How Is Naturalism Depicted English Literature Essay

How Is Naturalism Depicted English Literature EssayNaturalism is an artistic movework forcet that rose a ample controversy among artists and indites. One of them was John Steinbeck, however many authors dared categorize him as realistic writer. Even he asserted that he did not care about genre. I throw off t here(predicate)fore decided to answer this research question How is Naturalism depicted in the char scraper Lennie from the short novel Of mice and men of John Steinbeck?This soft descriptive extended assay belongs to the category of literature. In this essay, I examine Naturalism and explain its origin and characteristics. From amongst those characteristics, I then break down Lennies characterization and acquaint the influence of Naturalism on it. For that reason, I divide my analysis into six parts, which do not solely comprise a literary analysis of account resources and literary devices, but similarly they include a deep stylistic analysis that uses the peculiar l anguage usage to explain Lennies characteristics.Thus, I demonstrate Lennie is a character that mirrors many naturalistic ideas. One of them is the realness of Lennie, which depicts the objectivity naturalistic writers are supposed to have. Moreover, I explain how Lennie is a token of the naturalistic narrative that regards kinds as primitive beings. Likewise, I then argue that Lennie has no free volition and acts after being influenced by his environment or his deliver primitive instinct, showing once much a naturalistic idea of determinism. Finally, after evidencing that George does not attribute any responsibility to Lennie for his bad actions, I provoke another naturalistic statement that forbids authors from showing any kind of clean-living judgment.TABLE OF CONTENTSINTRODUCTION p.4CHAPTER 1 Background to literary Naturalism p.5CHAPTER 2 Naturalism in the character Lennie from Of mice and men p.7 real characteristics of Lennie p.7Primitive behaviour of Lennie p.8Animal Behaviour of Lennie p.9Influence of the environment on Lennie p.11No free result in Lennie p.12No moral judgment on Lennies behaviour p.14CONCLUSIONS p.15BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCES p.16INTRODUCTIONNo doubt John Steinbeck was a hard-to-categorize author. Many authors have regarded him as a realistic and a sort of romanticism writer whereas others state that he is a naturalistic writer. Steinbeck emerged from a world of Experimentalism in which new forms of esthetics and bows were being created and mixed. Moreover, this author verbalize, in one(a) of his permitters, as cited by Fredik Eliasson1, that he did not care about genre and, in another one, that a writer ought to do all work himself, reduceing taking advice from others.In the meantime, Ameri do-nothing Naturalism was a literary movement rising a great controversy mingled with scholars. Darwins ideas ca utilize a large disceptation, in which many people adopted and argued in favor of Naturalism. Then, in a world heading f or globalization, why would John Steinbeck avoid being influenced by others?Given the context, I have formulated the avocation research problem How is Naturalism depicted in the character Lennie from the novel Of mice and men of John Steinbeck? Throughout all this work I bequeath try to answer this question. Therefore, it will be very important to stress that this qualitative-descriptive extended essay will not only focus on discovering what naturalistic characteristics are depicted in Lennie, but also on what devices Steinbeck used to let Lennie commune those features. Moreover, I would trail this research as important because this work will not only focus on imagery and comments in the novel, but also there will be a stylistic analysis, which will be much better than a merely isolated literary analysis.In this essay, I will show how Steinbeck conveys some naturalistic ideas through the character of Lennie of his novel Of mice and men. In the first chapter, I will examine wha t Naturalism is and what its characteristics are. After this truncated definition, I will discuss how John Steinbeck conveys naturalistic ideas in the characterization of Lennie, for which I will divide this analysis into six parts. After that, I will make some conclusions about it.CHAPTER 1 Background to NaturalismNaturalism is a literary movement that took place between the late 19th carbon and the middle 20th. It stems, according to the The Oxford companion to Ameri grass literature2, from French literature, in which mile Zola was the outstanding figure. This author wanted to form a literature rule by science, that is, a literature that was not going to be an art anymore, but a science. He explicated his theory, as cited by Fredik Eliasson3, in his vast take up Les Rougon-Macquart, in which human beings are regarded as human beasts and he asserts that they stomach be studied through their relationships