1. Realism and Naturalism
Inform and Reform
Extreme Literature!
Realism and Naturalism
this is where you put notes for the speaker. Can print out these and outline from file, print preview.

2. Wednesday, March 13th
Do DGP 7, Day 2
Have article out!

3. DGP 7
the southside baptist church sponsored a festival my mother bought some french pastries there

4. Realism versus Naturalism
to inform
to observe
to record daily life
to mirror life, not to emphasize only the good
to reform
to shock
to expose corruption
to dwell on the sordid, worst side of humanity

5. a few additional notes specific to Realism
2 ultimate ?s
what are good and evil?
how should people live?
“A novel is a mirror walking along the road.”
Stendhal
Reaction to Romanticism:
expressed facts rather than feelings
more prose than poetry
stemmed the liberation of Russian society
Not aiming for reform!
Just people finding meaning and purpose of life!

6. a few additional notes specific to Naturalism
Radical offshoot of Realism
Characters are helpless victims of: heredity
fate
environment
Life is a Darwinian Struggle
Started in France in 1870’s with Zola

7. Naturalist Ideal: Man is a Victim
Marx:
economic theorist
influenced Tolstoy
ideas lead to communism
economic organization of society is more
important than the individual

8. Man is Still a Victim Sigmund Freud study of subconscious
man as victim of blind forces
man as victim of heredity
man as victim of environment

9. Still yet, man is a victim…
Charles Darwin
man will improve through selection
we are subject to selection
man is a mere portion of the animal kingdom

10. The End of the Century societal degeneration end of idealism
enter…disillusionment
more people literate, but fewer educated
writers alienated from majority of readers
who are now the middle class: bankers, industrialists…. not interested in art
increase of social awareness gave rise to Realist-Naturalist movement

11. Short Story leaders: Poe (here) Chekhov, Zola, Maupassant
developed dramatic & analytical potential
shorter length than novel adds intensity to suspense
sharp, unexpected twist at end
dramatic, ironic climax
vehicle for making critical observation of men & society
experimental lab for dissecting the human species

12. Literary Elements
Point of View
Plot
Conflict
Theme
Irony

13. Point of View
The vantage point from which a writer tells a story.

14. Author’s choice
In choosing a point of view, the writer must consider how much information to tell the reader and how much to with hold.
There are 3 points of view we will study this year: omniscient, first person, third person limited.

15. Omniscient
Know it all
All knowing, god like observer who knows everything going on, and who can see into each character’s and
This point of view gives the reader the impression that he/she is standing nearby. The reader is aware of the characters’ motivations.

16. First Person Narration
The “I” speaks
The reader feels that he/she is being addressed directly by one of the characters.

17. Things to consider when you have a first person narrator
The narrator might not be
Objective
Reliable
Honest
Perceptive
You must look at what the narrator tells us AND what the author allows us to understand despite the narrator.

18. Third Person Limited “Zooming in”
The story is told by one outside observer.

19. Plot Components
Climax: the turning point, the most intense moment—either mentally or in action
Rising Action: the series of conflicts and crisis in the story that lead to the climax
Falling Action: all of the action which follows the climax
Exposition: The mood and conditions existing at the beginning of the story. The setting is identified. The main characters with their positions, circumstances and relationships to one another are established. The exciting force or initial conflict is introduced. Sometimes called the “Narrative HOOK” this begins the conflict that continues throughout the story.
Rising Action: The series of events, conflicts, and crises in the story that lead up to the climax, providing the progressive intensity, and complicate the conflict.
Climax: The turning point of the story. A crucial event takes place and from this point forward, the protagonist moves toward his inevitable end. The event may be either an action or a mental decision that the protagonist makes.
Falling Action: The events occurring from the time of the climax to the end of the story. The main character may encounter more conflicts in this part of the story, but the end is inevitable.
Resolution/Denouement: The tying up of loose ends and all of the threads in the story. The conclusion. The hero character either emerges triumphant or is defeated at this point.
Exposition: the start of the story, the situation before the action starts
Resolution: the conclusion, the tying together of all of the threads

20. Types of Conflict Interpersonal Conflict Human vs Human
Human vs Nature
Human vs Society
Human vs Self
Internal Conflict

21. Theme
Some idea or insight about human life and human nature that gives meaning to the story’s characters and events.
Themes reveal the writer’s own personal attitude toward
The world
How people should behave
How people do behave

22. Analyzing Theme
The theme is not the plot or the main idea of a story– it is a statement about life that can be derived based on the plot.
Plot is what happens in the story
Theme is what the events in the plot mean

23. You must be able to recognize a story’s theme even if you don’t agree with it.

24. Guidelines for finding and stating a theme
Must be a statement not a subject
Not love, but a message about love.
Must be universal
This means that it can apply to more than just the story at hand.
A theme is not a moral (code of conduct). Look at the story as a whole including the title and dynamic characters.
Ask “What does the story reveal?” not “What does the story teach?”

25. Irony Discrepancy between expectation and reality 3 types Verbal
Situational
Dramatic
We like irony in stories and movies because it mimics life. Many times our own plans/ambitions do not turn out as we would like them to.

26. Verbal Irony When a character says one thing but means the opposite
e.g. Stub your toe and say “That felt good!”
Verbal irony turns into sarcasm when the words are used in a particularly harsh or cruel way

27. Situational Irony
When what happens in a story is the opposite of what is expected to happen e.g. King Midas

28. Dramatic Irony
When the audience knows something a character does not e.g. Romeo and Juliet