The Men in the Storm Read the text that begins on page 73 Describe the setting in lines 1-13. Describe the contrast between the storm outside and the people who remain inside. Cite evidence. 3. How is the situation getting worse for the men? Cite evidence. 4. Describe the problem the men face, and explain the problem in lines 107-115. 5. Reread lines 101-125. How does the author’s use of dialect affect the story? 6. Explain the reactions of the men to the man in the dry goods store. 7. How do the men show solidarity with one another in lines 154-160? 8. Write the words that convey hopelessness in lines 204-208. 9. Summarize what happens at the end of the story. 10. Short Response – Identify the them of the story and explain how it’s central ideas build on another throughout the text. Cite textual evidence.
Notebook Textbook FYI: “The Men in the Storm” Questions are due no later than Tuesday, March 21st. If you forget, that’s on you. Set a reminder. The questions are online and a text that can be used, but the Close Reader is better.
Naturalism
Naturalism 3/9/17
What exactly is naturalism? It is a form of Realism and a revolt against Romanticism. Romanticism is a movement which focused on imagination, emotion, and beauty. Naturalism is a type of literature that attempts to apply scientific principles of objectivity and detachment to its study of human beings.
How is naturalism different from realism? Realism emphasizes the depiction of life as it is lived. Instead of Idealistic >Pessimistic Portraits of REAL life with all its grit Finding meaning in commonplace
What are the characteristics of naturalism? Naturalism emphasizes the more brutal aspects of existence. Characters- ill-educated or lower-class governed by forces of heredity, instinct, and passion. Exercise free will. Social Darwinism helped determine their fates. Urban Setting (Though not always) Techniques/plots-panoramic drama of degeneration
“I Hear America Singing” by Walt Whitman I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear, Those of mechanics, each one singing his as it should be blithe and strong, The carpenter singing his as he measures his plank or beam, The mason singing his as he makes ready for work, or leaves off work, The boatman singing what belongs to him in his boat, the deckhand singing on the steamboat deck, The shoemaker singing as he sits on his bench, the hatter singing as he stands, The wood-cutter's song, the ploughboy's on his way in the morning, or at noon intermission or at sundown, The delicious singing of the mother, or of the young wife at work, or of the girl sewing or washing, Each singing what belongs to him or her and to none else, The day what belongs to the day—at night the party of young fellows, robust, friendly, Singing with open mouths their strong melodious songs.
“A Man Said to the Universe” by Stephen Crane “Sir, I exist!” “However,” replied the universe, “The fact has not created in me A sense of obligation.”
Naturalism Background Naturalism is an extension and refinement of Realism, based on the theories of the French novelist, Emile Zola (1840 – 1902) . Influenced by the scientific discoveries of the time, Naturalist saw humans as one of the pack…not individuals. Emile Zola coined the term “human beasts” to demonstrate this. Inspired by Charles Darwin & Thomas Huxley, Zola believed people’s actions and beliefs resulted not from freewill but from arbitrary, outside forces of heredity and environment.
What does that even mean? Zola believed people’s actions and beliefs resulted not from freewill but from arbitrary, outside forces of heredity and environment.
What are the major themes of naturalism?? Survival Determinism Nature as an indifferent force acting in human lives The “brute within”- strong emotions-- conflict-- man vs. nature or man vs. himself Violence Taboo Difference, deterministic universe Forces of heredity and environment as they affect the individual Reality: the inescapable working out of natural forces
What does the naturalist writer do? Implications? Naturalism tends to be pessimistic, and, let’s face it, the world can be quite brutal at times, even most of the time. What does the naturalist writer do? The writer must examine people and society objectively and, like a scientist, draw conclusions from what is observed.
Jack London (1876-1916) The Call of the Wild (1903) White Fang (1906) “To Build a Fire” (1902)
London wrote passionately and prolifically about the great questions of life and death, the struggle to survive with dignity and integrity, and he wove these elemental ideas into stories of high adventure based on his own firsthand experiences at sea, or in Alaska, or in the fields and factories of California. As a result, his writing appealed not to the few, but to millions of people all around the world.
If man is at the mercy of nature…then what’s the point? Right? "I would rather be ashes than dust! I would rather that my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dry rot. I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet. The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time" Jack London (1876 - 1916)
Upton Sinclair September 20, 1878 – November 25, 1968 Wrote close to one hundred books in many genres. He achieved popularity in the first half of the twentieth century, acquiring particular fame for his classic muckraking novel, The Jungle (1906). It exposed conditions in the U.S. meat packing industry, causing a public uproar that contributed in part to the passage a few months later of the 1906 Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act. Time magazine called him "a man with every gift except humor and silence. He won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.
Kate Chopin February 8, 1850 — August 22, 1904 Wrote both short stories and novels. Wrote The Awakening (1899), in which she expresses through the character Dr. Mandelet the naturalist view that romantic love is an illusion damaging to women's social status since it determines for them the biological role of motherhood. The illusion of love, he says, is "a provision of Nature; a decoy to secure mothers for the race." In spite of this, Chopin's heroine, Edna Pontellier, maintains a romantic view of experience and her suicide is a triumphant expression of individual will over circumstance.
Key themes of Naturalism in literature The "brute within" each individual, comprised of strong and often warring emotions: passions, such as lust, greed, or the desire for dominance or pleasure; and the fight for survival in an amoral, indifferent universe. The indifference of nature as man struggles to survive. The forces of heredity and environment as they affect—and afflict—individual lives. Determinism: the inability to express free will.
Expanding ideas of naturalism Another side to nature controlling our destiny, is the nature inside of us such as the need for food, sex, shelter, social dominance, etc. Naturalism doesn’t just focus on nature’s influence. It encompasses many environments, the man-made environment, or finance, industry, and the economy. Something is always beating down and controlling the lives of lowly individual humans. Naturalist works are more likely to be political than traditional realist works. A great many naturalists (like Upton Sinclair in The Jungle, which is about the plight of the working poor in Chicago's meat-packing industry) want to expose the cruelty of certain "larger forces," more often than not America's voracious capitalist economy.
In a nutshell Donald Prizer states, "The naturalistic novelist is willing to concede that there are fundamental limitations to man's freedom, but he is unwilling to concede that man is thereby stripped of all value.” Let that register…you are fundamentally incapable of controlling your greater “destiny,” but aren’t reduced in value because of it.
To Build a Fire 3/9/17 Violence Examples from the film Taboo Animal Imagery Reality Survival Determinism Nature as an indifferent force acting in human lives Man vs. Nature/Man vs. Himself
Write no less than a full paragraph Bellringer #1 3/8/17 You’ve seen a man struggling for survival. Write your own piece of survival (any environment) which demonstrates the themes of naturalism. Write no less than a full paragraph
To Build a Fire by Jack London 1st: Choose three of the following themes of literary Naturalism: •Violence •Taboo •Difference, deterministic universe •Forces of heredity and environment as they affect the individual •Reality: the inescapable working out of natural forces •Survival •Determinism •Nature as an indifferent force acting in human lives •The “brute within”- strong emotions-- conflict-- man vs. nature or man vs. himself 2nd: Write one paragraph per theme, which shows how Jack London built/explored your chosen naturalistic themes in the short story film adaptation of "To Build a Fire.“ Total of 3 Paragraphs Reminder: You must cite evidence/scenes and thoroughly explain how they prove your claim that they exemplify the concepts of literary naturalism