Naturalism Definition

As a branch of Realism, Naturalism (also known as Materialism) exhibits all of the typical characteristics while still having different features as well. While Realism focuses on literary technique, Naturalism is more philosophical and places emphasis on the surroundings in the story and the way characters relate to their environment (Campbell). Naturalism writers also believed in studying the forces that govern human nature. A form of the scientific method was used by authors like Jack London, Stephen Crane, Edith Wharton, Frank Norris, and Upton Sinclair to write Naturalism novels and they studied different aspects of life with this method (Campbell).

Everything is Naturalism is explained by natural causes, and completely excludes anything to do with the supernatural or divinity. God or anything other higher power is not emphasized and the characters do not have an incredible sense of faith. However, without the involvement of God in these Naturalism works, there is no standard of conduct that is recognized by all members of society ("Naturalism") . Realism in general is basically a rejection of God, but Naturalism takes this even further into atheism.

Naturalism also tends to deal with unpleasant experiences, which also separates it from Realism. The characters in Naturalism often go through extremely tough times and resort to somewhat degrading behavior so that they can survive. These types of characters are from lower classes and are typically unsophisticated and uneducated; therefore do not have as many opportunities. These characters are also pretty unheroic, which is more realistic. Their lives are nothing spectacular, so they are part of Realism as well as Naturalism. Life is not portrayed as being simple, but complicated and hard to deal with (Reuben).

Being realistic was very important to the authors of both Realism and Naturalism, so there was a lot of focus on realistic qualities in works of both genres. Both of these literary periods were also dedicated to showing what American Life was really like at the time so that they could give an accurate description.

Campbell, Donna M. "Naturalism in American Literature. " Literary Movements. Dept. of English, Washington State University. Web. 11 Feb 2011.
http://www.wsu.edu/~campbelld/amlit/natural.htm

"Naturalism." Philosophy. Web. 11 Feb 2011.
http://www.allaboutphilosophy.org/naturalism.htm

Reuben, Paul P. "Chapter 6: American Naturalism- A Brief Introduction." PAL: Perspectives in American Literature- A Research and Reference Guide. Web. Feb 11 2011.
http://www.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/chap6/6intro.html

Realism Definition

After the Romanticism and Rationalism periods, a more comprehensive and realistic style of writing was introduced. Realism is broadly defined as "the faithful representation of reality" and was practiced by many between approximately 1860 and 1890 (Campbell). Unlike the bare facts of Rationalism and the dreamy, ideal qualities of Romanticism, Realism is more detailed and practical without shying away from the true characteristics of the time period.

Events in Realism works are realistic and entirely plausible, and the speech was not poetic, but common and matter of fact instead. In Realism, the author's main goal is to depict life as it actually is or was, not as how they think it could have been or could be (Werlock). In works such as "An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge" by Ambrose Bierce, the ideal ending usually does not happen like it would in Romanticism. While the main character imagined many creative ways to get out of the deadly situation he was in, the realistic but tragic thing happened and he was killed. It might have made a better story for the main character to have pulled off a heroic stunt and gotten away, but that would not be at all realistic and therefore would not have been Realism.

"The American Dream" during this time of Realism was not so different than from other times. As Industrialization took off, it seemed easy to have a business and make plenty of money for yourself. However, there were also the poor working class and immigrants that were not so well off. The "self made man" was seen as a hero, able to bring himself up from next to nothing and become a tycoon of business (Scropos).

The writing of this style was completely devoted to accurately portraying American life as it truly was, especially after the Civil War and Reconstruction as American life was changing rapidly. This time period greatly impacted the writing styles because things were no longer happy and ideal in the country, and that was reflected in stories and style. Elements of character were considered far more important than the action or plot, and great detail is given about the choices that characters have to make, especially ethical ones (Campbell).

Realism also places emphasis on existence and independence, looking for practical and realistic reasons for choices and events like Rationalism did ("Realism"). However, Realism's purpose differs from Rationalism because it is more focused on fiction than science. Plausibility and possibility are more important than scientific fact.

Practitioners of Realism include Mark Twain, William Dean Howells, Rebecca Harding Davis, and Henry James (Campbell). Realism also branches out in several other categories, such as Regionalism and Naturalism.

