1 Realism and Naturalism: An Historical Context Naturalism and Realism are literary movements which are closely linked. Some writers, such as Guy de Maupassant, are considered both naturalists and realists. Try to identify the subtle differences between these two literary styles as you read. Definition of Realism Encarta explains realism, saying, Realist literature is defined particularly as the fiction produced in Europe and the United States from about 1840 until the 1890s, when realism was superseded by naturalism. This form of realism began in France in the novels of Gustave Flaubert and the short stories of Guy de Maupassant. In Russia, realism was represented in the plays and short stories of Anton Chekhov. The novelist George Eliot introduced realism into English fiction; as she declared in Adam Bede (1859), her purpose was to give a "faithful representation of commonplace things." Mark Twain and William Dean Howells were the pioneers of realism in the United States. One of the greatest realists of all, the Anglo-American novelist Henry James, drew much inspiration from his mentors, Eliot and Howells . . . . In general, the work of these writers illustrates the main tenet of realism, that writers must not select facts in accord with preconceived aesthetic or ethical ideals but must set down their observations impartially and objectively. Concerned with the faithful representation of life, which frequently lacks form, the realists tended to downplay plot in favor of character and to concentrate on middle-class life and preoccupations, avoiding larger, more dramatic issues. (para. 4-5) Definition of Naturalism The Naturalism movement in literature grew out of Realism. In “Literary Naturalism,” Bruce Clary writes, “Naturalism is an extension or continuation of Realism with the addition of materialistic determinism” (para. 1), which “is an application of scientific determinism to fiction. Scientific determinism, which derived from Darwinian thought, is the belief that all Bonjour, Monsieur Courbet, by Gustave Courbet, 1854. 2 supposed acts of the will are actually the result of external forces that determine those acts” (6). Dr. Donna Campbell adds, 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 [see the next section] phrase, "human beasts," characters can be studied through their relationships to their surroundings (para. 1). This method was influenced by a variety of people, including:  Claude Bernard (1813-1878): “Claude Bernard: A Brief Biography” states that Bernard “was a French physiologist, one of the most important of all times, and who is considered the ‘father’ ...

1. 1
Realism and Naturalism: An Historical Context
Naturalism and Realism are literary movements which are
closely linked. Some writers, such as Guy de Maupassant, are
considered both naturalists and realists. Try to identify the
subtle differences between these two literary styles as you
read.
Definition of Realism
Encarta explains realism, saying,
Realist literature is defined particularly as the fiction produced
in Europe and the
United States from about 1840 until the 1890s, when realism
was superseded by
naturalism. This form of realism began in France in the novels
of Gustave
Flaubert and the short stories of Guy de Maupassant. In Russia,
realism was
represented in the plays and short stories of Anton Chekhov.
The novelist
George Eliot introduced realism into English fiction; as she
declared in Adam

2. Bede (1859), her purpose was to give a "faithful representation
of commonplace
things." Mark Twain and William Dean Howells were the
pioneers of realism in
the United States. One of the greatest realists of all, the Anglo-
American novelist
Henry James, drew much inspiration from his mentors, Eliot and
Howells . . . .
In general, the work of these writers illustrates the main tenet of
realism, that
writers must not select facts in accord with preconceived
aesthetic or ethical
ideals but must set down their observations impartially and
objectively.
Concerned with the faithful representation of life, which
frequently lacks form,
the realists tended to downplay plot in favor of character and to
concentrate on
middle-class life and preoccupations, avoiding larger, more
dramatic issues.
(para. 4-5)
Definition of Naturalism
The Naturalism movement in literature grew out of Realism. In
“Literary Naturalism,” Bruce
Clary writes, “Naturalism is an extension or continuation of
Realism with the addition of
materialistic determinism” (para. 1), which “is an application of
scientific determinism to
fiction. Scientific determinism, which derived from Darwinian
thought, is the belief that all

3. Bonjour, Monsieur Courbet, by Gustave
Courbet, 1854.
2
supposed acts of the will are actually the result of external
forces that determine those acts”
(6).
Dr. Donna Campbell adds,
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 [see the next section] phrase, "human beasts," characters
can be studied
through their relationships to their surroundings (para. 1).
This method was influenced by a variety of people, including:
-1878): “Claude Bernard: A Brief
Biography” states that Bernard
“was a French physiologist, one of the most important of all

4. times, and who is
considered the ‘father’ of modern experimental physiology”
(para. 1). Writing in An
Introduction to the Study of Experimental Medicine, Bernard
writes, “the experimental
method is nothing but reasoning by whose help we methodically
submit our ideas to
experience, - the experience of facts” (Sabbatini para. 5).
28-1893): Taine was a French historian
and critic. Donna Campbell,
in “Naturalism in American Literature,” explains, “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”
(Campbell para. 1).
-1902): Zola, according to The
Encyclopædia Britannica, was a “French
novelist, critic, and political activist who was the most
prominent French novelist of the
late 19th century . . . . noted for his theories of naturalism”
(“Emile” para. 1). Zola
described this method in Le Roman Experimental (The
Experimental Novel) in 1880.
Donna Campbell in “Naturalism in American Literature” goes
on to write,
Through this objective study of human beings, naturalistic
writers believed that
the laws behind the forces that govern human lives might be
studied and

5. 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. (para. 2)
3
Works Cited
Bernard, Claude. “An Introduction to the Study of Experimental
Medicine.” An Introduction to
the Study of Experimental Medicine. 1927. New York: Dover
Publications: 1957. Kindle
edition.
Campbell, Donna. “Naturalism in American Literature.” Faculty
Website. Washington State
University. n.d. Web. 21 Dec. 2014.

