Realism and Naturalism in History Particularly in American Literature

Pangasinan National High School

Jerome C. Cerezo

10 STE C

Mrs. Vanessa Manuel

Abstract
 Introduction
Realism is the attribute of accepting the facts of life and favoring practicality and literal
truth in philosophy is the the philosophical doctrine that physical objects continue to exist when
not perceived. Realism is an approach to life that means dealing with the way things are. If you
see the world through the lens of realism, you accept what's in front of you and don't pretend it's
otherwise.For those who follow the doctrine of realism, it's "just the facts, ma'am." What you see is
what you get; if you can't see it or touch it, it doesn't really exist. Realism is more than just a way of
approaching life; it is a formal philosophy and a 19th-century art movement, where animals and
people and landscapes are depicted as they appear — no purple and green faces or polka-dotted
ponies, just people and trees and landscapes painted in proportions and colors that look like the real
thing. Broadly defined as "the faithful representation of reality" or "verisimilitude," realism is a
literary technique practiced by many schools of writing. Although strictly speaking, realism is a
technique, it also denotes a particular kind of subject matter, especially the representation of middle-
class life. A reaction against romanticism, an interest in scientific method, the systematizing of the
study of documentary history, and the influence of rational philosophy all affected the rise of realism.
According to William Harmon and Hugh Holman, "Where romanticists transcend the immediate to
find the ideal, and naturalists plumb the actual or superficial to find the scientific laws that control its
actions, realists center their attention to a remarkable degree on the immediate, the here and now, the
specific action, and the verifiable consequence"
Naturalism is a artistic movement in 19th century France; artists and writers strove for
detailed realistic and factual description in philosophy is a he doctrine that the world can be
understood in scientific terms without recourse to spiritual or supernatural explanations.
Naturalism is the belief that nothing exists beyond the natural world. Instead of using
supernatural or spiritual explanations, naturalism focuses on explanations that come from the
laws of nature. Beyond the belief that everything can be explained using nature, naturalism is
also a term for a particular style of art and literature from the 19th century. Naturalism refers to a
realistic approach to art that rejects idealized experiences. So when you look at a painting that
embodies the spirit of naturalism, you'll notice it capturing the real world rather than trying to
make things look better than they are. With naturalism: what you see is what you get. The term
naturalism describes a type of literature that attempts to apply scientific principles of objectivity
and detachment to its study of human beings. Unlike realism, which focuses on literary
technique, naturalism implies a philosophical position: for naturalistic writers, since human
beings are, in Emile Zola's phrase, "human beasts," characters can be studied through their
relationships to their surroundings. Zola's 1880 description of this method in Le roman
experimental (The Experimental Novel, 1880) follows Claude Bernard's medical model and the
historian Hippolyte Taine's observation that "virtue and vice are products like vitriol and sugar"--
that is, that human beings as "products" should be studied impartially, without moralizing about
their natures. Other influences on American naturalists include Herbert Spencer and Joseph
LeConte.Through this objective study of human beings, naturalistic writers believed that the laws
behind the forces that govern human lives might be studied and understood. Naturalistic writers
thus used a version of the scientific method to write their novels; they studied human beings
governed by their instincts and passions as well as the ways in which the characters' lives were
governed by forces of heredity and environment. Although they used the techniques of
accumulating detail pioneered by the realists, the naturalists thus had a specific object in mind
when they chose the segment of reality that they wished to convey.
 Discussion

Naturalism evolved as an extreme form of Realism.It was heavily influenced by Darwin’s

theory of evolution, suggesting that heredity, environment, and social conditions shaped human

character. While Naturalism was a philosophy, Naturalism in literature began in France.French

critic and journalist Emile Zola is considered the founder of Naturalism. The main characteristic

of literary naturalism is pessimism, emphasizes the inevitability and quality of death.The author

tries to maintain an objective tone and sometimes achieves detachment or change by introducing

nameless characters. In determinism, the third characteristic of naturalism in literature, the notion

that individual characters have a direct influence on their lives is replaced by a focus on fate or

nature and is the opposite of the belief of free will.

One common characteristic of literary naturalism is the surprising twist at the end of the

plot. There is a strong sense in the naturalist stories and novels that nature is not affected by

human struggle. Survival, determinism, violence, and taboo are key themes. The conflict in

naturalistic novels is often "man against nature" or "man against himself" as characters struggle

to retain a "veneer of civilization" despite external pressures that threaten to release the "brute

within." 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. Naturalistic texts often describe the futile attempts of human

beings to exercise free will, often ironically presented, in this universe that reveals free will as an

illusion. As compared to romanticism and realism, naturalism is a more recent movement in the

literary cycle.The focus of realism is on literary technique, whereas naturalism connotes a

philosophical pessimism.Realism portrays things the way they might appear to be, while

naturalism shows a deterministic view of a person's life and actions.

Realism shows that a person's decision is based upon his response to the situation,

whereas naturalism concludes that a person's decision is predetermined by natural forces that

make him act in a certain way.

Here are the people who influenced realism and naturalism in history including Henry

James, W. D. Howells, Mark Twain, Bret Harte, George Washington Cable, Rebecca Harding

Davis, Sarah Orne Jewett, and Hamlin Garland. Often categorized as regionalists or local

colorists, many of these writers produced work that emphasized geographically distinct dialects

and customs. Others offered satirical fiction or novels of manners that exposed the excesses,

hypocrisies, or shortcomings of a culture undergoing radical social change. A subsequent

generation of writers, including Stephen Crane, Frank Norris, Theodore Dreiser, Edith Wharton,

and Jack London, are most often cited as the American inheritors of the naturalist approach

practiced by Emile Zola, whose 1880 treatise Le Roman Experimental applied the experimental

methods of medical science to the construction of the novel.

 Conclusion

Realism and naturalism emerged as the dominant categories applied to American fiction

of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The realism is a fact that is confirmed by real life or

what is happening in society while naturalism focuses on explanations that come from the laws

of nature. Realism and naturalism was influenced by scientist and authors in the history of

American literature.