to their environment.The previous ideas were on the basis of the philosop hical article of belief of biological and social determinism4. On the one evanesce, the former derived from Charles Darwins theory of evolution. Although he never applied his theories to human behaviour, they were used to examine how ones situation was determined by biological aspects5. On the other hand, the latter was influenced by the ideology of Marx, which thunder mugvased the social and political situation of American urban life6.As set before, naturalistic works were basically defined by determinism. It stated that people are controlled by their instinct, their passions and their social and economic environment7. Therefore, humans should be considered as if they did not have free will. Furthermore, determinism, as established by Kathryn VanSpanckeren, denies religion as a motivating force in the world and instead perceives the universe as a machine, godless and out of control8.Then, due to the lack of free will, it would make no sense to judge human behaviour, for humankin d does not do decisions by itself. Zola, in his essay The experimental novel, related the scientific method to literary works. He said the experimental novelist is therefore the one () who does not come out his personal sentiments9. Thus, novels had to be as objective as possible because naturalistic writers were supposed to offer a scientific view of reality, in which neither an caper nor a moral judgment had to be included10.Among solutions in Naturalism, the literary critic Walcutt could recognize four themes Determinism, survival, violence and taboo11. The theme of determinism has already been explained. The theme of survival stems from the application of determinism to biological competition, which points out men can, due to their origin in animals, behave handle them. The theme of violence is related to survival, because as allbody tries to survive, they have to damage each other in order to outlive. Finally, the last theme is taboo, which includes sex, disease, bodily f unctions, obscenity and depravity.On the whole, Naturalism regards humans as beings fated to practise their natural instinct and environment, depicting a reality in which they can not be criticized. Taking the information addicted into account, in the next chapter it will be canvassn that realism, which is result of objectivity, primitive and animal characteristics, environmental influence and the lack of free will and moral judgment will be used to analyze the characterization of the character chosen.CHAPTER 2 Naturalism in the character Lennie from Of mice and menOf mice and men is a playable novel of John Steinbeck published in 1937. This author was the winner of a Nobel Prize in literature thanks to his novel The Grapes of Wrath. Of mice and men is known on account of its themes of friendship and American dream. The two main characters are Lennie and George. In the following sub-chapters, I will focus on Lennie, a round and static character that is mainly characterized by in direct characterization.Realistic characteristics of LennieOne of the main and notable characteristics is the representation of reality. John Steinbeck takes advantage of descriptions and speech in order to present how the people of those times were. Thus, he is also stressing the objectivity of Naturalism, which states that everything has to be described as it is in real life.First of all, since the third-person narrator is omniscient, the novel becomes more objective. Furthermore, the use of a description of Lennies dress, given in the disruption chapter, depicts some characteristics of real workers. It can be seen in the narrative discourse both(prenominal) were dressed in denim trousers and in denim coats with brass buttons. Both wore black, shapeless hats and both carried tight blanket rolls slung over their shoulders12. Here, the fact that they carry their blankets let us know, since the beginning, that they have no place to live. What is more, the use of the pronoun both ex trapolates these characteristics to every person who is in the aforesaid(prenominal) situation, that is to say, any other rancher who is working hard to survive misery.Secondly, there is a great contrast between the language used in the voice of the narrator and the speech of Lennie and all characters in general. The former contains a Standard English whereas the latter presents a Vernacular English. As stated by Johanna Seppl, in her short study Vernacular English in John Steinbecks Of Mice and Men13, this kind of language shows extensions of the s-ending to all verb forms, omissions of the auxiliary verb in the present perfect, double negation, reduction of words and use of colloquial phrases and words. Thus, we can see that Lennie is uneducated like the way workers of that period were. Therefore, this another reason to remember that this novel has a great deal of realism, which is a naturalistic