4 Literatura Norteamericana Naturalism: 1890s-1910s.

After the symbolism and transcendental romance of the 1850s and the more factual realism of the 18 0s-1880s! "e can see t"o #arallel tendencies in the "ritin$ of the end of the century: 1. %n the one hand there is a dri&e to scientism: faith in the methods and findin$s of the natural sciences! "hich are ada#ted to literature. 'riters customarily be$in to use in their "ritin$ techni(ues and ideas dra"n from ne" sciences li)e sociolo$y! #sycholo$y! and #hysiolo$y. Naturalist fiction used sociolo$y and #hysiolo$y* #sycholo$ical literature+in the style of ,enry -ames+dre" from #sycholo$y. .. /here is! at the same time! an interest in exploring new forms and techniques that "ould best bear "itness to the ne" (ualities of a much chan$ed "orld. /his results in a hei$htened formal a"areness! as in ,enry -ames! for e0am#le. NATURALISM 1es#onds to a fe" $eneral characteristics of the #eriod: /o"ards the late 1880s and the early 1890s! there is a decline of the "orld-&ie" that had su##orted realistic literature: o#timism and faith in the centrality of indi&iduals. 2y contrast! there is no" an increasin$ sense of #essimism and decline. 1ealism had been mildly o#timistic! nostal$ic! and tried to #reser&e rural! family and small community &alues. 31emember ,o"ell4s statement about "antin$ to de#ict the more 5smilin$ as#ects of American life56. /hese feelin$s erode to"ard the end of the century. /here is a stron$ feelin$ of decline and de$eneration! a sensation that in contem#orary ci&ili7ation there is nothin$ to #reser&e! no &alues! no smilin$ realities. /hese ideas "ere e0#ressed in one of the best-sellers of the #eriod: 8a0 Nordau4s 9e$eneration! first issued in :ermany in 1890 and (uic)ly translated into most lan$ua$es of culture. ;or Nordau! a somber :erman doctor! the dominant theme in #resent times is e0actly denoted by the title of his boo). 9e$eneration "as blatant for him in #eo#le4s lifestyle! in modern ideas! and es#ecially in racial decline. /he moderns seemed "ea)! colorless! and #rone to all sorts of #hysical and 3more alarmin$6 mental diseases. 2ut e&en before Nordau4s boo) a##ears! some contem#orary American authors seem to coincide in their ne$ati&e assessments of contem#orary life. ,ere are t"o (uotes from ,o"ells and /"ain: <=4m not in a &ery $ood mood "ith 4America4 myself. =t seems to be the most $rotes(uely illo$ical thin$ under the sun.... = should hardly li)e to trust #en and in) "ith all the audacity of my social ideas* but after fifty years of o#timistic content "ith 4ci&ili7ation4 and its ability to come out all ri$ht in the end! = no" abhor it! and feel that it is comin$ out all "ron$ in the end! unless it bases itself ane" on a real e(uality.> 'illiam 9ean ,o"ells to ,enry -ames 318886 <= ha&e lost my #ride in 8an ? can4t "rite $aily nor #raisefully about him anymore.> 8ar) /"ain to 'illiam 9ean ,o"ells 318996

@ /he main reasons for these ideas lie in a ne" ne$ati&ism re$ardin$ industrialization. /he belief in #ro$ress and the eu#horic celebrations of the machine that a##ear in the immediate #ost-"ar decades turns sour to"ard the end of the century. =ndustry! #ro$ress! machinery are &ie"ed ne$ati&ely no". ;or many it is increasin$ly ob&ious that the economic de&elo#ment of the time "as built on the exploitation of the masses of wor ers. A sym#tom of the chan$es in o#inion is the fact that in the #o#ular #ress! and in #o#ular s#eech! the $reat fortunes of the time 3Aarne$ie! the Banderbilt! the 1oc)efellers6 are occasionally called 51obber 2arons.5 /he ne$ati&e &ie" of contem#orary society is #romoted es#ecially by the "or)ers4 mo&ement! "hich ac(uires stren$th and im#ortance at this time. /o"ard the end of the century there is an increase in labor unrest: "or)ers be$in to or$ani7e! unioni7e! and #rotest their current conditions. Crotest becomes more and more or$ani7ed and radical. Docialist! communist and anarchist unions become stron$: they count at times "ith hundreds of thousands of members and o"n ne"s#a#ers. A radical labor culture de&elo#s es#ecially in bi$ cities. Crotest a$ainst e0#loitation #ea)ed in a mo&ement that ad&ocated an 8-hour "or) day and a restin$ day in the "or)in$ "ee). 