Tekst- og litteraturhistorie i de
engelsksprogede lande
Session Four: American
Naturalism
Agenda
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Writing America
American Naturalism
Steven Crane amd Jack London
Øvelsesopgave
Writing America
• Sarah Orne Jewett, "A White Heron"
• Jack London, "The Law of Life”
Writing America
• Nationalism: USA vs Europe
• Regionalism: city vs country
• Realism and Naturalism: individual vs
society, man vs nature, against
Romanticism
Forms of Realism
• ”the truthful treatment of material”
(Howells)
Naturalism
• Darwinism: Nature is a struggle in which
the fittest, i.e. the best adapted through
natural selction, survives
• Social Darwinism: Society is competitive
• Zola: ”The Experimental Novel”
Émile Zola, ”The Experimental
Novel”
• In short, we must operate with characters,
pasions, human and social data as the
chemist and the physicist work on inert
bodies, as the physiologist works on living
bodies. Determinism governs everything. It
is scientific investigation; it is experimental
reasoning that combats one by one the
hypotheses of the idealists and will replace
novels of pure imagination by novels of
observations and experiment.
Émile Zola, ”The Experimental
Novel”
• Scientific investigation and experimental
reasoning are in combat with the
hypotheses of the idealists
• The novelist turns scientist (the chemist,
the physicist, the physiologist)
• Characters, feelings, and emotions
(human and social data) are matter
• Novels of observations and experiment will
replace novels of pure imagination
American Naturalism
• A number of American writers adopted
aspects of this pessimistic form of realism,
this so-called naturalistic view of
humankind, though each writer
incorporated such naturalism into his or
her work in individual ways, to different
degrees, and combined with other
perspectives. (The Norton Anthology of
American Literature, Vol. C, ”Introduction”)
American Naturalism: Steven
Crane
• How does Crane adopt the ”naturalistic
view of humankind”?
• With which ”other perspectives” does
Crane combine Naturalism?
• How?
• Setting, characters, plot, imagery, point of
view
American Naturalism: Jack London
• How does London adopt the ”naturalistic
view of humankind”?
• With which ”other perspectives” does
London combine Naturalism?
• How?
• Setting, characters, plot, imagery, point of
view
Øvelsesopgave/ Bunden skriftlig
hjemmeopgave
• Stephen Crane, "The Open Boat" (1897) and American Naturalism
• Speaking of Naturalism, The Norton Anthology of American
Literature, Sixth Edition, Vol. C, states that,
“A number of American writers adopted aspects of this pessimistic
form of realism, this so-called naturalistic view of humankind, though
each writer incorporated such naturalism into his or her work in
individual ways, to different degrees, and combined with other
perspectives.” (9)
• Analyse Stephen Crane's short story "The Open Boat" as an
example of American naturalism.
Bunden skriftlig hjemmeopgave
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AFLEVERINGSDATO: Tirsdag den 25/10 kl. 08.00
AFLEVERINGSFORM: Print
AFLEVERINGSSTED: Jens Kirks dueslag
Besvarelsen er individuel
Besvarelsen må højst fylde 6 sider á 2400 anslag (tegn
og mellemrum).
• Eksaminandens navn og besvarelsens længde skal
angives på forsiden/ titelbladet
• Besvarelsen skal udgøre et sammenhængende essay
og indeholde titel, indledning og konklusion.
• Besvarelsen afleveres som print til Jens Kirks dueslag
Bunden skriftlig hjemmeopgave:
A Few Dos and Don'ts
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Do:
Include an introduction and conclusion in your essay.
Unpack the topic question in your introduction.
Define the key terms of the assignment by making use of the course resources, i.e.
the Norton Anthologies, Abrams, the Norton websites, the course homepage, the
slides, your notes, etc)
Analyse the text using a genre specific method (eg make consistent use of the terms
plot, characterisation, point of view, and imagery, and related terms in your analysis
of a narrative) in order to arrive at the theme of the text.
Make connections to other (literary) texts. Look for similarities and contrasts.
Use pagination!
Follow the standard conventions concerning quotation and reference.
Write proper English: Focus on coherence and cohesion and do double check
ortography, grammar, and syntax.
Don’t:
Summarise (unless you have a clear point with your summary)
Plagiarise