To Build a Fire: An Indifferent Struggle During the 19th century, Realism and Naturalism came about as literary movements in response to Romanticism. Realism, aimed to present works of literature by through the precise use of factual details of life, by representing “events and social conditions as they actually are, without idealization” (Scheidenhelm). While the latter movement illustrated its stories in terms of “scientific principles of objectivity and detachment to its study of human beings” which focused on the characters’ struggles in their environments, their passions, instincts, and motivation and how they all played a larger role in the stories of these characters. These literary movements explored the human condition, explaining in exact details respectively
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Before delving into the short story, it is essential to understand the important characteristics of American Naturalism works. Often times Naturalism and Realism are used interchangeably, but these two literary movements have distinct qualities, which can be closely understood through the two literary works of William Dean Howell’s Novel-Writing and Novel-
Reading and Frank Norris’ Plea for Romantic Fiction. In his essay, Howell highlights the importance of realism literature, where truth should be the “prime test of a novel” and a novel’s writing should strive to be in “constant endeavor for the truth” (Norton 905). Moreover, he furthers explains the importance of veracity, explaining in great depth that central to realism writing, “the truth” of literature strives to reveal the “human experience”—something imagination cannot replace because it is created from nothing (Norton 906). Compared to Howell, Norris was an important theorist of naturalism in America who argued that Realism
Before delving into the short story, it is essential to understand the important characteristics of American Naturalism works. Often times Naturalism and Realism are used interchangeably, but these two literary movements have distinct qualities, which can be closely understood through the two literary works of William Dean Howell’s Novel-Writing and Novel-
Reading and Frank Norris’ Plea for Romantic Fiction. In his essay, Howell highlights the importance of realism literature, where truth should be the “prime test of a novel” and a novel’s writing should strive to be in “constant endeavor for the truth” (Norton 905). Moreover, he furthers explains the importance of veracity, explaining in great depth that central to realism writing, “the truth” of literature strives to reveal the “human experience”—something imagination cannot replace because it is created from nothing (Norton 906). Compared to Howell, Norris was an important theorist of naturalism in America who argued that Realism