What are the characteristics of Naturalism in Crane, Jewett,and Wharton writings.

Regardless of the author, to be considered a Naturalistic
writer one must adhere to the characteristics aligned with the period. Therefore, to be
considered a Naturalistic author, writers needed to include specific theologies and
ideologies in their works.

Influenced by Herbert Spenser
and Charles Darwin, Naturalists looked at their writings as a scientific experimentation
through which they simply recorded their observations. Many of the works, including
those of Crane, Jewett, and Wharton, included the following themes: survival,
determinism, and violence. Without these ever-present themes the works could not be
truly considered Naturalistic.

Nature was considered all
powerful. Mankind was left to fight the typically personified Nature. Artificial and
natural objects were given human or, more typicaly, animalistic qualities to which man
was required to fight against.

Therefore, to be considered
a Naturalist, authors had to include the following in their
texts:

1.  The text is written from an objective
point-of-view. This means that the author writes from a scientific perspective similar
to that of an experiment. The author states that they are simply describing the action
of what is happening- they do not attempt to change or influence the character or the
action of the text in any way.

2. The characters described
are typically deterministic. The protagonist simply sees a problem with the
circumstances that they have found theme selves in, or other characters in, and wishes
to change them.

3. Given the text is written from an
objective point-of-view, the text is also pessimistic and emotionally cold. The author
is, again, only describing what they are "seeing" from a observers point-of-view. They
wish to have no compassion for the characters because it would force them to interfere
with the action of the story.

4. The setting is one you
would find in everyday life. There are no spectacular scenes in regards to elaborate
castles or upper-class niceties. The settings are typically set in lower-class homes and
workplaces.

5. The characters described are typical, like
the settings. Walking around a mine would allow one simply pick any worker and place
them into a Naturalistic text.