Notes
Realism and Naturalism
- Realism shows ordinary life accurately, with believable characters, settings and speech (local color, vernacular).
- Naturalism adds science and determinism: heredity, environment and chance shape lives, and nature is indifferent.
Major writers
- Twain: Huckleberry Finn uses first-person vernacular and satire to expose hypocrisy and racism.
- Chopin: "The Story of an Hour" uses situational irony to show a woman's longing for freedom.
- Crane: The Red Badge of Courage explores fear and courage; "The Open Boat" shows indifferent nature.
- London: "To Build a Fire" and The Call of the Wild depict survival against a harsh environment.
Craft
- Irony (verbal, situational, dramatic), point of view and tone shape meaning.
Topics in this unit
Each topic has its own short notes and practice.
Practice
Naturalism stresses determinism.
Readers see more than the narrator, which creates irony.
The stated cause is the opposite of the real one.
Nature does not care about human plans.
His overconfidence leads to his downfall.
Dialect and regional details are central to local color.
Free response
Write your answer first, then open the scoring guide.
Free-response question
Read this original passage: "The ferry rocked in the gray dawn. Delia counted her coins again, though she knew there were only seven. A foreman at the mill had said that anyone late would be replaced, and the river fog did not care."
(a) Identify two features of Realism or Naturalism in the passage.
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The passage features ordinary working-class details (counting coins, mill work) and an indifferent natural force ("the river fog did not care"), which suggests naturalism.
Check off the points you earned:
(b) Explain how the phrase "the river fog did not care" contributes to the passage's tone.
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It adds a detached, bleak tone because it shows nature is indifferent to Delia's worry and ignores her need to be on time.
Check off the points you earned:
(c) Choose one author from this unit and compare his or her treatment of nature or society with this passage.
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Example: Crane's "The Open Boat" also shows nature as indifferent; the sea does not respond to the men's fight just as the fog ignores Delia's deadline. Both use detached narration.
Check off the points you earned: