Final ENG 251 Essay. Realism, Naturalism and Modernism Influence on contemporary American Literature

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Realism, Naturalism and Modernism Influence on contemporary American Literature
The past literature styles that include realism, naturalism, and idealism continue to exert influence in modern American literature. The recent American literature has embraced diversity and inculcates multiple schools of thought into writing artistry. This paper will attempt to define how realism, naturalism, and idealism might have determined the current content of American literature.
Naturalism is a concept that belongs to the literary genre that emerged in the late 19th century. It ordinarily deals with literature, art, and film, amongst others. Naturalism is a type of realism, but it is a harsher one. French novelist Emile Zola firstly advanced naturalism; this was followed by its introduction into the American realm of literature by Frank Norris (Zhang, pp.195). Zhang (pp.195) observes that naturalism is a theory in the literature that revolves around scientific observation of life in the absence of idealism or avoidance of ugly.
Naturalism is concerned with how the family, environment, and social surroundings mould human character. American literature naturalists tend to dismiss the validity of moral truths by elucidating on optimal levels of frankness and objectivity. The naturalists reflect characters of low social class in a way that shows the overarching role of heredity and the environment. Pessimism determinism is a theme that emanates out of naturalism. Thus, naturalism appears to provide a vivid description of characters that are victimized and controlled by nature, society, or any other factors, which are beyond their control. Naturalists tend to weave their stories in the settings of impoverishment, low social class, and inferior education standards. According to the school of naturalism, humans seem to struggle in a bid to survive in an environment that is hostile. Zhang (pp.195) cites examples of naturalist literature writers who include Stephen Crane, Hemingway, Frank Norris, Henry Adams, and Theodore Dreiser, amongst others.
The American literature industry was influenced by European naturalists, specifically by Emile Zola. It seems that a group of writers emerge in America, whose perception of the environment and societal disorders, directed them to the naturalism school of thought, which is a harsher form of realism (Zhang, pp.196). Most natural writers appear to have borrowed a lot of the Darwinian Theory. The naturalist stories in the U.S are centered on non-Anglo communities in merging American cities, which are commonly inhabited by immigrants and relatively low socio-economic class. Naturalist authors are usually scornful of bourgeois individualism, which is propped on middle-class life. Naturalist tends to irrational motives of people through sexuality and violence. The naturalist pattern of thinking has been shaped by conflicts and social upheavals, which destroyed their faith at delicate ages; Darwinian concepts aggravate this. (Zhang, pp.197).
The concept of realism is more equivocal than naturalism. Its looseness explains why naturalism is a form of realism. The school of realism in America emerged in response to the rejection of romantici...