characteristic.Primitive behaviour of LennieAnother characteristic of Naturalism in Lennie is his primitive behaviour. Clearly he is a childlike person and it will be demonstrated through the analysis of his actions, his speech and what other characters think and say about him.To start with, one of the most repetitive narrations, that will let readers know Lennie is like a child, is the act of smiling and its synonyms such as grin, giggle, chuckle, and laugh. By analyzing the setting and the situation in which Lennie feels pleased, happy or is being friendly, one can infer Lennie laughs because of pride. For instance, he smiles when he is able to remember what happened in Weed, the previous ranch in which he worked, and what George had told him about not saying any word. Also, when he feels proud to strike Curley, the son of the owners ranch, and when he hears George saying that he was as strong as bull. Definitely, Lennie fits the description of a child that feels pride when doing something correctly and being congratulated.Continuing, Steinbeck used suspension p oints when he wrote Lennies speech. This device creates a pause which can endure more than a single period or comma. Therefore, this pause could mean he stops for a while until he remembers what he has to say. Here are some examples I remember some girls come by and you says . . . you says . . .14, I . . . I Lennie thought. His face grew tight with thought. I . . . aint gonna say nothin ()15, Because . . . . because I got you ()16and I . . . I aint gonna . . . say a word17. Suspension points are also seen by the time Lennie is constructing the ideas that he wants to express I was jus playin with him . . . an he do like hes gonna bite me . . . . an I made like I was gonna smack him . . . an . . . an I do it. An then he was dead18. As it can be seen, Lennie stops when he finishes telling a sentence and then he retains talking. This is similar to the way children learn to talk and, therefore, it is another reason why Lennie should be labelled as a child.Finally, one peculiar chara cteristic he has is forgetfulness. When George is talking to Lennie in the beginning of the novel he says I gotta tell you again, do I? () O.K-O.K. Ill tell ya again19. Here the adjunct again forms an iterative narration and, thus, it let us know that it is not the first time he forgets something. As he can not remember things, he also takes trouble to learn them. When George says You say that over two, three times so you sure wont forget it20and () rate it over to yourself, Lennie, so you wont forget it21he shows that Lennie needs to repeat words in order to interiorize them, which seems to be a sign of unnatural intelligence. Likewise, because of his retardation, Lennie is regarded as a child. Indeed, he is compared to kids and babies. For instance, when he cries, George tells him Blubberin like a baby22. It is also seen when Slim asks George Hes jus like a kid, aint he?23and then George replies Sure hes jes like a kid24. Moreover, even Curleys wife uses the adjective sonny to call him What you got there, sonny boy?25and then she says Jus like a self-aggrandizing baby26. As it can be seen, the abundance of viewpoints from different characters states that Lennie unquestionably behaves like a child, which should be considered as primitive behaviour.Animal Behaviour of LennieEdmund Wilson holds, as cited by Susan Shillinglaw27, that Steinbecks characters were more nearly animal than human. No doubt, this assertion is valid when discussing Lennies characterization because, in the next argument, it will evidenced that Lennie, by means of imagery, a peculiar style and foreshadowing, is presented as if he had animal features.Throughout all the novel, the narrator compares Lennie to a induce and a horse three times. His motion is compared to () the way a bear drags his paws28in both the beginning and the end of the novel. Moreover, there is a comparison to a horse because, as the narrator says Lennie was snorting into the water like a horse29. The latter diffe rs from the former because it points out that Lennie has not good manners. Nevertheless, they have two things in common they symbolize strength and great size. Hence it can be stated that the most outstanding characteristics in Lennie are physical, whereas the intellectual ones are subnormal.The comparison to animals is mirrored by diction. In the first chapter, a parable compares Lennie to a terrier who doesnt want to bring a ball to its master30. Moreover, when he fights against Curley, the narrator describes the scene using the following words Lennie covered his face with his long paws and bleated with terror31. Here the noun paw and the verb bleat, which means to make the sound of sheep and goats, convey Lennies similarity to animals. Finally, he is also referred to as a cuckoo by Slim. echo is synonym ofmad and senseless32but, at the same time, as defined by the Encyclopdia