6. Clary, Bruce. “Natural Realism.” Course Handout. McPherson
College. n.d. Web. 21 Dec. 2014.
Courbet. Bonjour, Monsieur Courbet. 1864. Wikimedia
Commons. Musée Fabre, Montpelier,
France. Web. 21 Dec. 2014.
“Emile Zola.” Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia
Britannica. n.d. Web. 21 Dec. 2014.
“Realism (Art and Literature).” AutoCWW Research Program.
Microsoft Encarta Online
Enclyclopdia. 2000. University of Colorado, Boulder. n.d.
Web. 21 Dec. 2014.
Sabbitini, Renato M. E. “Claude Bernard: A Brief Biography.”
Mind & Brain: Electronic Magazine
on Neuroscience. Teleneurosciences Center, The Edmund
Institute (Brazil). n.d. Web. 21
Dec. 2014.
1
Walt Whitman

7. Walt Whitman is perhaps one of the most celebrated American
poets of the late 19th century.
The sexual undertones of his poetry as well as his sexual
orientation made him a most
controversial figure during his time. Whitman is particularly
interesting as he was part of the
transition between American Transcendentalism and Realism.
According to Donna Campbell, “American transcendentalism
was an important movement in philosophy
and literature that flourished during the early to middle years of
the nineteenth century (about 1836-
1860). It began as a reform movement in the Unitarian church .
. . . For the transcendentalists, the soul
of each individual is identical with the soul of the world and
contains what the world contains” (para. 1).
As you read, you should be able to notice this philosophy being
expressed in Whitman’s poetry. In fact,
his poem, “Song of Myself,” Whitman clearly states the premise
when he writes, “I celebrate myself, and
sing myself, / And what I assume you shall assume, / For every
atom belonging to me as good belongs to

8. you” (1-3).
Read more about Walt Whitman at the Walt Whitman Archive:
http://www.whitmanarchive.org/
Readings for This Assignment (PDF files):
from Leaves of Grass:
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/174745
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/174740
The Laughing Philosoper, Walt Whitman,
by George C. Cox, 1887
http://www.whitmanarchive.org/
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/174745
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/174740
2
From Drum Taps:
Whitman served as a nurse during the American Civil War and
wrote very moving poetry to
document his experiences.

9. http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/174737
http://www.bartleby.com/142/118.html
Strange I Kept on the Field One Night”:
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/174746
-Dresser “:
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/237970
Discussion Board:
Get a conversation going about the literature listed on this page!
You need to create at least one "new
post" and reply to at least 3 of your classmates to get full credit
for this assignment. Make sure to click
"reply" at the bottom of the page when you open one of your
classmate's new posts in order for you to
get credit for a reply post. Your "new post" should be 150-200
words; replies an be 30-40 words.
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/174737
http://www.bartleby.com/142/118.html
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/174746
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/237970

10. 3
Works Cited
Campbell, Donna. “American Transcendentalism.” Faculty
Website. Washington State
University. n.d. Web. 21 Dec. 2014.
Cox, George C. The Laughing Philosopher. 1887. New York
Museum of Modern Art, New York.
Wikimedia Commons. Web. 21 Dec. 2014.
The Victorian Era
The Victoria Era is defined by the reign of Victoria, Queen of
the United Kingdom of Britain and Ireland. However, she
ruled over the vast, worldwide British Empire. She ascended
the throne in June 1837 and ruled until her death on January
22, 1901. According to “Remembering The Victorian Era,”

11. “scholars include years as far back as 1830 when
contemplating this time period” (para. 1).
The period is important to American literature because the
thinking of time influenced life around the
world, not just in the United Kingdom. “Remembering The
Victorian Era” goes on to explain that there
was “tremendous scientific progress and ideas” (2), and there
was advancement is many areas that
ultimately led to the world we live in today:
Science and Technology:
“Darwin took his Voyage of the Beagle, and posited the Theory
of Evolution. The Great
Exhibition of 1851 took place in London, showing off the
technical and industrial advances of the
age. Progress in medicine and the physical sciences continued
throughout the century” (2).
Furthermore, “the Victorians invented the modern idea of
invention -- the notion that one can
create solutions to problems, that man can create new means of
bettering himself and his
environment” (6).
Society and Economics:

12. “The Industrial Revolution created a consumer economy and a
huge middle class with purchasing power. This new middle
class
felt that they had arrived at a higher social plane of existence”
(3),
and “specialized clubs were forming [as the] Industrial
Revolution
brought the possibility of leisure to many and those who could
indulge leisure hobbies did so with great enthusiasm” (4).
Specifically for the United States, the era “was filled with
social, economic,
and scientific change . . . . The citizens approached those
changes in the
enthusiastic manner for which Americans were known. They
made their
decisions and choices based on what they knew, what they
expected, and
what they hoped for at that time. They were not much different
from us
today” (7).
Queen Victoria of England, Empress
of India, by Alexander Bassano, 1882.
in the National Portrait Gallery,
London

13. Queen Victoria, portrait by George Hayter, 1860
Works Cited
Bassano, Alexander. Queen Victoria. 1882. National Portrait
Gallery. London. National Portrait
Gallery. Web. 21 Dec. 2014.
Haytor, George. Queen Victoria. 1860. The National Archives,
London. The National Archives,
Government At Collection. Web. 21 Dec. 2014.
“Remembering The Victorian Era.” Mountain Messenger.
National Park Service. Summer/Fall
2010. Web. 21 Dec. 2014.