58 hours for "or)! 8 hours for rest and 8 hours for "hat "e "ill.5 An im#ortant demonstration in fa&or of these claims too) #lace in Ahica$o in %ctober! 188 . =t "as a massi&e rally. =n the middle of the #roceedin$s! a bomb e0#loded in the &icinity of the demonstration. Colice attac)ed demonstrators and shot on them. De&eral labor leaders im#risoned as res#onsible for the riots and the casualties. De&eral "or)ers and #olicemen "ere )illed. /he unions 3#articularly the anarchists! fairly #o"erful at the time6 claimed it had it all had been a frame-u# set u# by the #olice to erode the #resti$e of the unions and union leaders. /his is the be$innin$ of more intense #rotests and! at the same time! of more dire re#ression of the labor mo&ements "hich "ere seen as a threat to the country. Numerous Eournalists! no&elists! intellectuals "ere out to e0#ose some of the e0cesses and inEustices of the industrial system: amon$ these are F#ton Dinclair! /he -un$le* =da 8. /arbell! /he ,istory of the Dtandard %il Aom#any* 1obert ,unter4s 5/he Ahildren "ho /oil5. %thers e0#ose #olitical corru#tion! both at the local and national le&el.: Lincoln Dteffens! The Shame of Cities* 9a&id :raham Chilli#s! The Treason of the Senate. /hese "riters! Eournalists out to un&eil the #roblems of the system! "ere called 5muc)ra)in$ Eournalists5. Another im#ortant notion that undermines the "orld&ie" of realism is a feelin$ that humanity is no lon$er at the center of social and historical #rocesses. /he idea that indi&iduals ha&e free "ill and are inde#endent and autonomous and can determine their o"n destiny is $radually undermined by the ideas of t"o crucial fi$ures: Aharles 9ar"in and Garl 8ar0. @ !harles "arwin#s theories of the e&olution of the s#ecies ad&anced the notion that humans e&ol&e from animals. Ceo#le are not of di&ine #ro&enance! but a #eculiarly e&ol&ed s#ecies of the animal "orld. =n addition! they are subEect to natural la"s: the la"s of e&olution! "hich dictate biolo$ical chan$e. /hese are the same for #eo#le and animals. =ndi&idual "ill and desi$n count little a$ainst the su#ra-human forces of e&olution. An ada#tation of 9ar"inism to the social "orld "as the so-called social "arwinism: li)e in nature! social life consisted of an essentially hostile medium "here only the fittest sur&i&ed. /his led to the Eustification of s#eculati&e ca#italism and of all sort of inEustices: those "ho "ere in a "orst situation "ere someho" inferior to those "ho "ere hi$her u# in the social scale. ;irst #ublished in Hn$land in 1859! 9ar"inIs ideas "ere the obEect of heated debates: they threatened reli$ion and humanism! and also intensified #eo#le4s sense of &ictimi7ation before

dominant #rocesses--the notion of feelin$ o&er"helmed by e0ternal forces outside one4s control. @ $arl Marx: if 9ar"in de&elo#ed an influential theory of biolo$ical e&olution! 8ar04s contribution "as a theory of history that also minimi7ed the im#ortance of #eo#le4s inde#endence! autonomy! and "ill. Accordin$ to 8ar0! history de&elo#ed accordin$ to lo$ic of its o"n: it had an internal de&elo#ment that could not be chan$ed by indi&iduals. ,istory "as dri&en by ca#ital! "hich tended to $ro" and #roduce more and more com#le0 social and economic systems. =ndustrial ca#italism "as an ad&anced sta$e of this e&olution! and mono#oly ca#italism! dominant at the end of the nineteenth century! "as for 8ar0 a terminal #hase. Aa#ital created as "ell the forces that "ould destroy it. %ne of these forces "as the "or)in$ class: it "ould #ro$ressi&ely $ro"! become em#o"ered and e&entually sei7e the means of #roduction. At that #oint! the state "ill no lon$er be the instrument of the bour$eoisie and ca#ital! but the e0#ression of an e$alitarian! classless society. =ndi&iduals are inside this mo&ement of history and can do little to modify it. %nly $reat collecti&e actions mi$ht ha&e the effect of acceleratin$ this #rocess. 