Britannica, it representsany of numerous birds of the family Cuculidae33. The polysemy of this word c ould have been used to label him as a mad person and simultaneously compare him to an animal. Thus, Steinbeck presents, again, Lennie with animal characteristics.Another device used for describing Lennie is foreshadowing. As cited by Byung-Chull Bae and R. Michael Young34, S. Chatman defines it as hints of what is to come. That is exactly what can be seen in the novel when Candys dog is shot at its head because the workers regard it as a dog that does not deserve to continue suffering. Lennie is implicitly compared to this animal when in the end of the novel George shoots at him, for otherwise he would be murdered cruelly.Influence of the environment on LennieNaturalism states that human beings are the product of their social environment. Next, it will be shown that Steinbeck conveyed this idea by means of diction, the symbolism of George and his speech.First of all, one should understand what George symbolizes. According to the definition given by Steven Croft and Helen Cross in t heir book English for the IB Diploma, () a symbol is simply a feature whereby a word or phrase represents something else ()35. If George is to be considered as a symbol, one should say that he symbolizes Lennies social environment because George has been like Lennies family for a long time and has been looking after him since they met.When the narrator introduces Lennie and George, he uses a peculiar language when referring to their position. The voice of the narrator starts saying one stayed piece of tail the other36, by which readers do not know neither who is behind nor who is forward. Immediately, Georges appearance is described, letting readers know he is small. At first sight, one can imagine the small one must be following the other. nonetheless the narrator says Behind him walked his opposite37and readers, thus, can imagine he is bigger than the other and nothing similar to the first ones appearance. In this situation, despite his size, Lennie is the follower and, therefor e, here a hint appears to point out that Lennie is certainly dependent upon George.That dependence upon George can also be seen in the imitation. When George replaced his hat, pushed himself back from the river, drew up his knees and embraced them38, Lennie did the same and the author used the adjunct exactly and the same lexicon for describing both George and Lennies actions. What is more, he does not just do it , but he also watches George again to see whether he is doing it right. The adjunct immediately is used when Lennie imitates George at their arrival at the bunk house. Hence, it can be stated that humans beings, symbolized by Lennie, imitate and sham what they see in their environment, symbolized by George.Moreover, Georges speech reveals that Lennie () sure can take orders39. When he is talking to Slim, he says Lennie can do anything you tell him40and jus tell Lennie what to do an hell do it if it dont take no figuring41. George knows Lennie can do everything he asks him to and that is why he turns to Lennie and says, Jump in. An he jumps42. After that, Lennie is very grateful, for George saves him from drowning, and forgets he had told him to jump. Here Lennie shows that he would not criticize any order he receives from George. Therefore, we can conclude that, according to this novel, environment has a determining influence on human beings.No free will in LennieGeorge says in one of his speeches Lennie cant think of nothing to do himself ()43. It shows the idea of determinism which states that humans beings have no free will. In this sub-chapter, it will be demonstrated how Steinbeck conveyed this idea by means of mainly peculiar use of language.To start with, when Lennie was asked to give a creep away, his hand went into the pocket ()44in order to do what was being asked. However, Lennie did not want to do it and held his closed(a) hand away from Georges direction45. Nevertheless, despite his effort, Lennies closed hand slowly obeyed46. By looki ng at the ables and the objects, it can be seen that his hand is doing the actions, in the first and last quotation. It tries to hand it over to George, but, when Lennie acts as the subject and his hand is the object, it seems that he has to order it to be away from George. As Lennies hand surrenders the mouse over to George, one could infer that however much Lennie tries to avoid doing something against his will, he can not refrain from that.A similar situation is seen when Lennie has the mouse for the second time. Before handing the mouse over, Lennie makes an elaborate pantomime of innocence47trying to husking mercy in a situation in which he can not do anything to avoid the loss of the mouse. Then he looks cornered and Steinbeck uses the following words Lennie hesitated, backed away, looked wildly at the brush line as though he contemplated running for his