Campbell, Donna M. "Realism in American Literature, 1860-1890." Literary Movements. Dept. of English, Washington State University. Web 21 March 2010.
http://www.wsu.edu/~campbelld/amlit/realism.htm

"Realism." Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Web. 28 Jan 2011.
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/realism/

Scropos, Lee. "Industrialization." AP American History. Pleasant Plains High School, Room 32, Pleasant Plains. 21 Jan 2011. Lecture.

Werlock, Abby H. P. "realism." The Facts On File Companion to the American Short Story, Second Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2009. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc.
http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= Gamshrtsty0575&SingleRecord=True (accessed January 28, 2011).

Journal #34: Argumentative Writing

If you are writing an argumentative essay, it is important to make sure you follow all of the necessary steps. This is true for writing any type of essay, and is very important to ensure that you get a good score on the writing portion of the ACT. In an argumentative essay, you have to give accurate information but you also have to present an argument showing the supporting ideas as well as the opposing ideas. Obviously, you have to pick which side of the argument you are on before you can do this. But the absolute first step is to pick your topic and your stance on the subject. In the writing section of the ACT, a topic has already been selected for you.

Before you actually start writing your essay, it helps to make a pro and con list (either just in your head or on a piece of paper) so that you can outline what you are going to say in the essay. After you do this, you need to come up with an introductory paragraph, stating your opinions and giving a thesis statement. You need to make sure that you are clear which side of the argument you are on, and try to persuade the reader to believe in what you are writing. The main point of an argumentative essay is to persuade people to change their beliefs to what you think about the subject.

After writing your introductory you move on to your body paragraph or paragraphs. This is where you state all of your points and try and persuade the reader to see things from your point of view and agree with you. While you definitely need to make sure to state all of your opinions for your side of the argument, it is also extremely important to give the counter argument as well. In the ACT, you will not get a very good score if you do not give a counter argument.

After doing this, you write your conclusion paragraph and make sure to tie your thesis statement back into ending. And then you've got yourself a wonderful argumentative essay. Unless you're a bad writer, in which case you have no hope.

Journal #33: Stuff That Started in Springfield, IL

I'm not sure that you're aware of this, but not a lot of fun stuff started in Springfield, Illinois. But...I started in Springfield, Illinois. I was born here in this fine town in the beginning of August at St. John's hospital. Being a native to this fine, fine city, I am also aware of several other things that started in Springfield. For instance, Abraham Lincoln started his law practice here as well as his political career.

There is evidence all over the place of Abraham Lincoln in Springfield. Statues of him and his cute little family are downtown, there is a slightly impressive (for Illinois) museum dedicated him and his life in Springfield as well as his life as President. And you can't go anywhere downtown without seeing his handsome face plastered across every kind of memorabilia you could possibly think of. The man is everywhere, and residents of Springfield, Illinois just cannot get away from him no matter where they go.

But really, other than myself and Mr. Abraham Lincoln, there is not a lot of things from Springfield that are very excited.

The state fair, however, can be rather pleasant if all you want to do is eat lots and lots of terribly fattening foods (elephant ears, milkshakes, fried anything, hot dogs, etc.) or maybe ride some cruddy theme park attractions that will rattle and shake dangerously when small children step aboard. Abraham Lincoln is also a constant presence at the fair- there is a huge statue of him just beyond the main gates. He is wearing an suspenders and a flattering blue shirt and is welding a very large ax. I think the creators of this statue were going with the stereotypical "Abraham Lincoln, the modest rail splitter" image to make him more easy to relate to for the middle class working folk that attend the state fair.

In general, there is not a lot of stuff to do in Springfield, Illinois and not a lot of fun things started here. There is some delightful food, but the looming figure of a gaunt Abraham Lincoln is enough to take my appetite away.

Journal #32: Memoir

Okay. I do not really remember what I did over winter break exactly. But I think I will be able to scrape something together.

So, this particular scene takes place on Christmas at roughly one o'clock in the morning. It's kind of in between Christmas and Christmas Eve, like the witching hour or something like that. I was in Effingham, Illinois and the snow had started to fall several hours before. My best friend Bradley and I were sitting outside on my grandparent's porch, drinking hot chocolate with itty bitty marshmallows in it. The conversation was light and everything was just fabulous until we saw it.

Off in the distance, beyond the property line, stood a snarling, bloodthirsty beast of a dog. It would have been logical to just go inside at that point, but the fun thing about my grandparents house is that it was built in like the forties or fifties and is pretty janky. You can't get into the house through the back door for some reason, and you have to go around the entire house. We were faced with a very troubling decision- make a run for it and possibly attract the attention of this terrifying dog, or stay still and maybe get eaten if the dog decided to approach us.

