturalism is a philosophical style that often centered around the study of human beings and their nature. It derived from realism and therefore has some similar qualities and views. Some of which include the attempt to portray the world without any fantasy, and to also make stories without the intervention of god. As described by Scheidenhelm, naturalism involved studying humans, almost scientifically, as if they were any other type of animal and their relationships. Unlike realism, naturalism surrounds static characters who are simply prisoners to their environment and circumstances. Naturalism also tends to convey its dark images and topics by using detailed imagery and formal language. Furthermore, naturalists usually applied scientific principles to their study of human beings and remained objective and detached from their subjects. As Campbell describes, the characters in works of naturalism are typically of lower class and often are unable to cope with hardships they are dealt. Some naturalists even based their works on Darwin’s Theory of Evolution as they …show more content…
As described by Donald Vanouse of Georgetown University, Crane used abrupt and sudden changes in both his tone and point of view. Also, Crane often ended his works without a conclusion to the characters or the plot and sometimes even without an interpretation of the theme. Furthermore, Crane often wrote his poems and novels as a reaction to a major event in his life. He often also created characters that were common people that were faced with an extraordinary experience or task due to something they couldn’t control. The characters within his works were in fact ordinary, but usually had a more enlightened and curious understanding of the world. Crane was also seen as a symbolist as he used archetype and symbols in order to express theme. As for Crane’s characteristics specific to poetry, his works reflect the major themes and styles of naturalism. He was one of the first poets to explore the naturalist belief that the universe and nature are indifferent. As Vanouse describes, Crane explored the belief a divine entity like god doesn’t control our world, but rather the universe itself holds power. His poem “A Man Said to the Universe” in which a man speaks to the universe itself and not a god exemplifies this belief. Vanouse also expresses the belief that Crane’s vividness in prose and imagery help to differentiate Crane from other naturalists of his era. A literary critic and poet
However, the most traditionally "romantic" facets of his artifice are most fully manifested in a series of private correspondence between himself and a certain society maiden by the name of Nellie Crouse. It is these letters that serve to illustrate Crane's writing prowess as it transcends traditional Romantic genrefication. Through these letters, which serve as an informed testament to Crane's marked skill as a writer, we begin to examine Crane in the context of his own existence, devoid of the fictional trappings of his most acclaimed accomplishments.
Throughout the Romanticism period, human’s connection with nature was explored as writers strove to find the benefits that humans receive through such interactions. Without such relationships, these authors found that certain aspects of life were missing or completely different. For example, certain authors found death a very frightening idea, but through the incorporation of man’s relationship with the natural world, readers find the immense utility that nature can potentially provide. Whether it’d be as solace, in the case of death, or as a place where one can find oneself in their own truest form, nature will nevertheless be a place where they themselves were derived from. Nature is where all humans originated,
In contrast to their romantic and realist predecessors, the literary naturalists “emphasized that the world was amoral, that men and women had no freewill, that their lives were controlled by hereditary and the environment, that religious “truths” were illusory, [and] that the destiny of humanity was misery in life and oblivion in death” (McMichael 7). The naturalist writer Stephen Crane, for instance, explored the absurdity of the human condition. His writing most often portrayed humanity as lonesome singular entities relying on their unproven belief in the benevolence of God and freewill, led by their persistent illusions of being the center of the universe, and clueless to the disparity between their greatest expectations and their equalizing bouts of impendent doom. These realist and naturalist writers, with their revolutionary new method of portraying humanity as capable of evil and as likely victims of an often tempestuous environment or seemingly spiteful heredity, were a powerful influence on...
Crane also discloses his view of the American society in a realistic light because he exhibits realism by unveiling America’s true monstrous face, and its white privilege- he same white privilege that causes blacks to conform to the standards of a white American society. In doing so, Crane compliments Emerson’s main idea of “Self-Reliance” that people should “believe [their] own thought, to believe that what is true for [themselves] in [their] private heart is true for all men.’’ Emerson’s belief that people should take heed to their own thoughts because society persuades people to conform, summarizes the idea of individuality Crane express in his story “The
Stephen Crane was a realistic author who often times wrote about the difference in ideal life versus reality. He is seen as one of the most groundbreaking writers of his time. Crane’s poetry was unique during his time period because most of his poems told a story; they were narratives. In Crane’s poem “In the Desert” he shows that a person who can overcome their mistakes and not let the negative aspects of life overwhelm the positive is a person who is human.
Important aspects of naturalism are the ideas that people are essentially animals responding to their basic urges without rational thought, and the insignificance of man to others and nature. In The Jungle, Sinclair portrays Jurgis as a man slowly changing into animal as well as a man whose actions are irrelevant to the rest of the corrupt capitalist world of Chicago in order to show the reader the naturalist ideas of the struggles between man and society.
nature is not as in the plant and tree kind of nature, but on the nature of man at a
Crane's story is about a girl named Maggie who grew up in a life that would cause any person with feelings to have the utmost sympathy for her. To explain briefly; her brother was a roughneck in the community, her mother and father were alcoholics, a younger brother died at a young age, and they lived in a tenement building. Crane is described as a "realistic" author because of the way he describes the social environment and the stress of everyday life.