8ar0ism! li)e 9ar"inism! reinforced the idea that #eo#le "ere subEect to e0ternal forces that controlled one4s life. /his "as $ood ne"s for the labor mo&ement! "hich com#letely ado#ted the notion that history mo&ed to"ard the emanci#ation of the #roletariat. @ /echnolo$ical de&elo#ment also enhanced a sense of displacement and %ictimization. /echnolo$y "as becomin$ an enormous force that seemed to ha&e #eo#le at its mercy. /he idea a##ears fore $rounded in an im#ortant document of the #eriod: /he Hducation of ,enry Adams 3190J6! an autobio$ra#hy by ,enry Adams. Adams "as from an im#ortant 2oston family: a #rofessor! no&elist! art critic! Eournalist! and essentially &ery rich. ,e belie&ed that contem#orary life had become un)no"able usin$ traditional ideas inherited from earlier #hiloso#hy. Amon$ other thin$s! because his "as a fully mechani7ed "orld "here the machine and industry reined su#reme and this "as a ne" situation that thre" traditional ideas about #eo#le and the "orld out of )ilter. 'ith the occasion of the 1900 'orld4s H0#osition of Caris in 1900! Adams formulated one of his central ideas! the o##osition bet"een the #ast and the #resent in the form of the symbols of the Bir$in--8adonna--and the 9ynamo. /he #ast "orld 3before the ad&ent of industry6 "as or$anic! dominated by human symbols li)e the Bir$in 3meanin$: the reli$ious ima$e of the 8adonna6. =ts main frame of reference "as reli$ion! and later on! as 'estern societies turned #ro$ressi&ely lay! meta#hysics. Dymbolism "as its main strate$y for ma)in$ sense. ,umanity "as considered to be at the center of creation and in control of its destiny. /he "orld "as a system that science had to e0#lain* it "as mysterious but essentially )no"able. =n the ne" society! the main icon is no lon$er or$anic and reli$ious but mechanical-electrical: the dynamo. /he main frame of reference is science! not meta#hysics! and "ithin science! Adams belie&ed that thermodynamics+the branch of #hysics that deals "ith the transformation and circulation of ener$y+"as the most emblematic of the ne" times. 1ather than symbols! the ne" "orld deals "ith facts. =t abandons the notion that the "orld is systematic and essentially and belie&es instead in a chaotic uni&erse "here #eo#le are no lon$er in control! and are mo&ed instead by outside forces. 1ather than a uni&erse! it is a <multi&erse> 3self-contradictory! catastro#hic! multi#le6. =n AdamsIs "ords:

</he child born in 1900 "ould! then! be born into a ne" "orld "hich "ould not be a unity but a multi#le. ... a land "here no one had e&er #enetrated before* "here order "as an accidental relation obno0ious to nature* artificial com#ulsion im#osed on motion* a$ainst "hich e&ery free ener$y of the uni&erse re&olted* and "hich! bein$ merely occasional! resol&ed bac) into anarchy at last. ,e could not deny that the la" of the ne" multi&erse e0#lained much that had been most obscure.> /he Hducation of ,enry Adams 3190J6 @ /he notion of bein$ inside a $reat bi$ machine that "e only )no" #artially and that "e definitely cannot control "as a dominant meta#hor in the #eriod. 