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Realism is a literary movement from the 19th century that focuses on the
everyday and mundane experiences of humans.
In 1880, Emile Zola (1840-1902), a French novelist,
wrote
The
Experimental Novel
which is considered a naturalistic novel. Zola wrote
the novel with the scientific method in mind while writing with a
philosophical perspective on humans.
Human beings in literature,
according to Zola, were subjects in a controlled experiment to be
analyzed.
Naturalist writers adopted a deterministic view.
Determinism in
Naturalism is the idea that nature or fate influences the course of an
individual's life and character.
Charles Darwin, an English biologist and naturalist, wrote his influential
book
On the Origin of Species
in 1859. His book highlighted his theory
on evolution which stated that all living
creatures evolved from a
common ancestor through a series of natural selection. Darwin's theories
greatly influenced Naturalist writers. From Darwin's theory, Naturalists
concluded that all human nature was derived from an individual's
environment and hereditary factors.
Types of Naturalism
There are two main types of Naturalism: Hard/Reductive Naturalism and
Soft/Liberal Naturalism. There is also a category of Naturalism called
American Naturalism.