安徽三联学院外语学院美国文学课件Chapter 10 American Naturalism.ppt

American Naturalism Jack London Stephen Crane Theodore Dreiser Contents Ⅰ. American Naturalism Ⅱ. Representatives Ⅲ. Appreciate The Open Boat Ⅰ. American Naturalism 1. Background 2. Definition 3. Main Characters Ⅰ. American Naturalism 1. Background a. Further Industrialization ☆ the appearance of an industrial proletariat and slums ☆ the westward expansion of industry, farming going to bankrupt b. Philosophical Bases ☆ Origin of Species (1859) Darwinism indicates that the origin of species is derived by descent, with variation from parent forms through the natural selection of those best adapted to survive in the struggle for existence. 1. Background Charles Robert Darwin (1809 ～1882) English naturalist natural selection Human beast ☆ “survival of the fittest” coined by Herbert Spencer, who extended evolution into social system /realms of sociology and ethics. 1. Background Herbert Spencer (1820～1903) English philosopher Emile Zola 1840-1902 c. French Naturalism ☆ Emile Zola: French writer, the originator of naturalism The surroundings and heredity can decide one’s destiny. ☆ the purpose of a novelist was to be a scientist; watch the influences of heredity and environment destroy them; watch them overcome the inimical force of heredity and environment. This is the theoretical basis for naturalism. 1. Background 2. Definition The term naturalism describes a type of literature that attempts to apply scientific principles of objectivity and detachment to its study of human beings. The term was introduced to the United States by Frank Norris at the end of the 1880s. He had spent a year studying art in Paris and had been much impressed by Emile Zola. Like many other European writers and artists, Zola had been impressed by Darwin’s theory of evolution.  3. Main Characters a. At the core of naturalism is determinism. b. An individual’s course in life is wholly determined by some combination of animal instinct, heredity, and