Henry James vs Naturalism
... Hyman Henry James and Naturalism - Final Paper Henry James, although a realist author, does have some similarities with naturalistic authors. Naturalism borrows things from realism. Realism tries to represent reality truthfully, so does naturalism. ... James does use poetic language at time, but for the most part, he is focused on the immediate events of the characters and their environments. ... It is definitely a gray area when trying to compare realism and naturalism. Naturalism tends to focus on a more deterministic philosophy, and focuses more on city life and lower classes. James tried to represent the lives of his characters in the context of growing populations, social classes, and industrialism. ... James focuses more on character than he does plot. ... They accumulate details like James does, but naturalists tend to focus on a specific object or slice of reality to discuss, as James takes a character’s life and shows the rises and falls of it. ... To a realist, a character’s identity lies within their society, and in naturalism, society determines an identity. ... The editor writes that James places “a young American girl whose special national inheritance of independence releases and liberates her, ironically, into the chilling discovery of mortality” (WD 446). James uses the Bronzino painting to tell the reader the fate of Milly’s life. ... In terms of naturalism, this reflects how the characters’ environments determine their fates. ... The naturalistic view that hereditary, environment, class and breeding determine a person’s outcome can be seen in James’ writing. ... James writes of the same struggle that the naturalists write about, the struggle for “good and for evil, with the outer world in which it must live and to which it must respond, the world which it must deny, or renounce, or accept” (Blackmur, WD p. ... This could be seen in terms of naturalism as well, since his desire for Kate leads to his downfall. ... Both philosophies intertwine so complexly that picking one side or one category to place James in is difficult. James’ work is certainly not entirely naturalistic. ... James allows his characters to connect with the reader. The reader loves Milly, as William Deal Howells, another realist, writes about James’ work. ... James keeps his characters moving and acting and thinking, but they never get too close to the reader. An important factor in realism and naturalism is that the reader is detached from the characters.