The Influence of Realism and Naturalism on 20th Century...

The Influence of Realism and Naturalism on 20th Century American Fiction After World War I, American people and the authors among them were left disillusioned by the effects that war had on their society. America needed a literature that would explain what had happened and what was happening to their society. American writers turned to what is now known as modernism. The influence of 19th Century realism and naturalism and their truthful representation of American life and people was evident in post World War I modernism. This paper will try to prove this by presenting the basic ideas and of these literary genres, literary examples of each, and then make connections between the two literary movements. Realism Modernism not only depicted†¦show more content†¦Literary naturalism invited writers to examine human beings objectively, as a scientist studies nature (Am. Lit. Comptons). In portraying ugliness and cruelty, the authors refrained from preaching about them; rather they left readers to draw their own conclusions about the life they presented. Generally, these authors took a pessimistic view to portray a life that centered on the negative part of mans existence. When dealing with society directly, naturalists generally detailed the destruction of people without any sentiment. To do this, they wrote more open about societys problems in a more open manner usually using nature as a symbol for society. Naturalistic literature, like! realistic, served as a catalyst for change but, in contrast, was a little more like propaganda. Even though only twenty years may have separated them, the transformation from realism/naturalism to modernism was a long one in terms of how much society had changed. The aforementioned rapid change in American society and Americas relation with the rest of the world left America in disarray. After the first World War, American society was divided and left without definition. This called for a new age of literary expression to co ntrol and document the isolationist fears, corruption, and disenchantment (Bradley 1339-1340) caused by the war. Authors looked to explain their generation and to respond to theShow MoreRelatedRealism in 19th Century American Fiction1014 Words   |  5 PagesREALISM IN 19th CENTURY AMERICAN FICTION The 19th century is considered to mark the origin of realism as a literary movement in the United States. American writers following the era of change in American life, moved steadily from Romanticism towards Realism, which was to lead the next step of Naturalism. The process was gradual, reflecting the periodic fluctuations in the history of American society. In this process, the Civil War provided a dramatic point of cleavage. In 1865 at the end of theRead MoreModernism in the Old Man the Sea3759 Words   |  16 PagesSea† Introduction: 1. 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