8any "riters referred to it. =t "as translated e&en into #eo#le4s conce#tions of nature. H&en the natural "orld "as seen no" as a bi$ machine that #eo#le could not control but controlled them. 5Nature "as! then! a $i$antic en$ine! a &ast cyclo#ean #o"er! hu$e! terrible! a le&iathan "ith a heart of steel! )no"in$ no com#unction! no for$i&eness! no tolerance* crushin$ out the human atom standin$ in its "ay! "ith nir&anic calm.5 ;. Norris! /he %cto#us Accordin$ to this mechanicist &ie" of the "orld #eo#le! nature! and society "or) li)e machines. @ A further determinin$ influence "as the cit&--an ambi$uous en&ironment that "as both celebrated and deni$rated. =t offered the #ossibility of ma0imum indi&iduality! ne" o##ortunities! ne" chances for indi&iduals to fashion their li&es. 2ut it "as also a theater of materialism! dehumani7ation! and inEustice. Naturalist "riters often focused on this latter as#ect of city life. /he naturalist "riter is com#arable to the #hoto$ra#her "ho documents city life and s(ualor 3#hoto$ra#hers li)e Le"is ,ines or -acob 1iis6. ,e can also be com#ared to the muc)ra)er Eournalist! unco&erin$ the dirty underside and e0orbitant human cost of technolo$ical and industrial de&elo#ment or to the sociolo$ist 3Ahica$o-Dchool of Dociolo$y6! interested in in&esti$atin$ immi$rant conflict and social de#ri&ation. /,H HF1%CHAN %1=:=ND %; L=/H1A1K NA/F1AL=D8 /he ori$in of literary naturalism is Hmile Lola4s Le 1oman e0#Mrimental 318J96! an a##lication to the no&el of the scientific methods of sociolo$y and medicine--#articularly #hysiolo$y. Lola "as influenced by doctor Alaude 2ernard4s =ntroduction a l4etude de la medicine e0#erimentale! a boo) that set the basis for the ne" science of #hysiolo$y! "hich sou$ht to e0#lain beha&ior--includin$ feelin$s--on the basis of body chemistry and $landular secretions. ;or Lola the no&el should be an e0#eriment--that is! an instance of controlled obser&ation. Kou start out from a situation "here all factors are )no"n. Dcientist introduces chan$es to trace the reactions of subEects in&ol&ed and thus try to unco&er rules of beha&ior. H0#eriment in the no&el should lead to )no"led$e of #assionate and intellectual life--as it does into )no"led$e of #hysical life. =n the no&el! li)e in scientific research! it is #ossible to introduce chan$es in the circumstances of characters in order to assess chan$es in beha&ior. /his is done as a means to infer connections bet"een 3&isible6 #henomena and 3in&isible! underlyin$6 causes. Duch connections $i&e us )no"led$e of ho" society and its indi&iduals function. /he la"s that re$ulate inanimate bodies also influence the #assions and the intellect. "eterminism $o&erns e&erythin$. /his term means that underlyin$ la"s $o&ern--determine--the "orld of #henomena* the no&el should be an instrument to"ards )no"in$ these la"s. /he no&el should study heredit& and the en%ironment* this )ind of study "ould com#lete the

#icture of human life already s)etched out by #hysiolo$y. /he #oint is to ma)e oneself master of life in order to be able to direct it--as do the doctor or the #hysic on a different le&el of thin$s. =n LolaNs &ie" the no&el can contribute a practical sociolog&: )no"led$e of society to be used for betterin$ social conditions. /hese ideas re(uire a chan$e in the "ay literature is assessed: a "riter4s $enius is to be found in the initial idea that the e0#eriment "ill e0#lore as "ell as in the ri$or throu$h "hich the e0#eriment "ill be carried out! and in its form and style. ;orm de#ends on method and lan$ua$e* on the ty#e of lo$ic and clearness. ;or Lola 5/he meta#hysical man is dead* our "hole territory is transformed by the ad&ent of the #hysiolo$ical man.... today "e feel the necessity of analy7in$ an$er and lo&e! of disco&erin$ e0actly ho" such #assions "orld in the human bein$.... 