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Naturalism in American Literature: Tracing American NATURALISM IN AMERICAN LITERATURE: TRACING AMERICAN NATURALISM THROUGH WORD AND IMAGE A Thesis Presented to the Graduate Faculty of The University of Akron In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts Afras Khalid Alharbi December 2019 NATURALISM IN AMERICAN LITERATURE: TRACING AMERICAN NATURALISM THROUGH WORD AND IMAGE Afras Khalid Alharbi Thesis Approved: Accepted: _________________________________ ______________________________ Advisor Interim Dean of the Collage Dr. Patrick Chura Dr. Linda Subich _________________________________ ______________________________ First Faculty Reader Dean of the Graduate School Dr. Philathia Bolton Dr. Chand Midha _________________________________ ______________________________ Second Faculty Reader Date Dr. Hillary Nunn _________________________________ Dr. Matt Wyszynski Department Chair ii ABSTRACT 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, iii 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. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................ vi CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................ 1 II. NATURALISM IN AMERICAN FICTION BY WHITE AUTHORS: CONVEYING THE LIVES OF WORKING CLASS .................................................................................. 7 Elements of Naturalism in the Grapes of Wrath .................................................... 10 Elements of Naturalism in Sister Carrie ................................................................. 19 Elements of Naturalism in the House of Mirth ...................................................... 26 III. NATURALISM IN AFRICAN AMERICAN FICTION: DEFENDING THE RACE ISSUES .............................................................................................................................. 35 Elements of Naturalism in the Street ..................................................................... 38 Elements of Naturalism in Quicksand ................................................................... 45 Elements of Naturalism in Native Son ................................................................... 52 IV. NATURALISM THROUGH IMAGE: ANALYSIS OF FILM ADAPTATIONS ..... 57 Elements of Naturalism in the Film the Grapes of Wrath ..................................... 57 Elements of Naturalism in the Film Carrie ............................................................ 65 Elements of Naturalism in the Film Native Son .................................................... 72 V. CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................. 80 REFERENCES .................................................................................................................. 86 v LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1. Joad Family Reunion .................................................................................................... 58 2. A Farmer’s House Destroyed ......................................................................................... 60 3. Impoverished Farmers Without Support ........................................................................ 61 4. Steinbeck Desire to Attract Large Audience ................................................................. 63 5. Working Class and Relationships .................................................................................. 65 6. Decreasing Criticism and Controversy .......................................................................... 66 7. Carrie Seduced and Controlled ...................................................................................... 68 8. Carrie Cannot Control Her Destiny ............................................................................... 70 9. Carrie Interacts with Young Child ................................................................................. 71 10. Bigger’s Family at Home ............................................................................................. 74 11. Bigger in Chicago ......................................................................................................... 75 12. Bigger in a South Side Restaurant ............................................................................... 77 13. In Mary’s Bedroom ...................................................................................................... 77 vi CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Naturalism was effectively founded in the late nineteenth century by the French novelist Emile Zola, who wrote an early naturalistic novel under the title The Experimental Novel in 1880 (Campbell, 2011). As changes in the society and the political environment reached the United States, naturalism spread across the country’s literary community as well. Frank Norris became the first North American author to introduce naturalism to the local culture (Pizer 13). According to Norris, naturalism helped to resolve the conflict between realism and romanticism by choosing the best approach to implementing one constituent ignored by both (Pizer 13). In this manner, American naturalism gained authentic features that were not targeted by its European counterparts. American naturalists did not use direct criticism and moralization but focused on impartiality and frankness. Naturalists conveyed the lives of the working class and the poor in great detail, which likely shocked reading audiences. Naturalism managed to highlight inequality in United States and European societies that maintained strict hierarchies by dividing people into socioeconomic classes, as well as racial, ethnic, religious and gender groups. This literary movement was able to emphasize the problems of the American political, social, and economic systems without using direct criticism of the authorities. Some of the naturalists, like John Steinbeck, went further and communicated radical views toward the 1 American government through their characters, though this was not supported by all naturalists. In addition to the focus on urgent social issues, the works of naturalists were characterized by deep pessimism and a sense of imminence or close contact with suffering. The works of Theodore Dreiser, Edith Wharton, and John Steinbeck are the best examples of these tendencies in naturalism. Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath, Wharton’s The House of Mirth, and Dreiser’s Sister Carrie emphasized the pessimistic nature of their time that could not lead to a “happy end.” As a result, American naturalism established a radical perception of reality that could not be distracted by glamour, physical beauty, and wealth. Instead, as naturalism implied, real-life was unattractive, pessimistic, and decadent. Naturalists were sure that human nature was infested by vices that could not be ignored or avoided by wearing better clothes or living in beautiful houses. This is the main reason naturalist authors such as Steinbeck and Dreiser chose to focus on the lower socio-economic classes. The naturalists were looking for the truth and they found it only when their glances were directed toward the most vulnerable population group in the country. At the same time, it is important to admit that some groups of naturalists deviated in some ways from the traditional principles of this framework. Specifically,
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