To best analyze the works of James and Dreiser, the terms realism and naturalism are critical to comprehend. Realism, as noted in the Norton Anthology, emphasizes, “the interior moral and psychological lives of upper-class people” (9). Accordingly, realism reflects a natural depiction of self, relationships and social interactions (and the class-system). Realist writers explore true interpersonal dilemmas, interactions and experiences within society, highlighting the character rather than a story’s plot. These writings focus on truthfully depicting the mundane aspects of human society. Contrarily (though equally “real”), naturalism seeks to capture “human life as it was shaped by forces beyond human control—our environment” (10). Inclined to favor characters outside of the wealthy caste, naturalist literature underscores lower-class individuals dependent on external factors and their conflicts with environmental conditions out of their control. Literary naturalists, unlike realists, “wanted to explore how biology, environment, and other material forces shaped lives” (11). Naturalists present how humans interact with outside elements, survive and flourish in their environment. Together, realism and naturalism has endeavored to reduce the sensationalism of impoverished life and depict its presence and effects on lower-class society realistically. Late nineteenth century photojournalist Jacob Riis and his publication How the Other Half Lives is one example of naturalist literature and its “intervention that strives to make lower-class lives comprehensible to the middle-class readers” (11). Thus, realism along with naturalism exposes society to a wide variety of authentic experiences.
There are many characteristics in Crane’s novel that would more readily fit within the category of realism: the ordinariness of his characters, the use of dialect, the portrayal of protagonist Henry Fleming as a complex individual, the description of nature as disinterested in human affairs, and the positive ending of the story. Realism, often described as "slice of life" or "photographic" writing, attempts to portray life exactly as it is, without twisting it or reworking it to fit it into preconceived notions of what is appropriate or what is aesthetically pleasing. In this book, Crane relies on neither the oversimplified rationalism of classicist literature nor the emotional idealism of romantic prose. Instead, he offers realistic, believable characters with average abilities. The soldiers are presented neither as epic heroes nor as bloodthirsty killers; rather, their most noticeable trait is their overwhelming normalcy. The soldiers of Henry’s regiment curse, fight, and argue just like normal people. This down-to-earth, gritty, everyday style is characteristic of realism. A particular convention used by Crane in convincing the reader of his characters’ existence is dialect. The distinctive speech of the soldiers enhances the photographic effect of the novel, lending it authenticity. Another distinctive trait of realism is complexity of character – a trait readily evident in Henry Fleming. As he switches between cowardice and heroism, compassion and contempt, and optimism and pessimism, the reader observes that he is more than just a stereotype. He is a person with fears, hopes, dreams, and foibles.
To conclude, naturalism has many definitions and characteristics. It was a powerful movement which suggested the role and influence of the environment, one’s background, and one’s social status had in shaping human character. The major characteristics of it include the environments power or control over humans, objective science, instinct, pessimism, and detachment.
Naturalism was a literary movement that took place from 1880s to around the 1940s. This movement used detailed realism to propose that social conditions, genetics, and the environment had unavoidable force in shaping human character. According to Zhang, “Naturalism was first proposed and formulated by French novelist Emile Zola, and it was introduced to America by American novelist Frank Norris.”(Zhang par.1) The term naturalism defines a type of literature that attempts to apply scientific principles of objectivity and detachment to its study of human beings. Naturalism writers often used the regularly ignored lower to middle classes backgrounds for characters in their stories. Naturalistic authors believe that the laws behind the forces that govern human lives might be studied and understood through the objective study of human beings. Natur...
Naturalism is about bringing humans into the “natural world”. We, as humans, are seen as aspects of nature collectively not separate like they once were. “Naturalism holds that everything we are and do is connected to the rest of the world and derived from conditions that precede us and surround us. Each of us is an unfolding natural process, and every aspect of that process is caused, and is a cause itself ” (“A Guide for Naturalism”). Humans are like “animals” they contain the same drives that animals have. They are just plain “natural”. Many authors express naturalism in their writings such as Kate Chopin. She expresses a naturalistic view on sexual drives which classify her as a naturalistic writer.
Naturalism and realism are tremendously similar in literary style, but their slight differences in details, such as environment and instincts, commence a dramatic effect in the author’s portrayal of the underlying themes. Realist literature developed in mid-19th century France in effort to progress toward literature not consisting of neoclassic romanticism. In this effort, literary works developed into characters and settings that are relatable to the audience, much like the compatibility of naturalism and the readers of its time period during industrialization. Even to this day, when people search for an enticing book to read, it is presumed that fictional novels that are relatable would be more appealing to the audience. However, unlike naturalism, realism depicts tales of optimism rather than that of pessimism....
If it was not for Stephen Crane and his visionary work than American Realism would not have taken hold of the United States during the eighteen hundreds. During the years following the Civil War America was a melting pot of many different writing styles. Many scholars argue that at this time there was still no definite American author or technique. Up to this point authors in the Americas simply copied techniques that were popular in regions of Europe. Stephen Crane came onto the scene with a very different approach to many of his contemporaries. He was a realist, and being such he described actions in a true, unadorned way that portrayed situations in the manner that they actually occurred (Kaplan). He had numerous admired pieces but his most famous work was the Red Badge of Courage (Bentley 103). In this novel he illustrates the accounts of a Union soldier named Henry Fleming. At first the writing was considered too graphic and many people did not buy the book. Eventually the American people changed their opinions and began to gravitate towards Crane’s work. The readers were fascinated by the realistic environment he creates even though he himself had never fought in a war (Bentley 103). By spreading the influence of realistic writing Crane has come to be known as the first American Realist.