Realism And Naturalism In Frank Norris's Zola As Romantic Writer

During the 19th and 20th centuries in America, literature evolved into new styles as writers began the formation of a distinct American style. Two opposing styles that developed during this time were realism and naturalism. As these styles took shape, American authors discussed the elements and effect of each in a series of commentaries and essays, including Frank Norris’ “Zola as Romantic Writer”. In “Zola as a Romantic writer”, Norris criticizes the style of the realistic writer, and in doing so, crafts a succinct definition of realism. According to Norris, realism is a literary style that mainly features ordinary people, focuses on minute details of daily life, and revolves around minor conflicts that resolve themselves quickly, a definition …show more content…
Throughout the story, the author reveals seemingly insignificant facts, creating a very full and elaborate image of the setting. A few examples of these details include the leafless avenue; the fact that George asked Editha to date him on the way home from a concert; the way Editha’s mother sits in a Shaker chair after learning about the war; the red, white, and blue bow Editha ties on George’s packet; how Editha’s father was already going to Iowa for work; the flowers outside of George’s mother’s house; and countless other details Howells provides throughout his story. According to Norris, this style is at the very core of realism, as he states, “This is the real Realism. It is the smaller details of every-day life” (Norris, 557). While some of these items give extra insight into the story, many of them do not, Howells includes them because the realistic authors dedicated themselves to painting the most precise picture of what they viewed as “real life”. These tiny details further prove that “Editha” fits the definition of realism presented by Norris in “Zola as a Romantic …show more content…
One of the main conflicts of the story reveals itself very quickly: Editha and George argue over whether or not George should fight in the war. When George leaves Editha’s house that afternoon, Editha is uncertain of the path he will take and goes to write him a letter, hoping to change his mind. That same evening, George returns from the town hall where he has accepted a role as soldier in the war, resolving the argument with his fiancée, demonstrating Norris’ analysis of conflicts within realism as “things that are likely to happen between lunch and supper, small passions, restricted emotions” (Norris, 557). As the story progresses, another conflict arises after George’s death as Editha grieves and then processes her visit with George’s mother. While Editha does mourn for some time and even becomes ill, the task of going to see George’s mother, “buoyed her up instead of burdening her—she rapidly recovered” (Howells, 315). Again, the problem of Editha’s sickness is quickly taken care of and the story goes on. After Editha’s emotional visit with George’s mother, she speaks about the experience with an artist who is sketching Editha’s beauty. The artist simply responds by stating that George’s mother’s actions were