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Naturalism in American Literature: Tracing American Naturalism Through Word and Image

Alharbi, Afras Khalid

Abstract Details

2019, Master of Arts, University of Akron, English-Literature.
Naturalism was a literary movement that originated in France at the end of the nineteenth century when authors began to reject the illusory interpretations of reality offered by Romanticism and Victorian literature. Naturalism suddenly diverted the attention of authors from the glamour of the wealthy classes to the misery of the most disadvantaged groups of American society. The period between the end of the nineteenth century and the middle of the twentieth century was overwhelmed with rapid industrialization, urbanization, economic crisis, and two World Wars. Literature had to make people see the problems in society to provoke change. At the same time, naturalists like Stephen Crane, Jack London, Theodore Dreiser and Frank Norris, took a passive position as narrators by distancing themselves from direct moral commentary to stimulate the audience and convey the main messages of their novels. This analysis is dedicated to the naturalist movement in American literature. Throughout this thesis, I explore, compare, and contrast the works of two different schools of naturalism by tracing the elements of this literary movement in the works of authors. By analyzing naturalistic novels of whites American and African American authors, it is possible to trace different interpretations of naturalism by these two schools. Analysis of different perspectives is synthesized into a systematic review of the literary works. I also analyze elements of naturalism in film adaptations of several novels. The analysis looks at traditional forms of naturalism by tracing its elements through the works of white authors (John Steinbeck, Edith Wharton, Theodor Dreiser) and African American writers (Ann Petry, Richard Wright, and Nella Larsen). I compare and contrast these two groups of naturalist authors through an in-depth literary analysis and examination of varied scholarly sources. Finally, I discuss the screen adaptations of three naturalist works (Native Son, The Grapes of Wrath, and Carrie) and compare them to the original novels. I conclude that naturalism was ahead of its time in presenting ideas and communicating messages for which the society was not yet ready, a notion clearly evidenced clearly in the analysis of the film adaptations.
Patrick Chura, PhD (Advisor)
Hillary Nunn, PhD (Committee Member)
Philathia Bolton, PhD (Committee Member)
88 p.

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Alharbi, A. K. (2019). Naturalism in American Literature: Tracing American Naturalism Through Word and Image [Master's thesis, University of Akron]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=akron1574432977434362

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Alharbi, Afras. Naturalism in American Literature: Tracing American Naturalism Through Word and Image. 2019. University of Akron, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=akron1574432977434362.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Alharbi, Afras. "Naturalism in American Literature: Tracing American Naturalism Through Word and Image." Master's thesis, University of Akron, 2019. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=akron1574432977434362

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)