In my fear, I made the decision to make a run for it and leave Bradley to fend for himself. I mean, he's 17 years old and should be able to take care of himself. But apparently the dog was startled by my sudden dash for the front door, and started running and barking and that's when I almost started to cry. And then Bradley, the honorable young lad that he is, threw the remainder of his hot chocolate (which was actually cold chocolate by that time) in the direction of the dog and then we both took of and safely made it to the front door.

I learned a lot about what to do in case of a savage dog attack, and it changed my life forever.

Realism

An Occurrence at Owl Creek by Ambrose Bierce is immediately revealed to be an example of the Realism period. The writing style is very focused on details and being as realistic and factual as possible, especially given the historical significance of the time period (“An Occurrence”). The characteristics of the realism period are pretty similar to those of the Rationalist period, which we studied earlier on in the year. Everything is simple and to the point, comprehensive, ethical, and plausible (“Realism”).

Unlike Romanticism, where everything was ideal and problems often worked themselves out, Realism is unfailingly more realistic. Social class, past events, and relationships are all taken into account and make an impact on how the story pans out. Authors like Mark Twain, Henry James, William Dean Howells, and Rebecca Harding Davis are all authors of the Realism period (“Realism”), as well as Ambrose Bierce.

Bierce, author of “An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge”, wrote about things that he could relate to, like other Realism others. This is a big part of Realism, because if authors were able to relate to the events they wrote about, they were also able to make them more detailed, factual, and all together more accurate. During “An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge”, Bierce provided plenty of informative facts and details so that the reader could better envision the scenes and events of the story.

Thanks to this attention to detail, readers can easily picture what is going on in the story. Although visual details of the story are focused on by the author, emotional and more intellectual details seem to be less important (“An Occurrence”). It is so obvious that Bierce makes his writing more relatable to his readers by giving them these excessive details and looks into the events of the story he is writing.

The Realism Period highly contradicts the writing styles that we have studied previously in class. Whereas Romanticism is so ideal and filed with endings that end perfectly and happily, Realism is more down to earth and concrete without being dismal and gloomy like the style of Dark Romanticism, or pure and stiflingly “perfect” like the religion based works of the Great Awakening. Works of the Rationalist period coincide with Realism because they both are very factual. However, Rationalism is much more scientific and based on intellectual fact than just details, like Realism. Even though Realism provides much more attention to detail and is easier to understand, I still prefer Dark Romanticism. I would have to say that I care less about lots of details than I reading a story that actually interests me.

Works Cited:

"Realism." Realism and Naturalism. Web. 16 Jan. 2011. .

Bierce, Ambrose. "An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge, by Ambrose Bierce; I Page 1." Page By Page Books. Read Classic Books Online, Free. Web. 17 Jan. 2011. .

Journal #31: Daydream

Okay...confession time. I daydream during church. Mostly during the energetic singing parts but sometimes during the sermon itself. I can't help it. For me, listening to Roger Ross talk for half an hour is definitely considered a bad situation. So to fill the time, I often resort to daydreaming. These daydreams usually consist of some kind of escape route. I would have to say that the most creative of these would be the daydream where the church filled up with water for some reason and I then had to kick through the windows to make my escape. I do not know why that scenario popped into my head, but it did and then I just ran with it.

I daydream during class, too. Even English class. I apologize, Mr. Langley, but sometimes your voice/my tiredness just lull me away and BAM...daydream time. And then BAM...I have no idea what is going on. Are you reading this? I kind of feel bad about this confession of mine if you are. But do not fret, because I daydream far less in English than I do in A.P. US History, especially when we watch those movies on the Reconstruction.

Hmm...I also daydream during Sociology (but very rarely), Chemistry (a lot), and General P.E., which would explain me getting kicked in the face so often. I do not daydream during Art III (because we're doing art...drawing pictures and sculpting and such...how difficult is that?), Film and Fiction (because we are watching movies and I actually have to do a worksheet on those bad boys), or Advanced Algebra II (because let's be honest, I would fail and Mrs. Williams might throw something at me).

However, I still love daydreaming. One of my most recent daydreams was about having little suction cup things on my hands and feet so that I would be able to scale buildings like Peter Parker. It sounds ridiculous, I know.

But it was splendiferously fantastic and I do not regret it.