Naturalism

Influences on John Steinbeck and his

writing
Naturalism
John Steinbeck was not a dedicated student of American
naturalism, yet his themes and methods are often closely tied
to this literary movement.
Became the dominant literary movement in American fiction
by the turn of the 20
th
century.
Early naturalistic writers included Stephen Crane (The Red
Badge of Courage); Jack London (The Call of the Wild);
Theodore Dreiser (An American Tragedy).
Many of their stories manifested Darwins theory of survival
of the fittest.

Naturalism
Naturalism is a form of extreme realism: Human
beings are animals in a natural world, responding to
environmental forces and internal stresses and drives,
over none of which they have control and none of
which they fully understand.1
In other words humans are animal-like, following
their instincts to survive.
At the heart of this ideology is pessimistic
Determinism: the notion that the causes of human
tragedy lie beyond the powers of the individual. We
struggle against forces beyond human control.
1. C. Hugh Holman and William Harmon. A Handbook to Literature, 5
th
ed. (New York: Macmillan, 1986).

Naturalism
The movement was influenced by Marxist theory,
which holds that class struggle is the central element
of social change in Western society.
This was coupled with economic problems stemming
from urbanization of America at the end of the 19
th

century.
This combination portrayed socio-economic forces
that overwhelm individual lives.
Naturalists focused on the lives of characters
struggling for survival in an alien and often hostile
society.
Naturalism
The naturalists believed that individuals' lives and
characters are governed and determined by
impersonal natural laws and forces, such as social
conditions, the environment, and heredity.
In other words, nature is indifferent to our struggle;
society is insensitive to our personal needs for
fulfillment or self-expression.
Life is seen as merely a sequence of cause and effect;
a chain of events flowing from one event.

Naturalism
Naturalistic stories are often told by an all-knowing
narrator who can relate deterministic factors far
beyond the knowledge of the characters affected by
them.
The tendency in naturalistic works is that no one
emerges triumphant, because simple survival
constitutes a moral victory. Beaten down by an
inhuman system and bad luck, many of the naturalist
writers characters end as suicide victims.
Death is seen as a natural outcome.

Naturalism
Assignment: Read Steinbecks short story Johnny
Bear.
Try to pick out naturalistic factors as you read. Refer
back to these PowerPoint notes.
Also, try to determine the importance of socio-
economic factors in the story.
The phrase socio-economic refers to social (as in the
culture or society the characters live in) and economic
conditions.
There will be a short quiz over the story tomorrow
worth 13 points.

Johnny Bear
Naturalistic elements
Humans as animal-like (established through
metaphors and similes):
He looked like a great, stupid, smiling bear.
The light fell on his black matted hair. I saw a big
fly land on his head, and then I swear I saw the whole
scalp shiver the way the skin of a horse shivers under
flies.
His head moved, and he peered all about, like an
animal about to leave its den.
His square feet were like cats feet.
Johnny Bear crawled like a badger out of his hole.
Johnny Bear
Naturalistic elements
What is an internal stress or drive that dictates Miss
Amys actions?
How does this naturalistic element apply to Miss
Amys predicament?
Individuals' lives and characters are governed and
determined by impersonal natural laws and forces,
such as social conditions and the environment.
Attempts at exercising free will or choice are
hamstrung by forces beyond their control
How does the ending reflect naturalistic writing
tendencies?



Naturalism
Assignment: Review chapter 1 of Of Mice and Men
Find an example of each of the following aspects of Naturalism in
Chapter 1. Type each example out in complete sentence(s) and
include details from the story to support your answers. Quote
specific passages when possible and include the page number.
The struggle against forces beyond human control.
Individuals' lives and characters governed and determined by
impersonal natural laws and forces, such as social conditions and
the environment.
Nature being indifferent to human struggle or society as
insensitive to special needs. Attempts at exercising free will or
choice are hamstrung by forces beyond their control.
Humans as animal-like; instinctive.
Death as natural; survival of the fittest.