'e ha&e become e0#erimentalists instead of #hiloso#hers. =n short! e&erythin$ is summed u# in the $reat fact: the e0#erimental method in letters! as in the sciences! is in the "ay to e0#lain the natural #henomena! both indi&idual and social! of "hich meta#hysics! until no"! has $i&en only irrational and su#ernatural e0#lanations.5 3 596 AM'RI!AN NATURALISM /he main American naturalists are Dte#hen Arane! ;ran) Norris! -ac) London! /heodor 9reiser and F#ton Dinclair. /hey are often s#o)en of as a $eneration: they are all born "ithin a decade* ha&e similar traEectories 3many started as Eournalists and mo&ed later on to creati&e literature6* "or) on similar themes* and share a #articular &ie" of life and e0#erience--a &ie" "e ha&e already defined in class as deterministic and mechanistic. /he settings of naturalist fictions are urban and contem#orary: the lo" de#ths of cities! factories! "or)in$ class milieus. /hese are settin$s &irtually untouched by the transcendentalists or by local color "riters. %ccasionally the countryside a##ears in naturalist "or)s as "ell! but it is not the ideali7ed country of earlier authors! but de#ressed farms and brutal small to"ns. Aommonly! authors #it idealism &s. underlyin$ economic and se0ual dri&es* the indi&idual "ill &s. social and natural forces. /he latter are most often "inners. Naturalists are #articularly fascinated "ith human decay and de$eneration--"ith ho" characters "ho start out doin$ relati&ely "ell in life sin) #ro$ressi&ely into de$radation. 2ecause of this they fre(uently called their "or)s 5studies in de$eneration.5 /his fall is fre(uently brou$ht about by their heredity or by the #oor conditions in "hich characters li&e. 3As Dte#hen Arane once stated: 5en&ironment is a tremendous thin$ in the "orld and fre(uently sha#es li&es re$ardless.5 5Creface5 to 8a$$ie: a :irl of the Dtreets 3189O66 ;or naturalist authors! literature should deri&e from ()rute fact(: from direct obser&ation of and immersion in life. Life should be directly obser&ed rather than in&ented. =n /he 1es#onsibilities of the No&elist 3190O6! ;ran) Norris! claimed! in his best macho style! that art should yield to <the honest rou$h-and-tumble! An$lo-Da0on )noc)about that for us means life.5 ,e also admitted! a bit incon$ruously! that naturalism should not only be a mode of re#ortin$ but should ha&e a sli$ht touch of romance! re(uirin$ e0a$$eration and symbolic motifs. /his "as shared by others: ,amlin :arland! Arumblin$ =dols 318946: defined himself as a &eritist! tryin$ to "al) a middle line bet"een the hi$hly idealistic 4romance4 and Lola4s se0ual e0#licitness and lac) of idealism.

NA/F1AL=D/ AF/,%1D 3A//HN/=%N: this is for your information only: #lease be familiar "ith the names! but you 9%NI/ ha&e to study characteristics! dates and "or)s of these authors6. Stephen !rane 318J0-19006 called his city s)etches and no&ellas 5e0#eriments in misery.5 ,is best urban no&els are 8a$$ie! a :irl of the Dtreets. A Dtory of Ne" Kor) 3189O6 and :eor$e4s 8other 3189 6. /hey are both about characters at the mercy of the im#ersonal forces of the $reat metro#olis. 8a$$ie! #rota$onist of the e#onymous no&el! becomes a #rostitute after bein$ abandoned by her lo&er* :eor$e! #rota$onist of the second no&el! sin)s into alcoholism as a result of his hedonistic #ursuit of the #leasures of the city. ,is most celebrated "or) is /he 1ed 2ad$e of Aoura$e 318956! about a youn$ man4s initiation into life durin$ the Ai&il 'ar. =n the no&el the "ar is a 5)ey naturalist ima$e of life.5 =t is a $i$antic! im#ersonal force that dis#laces the #rota$onist from the center of the fabula and immerses him in a "orld of #ain! confusion! and #hysiolo$ical sensation. /he "ar is here an arena for obser&in$ human bein$s under e0treme conditions. H&erythin$ in the no&el is told throu$h the #ers#ecti&e of the #rota$onist. ,ence there is a considerable amount of #sycholo$ical characteri7ation: much of the "ritin$ is de&oted to describin$ the #rota$onist4s mental states! memories! feelin$s and emotions. ,ere Arane4s naturalism touches hands "ith the #sycholo$ical no&els of ,enry -ames! for e0am#le. Arane is a &ery self-conscious artist: his descri#tions of 5brute facts5 are e0tremely so#histicated. ,e is also influenced by symbolism: a contem#orary mo&ement in #oetry 3ori$inatin$ in the ;rench #oet Aharles 2audelaire6 that dealt "ith feelin$s and sensations in a &ery abstract! elusi&e manner and that abundantly used synaesthesia. 