freedom48. Here Lennie clearly shows that he does not want to obey George. After that, the adjunct reluctantly is used to describe the way he is trying to leave the mouse. Lennie, still indecisive, is in a great dilemma in the following extract Lennie approached, drew back, approached again49. As it can be seen, by means of an antithesis, the author shows that Lennie doubts as to the two in all different options he has to approach and to drew back. Nevertheless, George snapped his fingers sharply, and at the sound Lennie laid the mouse in his hand50, showing once more that he can not follow his will, because he has to do what his surroundings (George) tell him to do.Moreover, his body can be characterized as that of an entity that acts following its primitive instinct. It is evidenced when Lennie kills Curleys wife. This event started when Lennies big fingers fell to stroking her hair51. Then she asked him to stop, but Lennies fingers closed on her hair and hung on52. She started to shout, but Lennies other hand closed over her communicate and nose53. The fact that Lennies fingers and hand are the su bjects in these sentences shows how he loses control of his own body. Afterward, he looked down at her, and carefully he removed his hand from over her mouth54, realizing, thus, that she was dead. In the previous sentences, Lennie is the subject, showing that he regains control of his body, but it is too late, for his hand had already killed Curleys wife.No moral judgment on Lennies behaviourLikewise, as stated previously, human behaviour can not be criticized, for it is the product of the environmental influence. Next, it will be demonstrated that this idea is presented by Steinbeck by means of Georges speech.When George and Slim talk about Lennie, they say, repeating many times, that he is not mean. For example, after killing Curleys wife, Lennie flees the ranch and then George says Lennie never through it in meanness ()55, He never done this to be mean56and, finally, He dint know what he was doin 57. In fact, they say he does not act by malice but by unconsciousness of what he do es. Another example is given after striking Curley, when George directly tells Lennie You done jus what I tol you to () You aint done nothing wrong58. Thus, it is stated that somebody is not responsible for what they do because they just act unconsciously in response to their environment.CONCLUSIONSTaking everything into account, I can confirm the initial assertion which stated that John Steinbeck conveys some ideas of Naturalism. Use of similes, spoken language, peculiar diction, iterative narrations, descriptions and the voice of the narrator aid to characterize Lennie and, therefore, let readers see the naturalistic ideas conveyed in this character in the short novel Of mice and men of John Steinbeck.Steinbeck introduces Lennie as a realistic character that depicts a personation of human beings who behave senselessly and show primitive features that approach the Darwinian idea which states that we all humans and animals had an origin in common. Although Lennie can not do things by himself and is almost always waiting for orders, he follows his natural instinct, which is demonstrated by his division into two entities himself and his body. Moreover, Through the relationship between George and Lennie, Steinbeck conveys the main theme of Naturalism determinism, which is evidenced in Georges influence on Lennie to act. Finally, as George said, Lennie has not free will and is not conscious of what he does. Therefore, he can not be criticized by other people. All in all, the previous characteristics of Lennie convey naturalistic themes that simultaneously bring the influence of Naturalism on Steinbeck out into the open.Having conclude this extended essay, I bid researchers to continue studying this topic. As it could be seen, I limited the scope to one character, which permitted me to reserve space for an exploration of it in considerable depth. Then, other essays could formulate some research questions from the following questions How is Naturalism depicted in other characters from this novel?, is there any trace of moral judgment in this novel?, how is friendship, label of the relationship between George and Lennie, related with Naturalism? and how is Naturalism depicted in other novels of John Steinbeck? By answer these questions there will be a deeper understanding of the author and the themes he intended to transmit.BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCESBae B. and Young, R. (n.d.). A Use of Flashback and Foreshadowing for Surprise Arousal in Narrative Using a Plan-Based Approach. Retrieved from July 20, 2011, liquidnarrative.csc.ncsu.edu/pubs/icids1.pdfBeale, P. and Partridge, E. (2002). A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English Colloquialisms and Catch Phrases, Fossilised Jokes and Puns, General Nicknames, Vulgarisms and Such Americanisms As Have Been Naturalis