3=n D#anish sinestesia6. *ran Norris 318J0-190.6 "as a follo"er of Hmile Lola4s theories about the e0#erimental no&el. ,e described naturalism as a form of modern epic encom#assin$ 5the &ast! the monstrous! the tra$ic!5 as "ell as the unconscious #arts of life: 5the um#lumbed de#ths of the human heart! and the mystery of se05. 'or)s: 8c/ea$ue. A Dtory of Dan ;rancisco 318996! about #sycholo$y and heredity. Aentered on a brutish Dan ;rancisco dentist and his "ife. 2oth are at the mercy of their o"n #sycholo$ical com#ulsions. ,e is a &iolent character "ith a tendency to alcoholism deri&ed from his heredity. Dhe is a miser! "ho li&es in abEect #o&erty in order not to s#end a #enny. /he %cto#us 319016 and /he Cit 3190O6! are #art of an unfinished 5"heat trilo$y.5 /hey try to describe in no&elistic terms the social and economic forces in&ol&ed in the har&estin$ and mar)etin$ of "heat. Norris concie&ed as 5romances of business and industry5-the main modern #o"ers. 2y analy7in$ and #ro&idin$ )no"led$e about the surroundin$ "orld and society! these "or)s fulfil Lola4s $oal for the e0#erimental no&el: that it should function as a form of 5#ractical sociolo$y.5 /he %cto#us centers on the conflict bet"een small farmers and the lar$e "heat trusts in alliance "ith the railroads. /he Cit is about the Ahica$o 2oard of /rade 3or Dtoc) H0chan$e6! that is! about ho" macro-economic interests determine the life of small farmers. /hese no&els si$nal the end of the )ind of #astoralism that sa" nature as a realm of transcendence and freedom 3thin) of Hmerson and /horeau6. 1emember the follo"in$ (uote 3commented on in class6 from /he %cto#us: 5Nature "as! then! a $i$antic en$ine! a &ast cyclo#ean #o"er! hu$e! terrible! a le&iathan "ith a heart of steel! )no"in$ no com#unction! no for$i&eness! no tolerance* crushin$ out the human atom standin$ in its "ay! "ith nir&anic calm.5 +ac London 318J -191 6 "as born in Dan ;rancisco to an eccentric sin$le mother. ,is life seems li)e an ad&enture no&el: he had &ery little formal education and tau$ht himself by readin$ e0tensi&ely in local #ublic libraries. ,e "as a hobo 3a 5&a$rant56! cannery "or)er! and

factory "or)er durin$ his youth in Aalifornia. ,e then mi$rated to Alas)a! a ne" territory that 1ussia had sold to the Fnited Dtates. /here he "or)ed as a seal hunter and $old #ros#ector before he turned to "ritin$. ,e became one of the most celebrated and best #aid "riters of his day! famous in Huro#e as "ell as in America. ,e "as a committed socialist! althou$h his #olitical ideas are often confused and contradictory. ,e "rote on urban to#ics and the life of factory "or)ers but he is best )no"n as a "riter of the outdoors. 8any of his "or)s deal "ith ad&entures in the "ilderness. ,is main to#ic is sur%i%al in a hostile "orld--the to#ic of 5/o Li$ht a ;ire.5 /here is in London4s "or) a residual heroism and faith in the ca#acity of coura$eous indi&iduals to sur&i&e that actually contradicts naturalism4s theses about the decentrin$ of the indi&idual. /his celebration of coura$e is lar$ely absent from the "or) of other naturalists. ,e "as a stron$ belie&er in the determinism of milieu! his characters are most often the #roduct of en&ironmental forces but they are occasionally able to rise abo&e them. 'or)s @ Ad&enture no&els: 'hite ;an$ 3190 6! /he Aall of the 'ild! /he Dea 'olf @ Colitical fable: /he =ron ,eel 3190J6. About the e&ils of industrialism. @ Autobio$ra#hical no&els: 8artin Hden 319096. @ -ournalistic e0#ose: Ceo#le of the Abyss 3190O6--on urban #o&erty in London4s Hast Hnd. /o document his no&el he li&ed there as a tram#! be$$in$ in the streets! slee#in$ in homeless shelters! eatin$ in sou# )itchens! $atherin$ first-hand e0#erience of life in des#erate #o&erty. =n method and intent it is similar to the "or) of the so-called 5muc)ra)in$ Eournalists.5 Theodor "reiser, 318J1-19456 %f :erman catholic descent! his #arents emi$rated to the Fnited Dtates shortly before he "as born. :erman "as the family4s household lan$ua$e. ,e "as influenced by ;rench naturalism 3Hmile Lola6 and 1ussian literature! and by contem#orary theories of e0#erimental #sycholo$y and #hysiolo$y. ,e "as trained as a Eournalist! and his "ritin$ retains traces of the documentary Eournalistic mode. ,e is considered a late naturalist! since he continued #ublishin$ no&els into the 19.0s! and essays and Eournalism into the 19O0s and 1940s. 'or)s: Dister Aarrie! 1900* -eannie :erhardt! 1911* and An American /ra$edy! 19.5. 3/here is a "ell-)no"n film &ersion of this "or) titled A Clace in the Dun6. /his last "or) (uestions indi&idual res#onsibility: if "e are all conditioned by society! to "hat e0tent are "e res#onsible for our actionsP /his indicates his belief in the force of the en&ironment to determine #eo#le4s actions--a belief common to most naturalists. =n one of his no&els he states: 5,alf the undoin$ of the ... natural mind is accom#lished by forces "holly su#erhuman.5 9reiser "as also a cultural critic "ho fulminated a$ainst American residual #uritanism and "hat he called 5the $enteel stance5--a ty#e of mentality "hich "ould not admit the star) realities of se0uality! industrial e0#loitation! or the ne" scientific ideas "hich (uestioned humanist and reli$ious &ie"s of the uni&erse. =n the thirties! he "rote considerable #olitical and social criticism #rom#ted by the :reat 9e#ression of 19.9. Upton Sinclair. 318J8-19 86 Li)e 9reiser! Dinclair started out as a Ahica$o-based Eournalist. ,e "as closely lin)ed to the muc)ra)ers 3he4s often considered one of them6. =n the 19O0s he entered #olitics in the state of Aalifornia! "here he ran for election as socialist candidate for $o&ernor. 3=n those times there "as a fairly stron$ socialist #arty in the FD6. ,e "as not elected! thou$h. ,is most #o#ular--and #ossibly best--no&el is /he -un$le 3190 6! an e0#ose of the "or)in$ conditions and e0#loitation at the Ahica$o stoc)yards--the lar$est meat-#ac)in$ #lants in the "orld. -ac) London called it 5the Fncle /om4s Aabin of "a$e sla&ery.5 =t #rom#ted a con$ressional in&esti$ation! ordered by Cresident /heodor 1oose&elt! into em#loyment #ractices and hy$ienic conditions at the meat #lants.

/hrou$h the rest of his life! he )e#t on "ritin$ e0#ose no&els! often (uite hea&ily researched: 8etro#olis 319086! Gin$ Aoal 3191J6 %ilQ 319.J6. All this culminates in the 11&olume 'orld4s Hnd se(uence! melodramatic series about a character named Lanny 2udd! a tra&eller-Eournalist "ho de#icts and analy7es the entire #olitical landsca#e of the 'estern "orld. /o conclude! "e can say that naturalism created a ne" mood in the no&el. =t dealt o#enly "ith issues that had been hidden and su##ressed--issues li)e se0uality! #sycholo$ical com#ulsion! urban #o&erty. Naturalism also "idened the sco#e of literature by introducin$ into the no&el ne" themes--industry! business! and the li&es of immi$rants! amon$ others. 3An im#ortant e0am#le of the immi$rant no&el is Abraham Aahan4s Ke)l: A /ale of the Ne" Kor) :hetto! 189 6. Naturalism also $a&e some im#ulse to ethnic American literatures. A mi0ture of naturalism and #oetic realism characteri7es the "or) of contem#orary blac) "riters such as Caul Laurence 9unbar 3/he Fncalled! 1898! and /he D#ort of the :ods! 190.6 and Aharles 'endell Ahestnut 3/he ,ouse 2ehind the Aedars6! about the rural south. 'hile naturalism is the most im#ortant and inno&ati&e trend of the time! the taste of the $reat #ublic fa&ored a literature of e&asion. ,ence the lar$est commercial successes at the time "ere historical romances set in the middle a$es! "ritten by 3no" for$otten6 authors such as 1ichard ,ardin$ 9a&is and 'inston D. Ahurchill.