The Naturalist Movement
Through the Naturalist movement of the 1870s and early 1900s, man was able to discover himself. Often times, this finding one’s self in this literary measure involved taking on challenges, nature, and general struggle for existence. We often see this theme in works by popular writers of the time such as Jack London, Darwin, Stephan Crane, and Thomas Hardy. The essential idea of The Naturalist Movement in Literature has carried on and is still seen in modern work.
In the 1991 Disney movie White Fang, the main character adopted a part wolf dog who became his best friend in the Alaskan wilderness. The boy was told, “Get yourself a partner”. The wild wolf took the initiative to become the young, inexperienced boy’s partner. The wolf had natural instinct that allowed him to survive nature, while the boy was gaining the knowledge and skill to live in the wilderness. Together, the wolf and the boy managed to combine their skills and knowledge to survive and become best friends in the meantime.
White Fang is similar to Jack London’s’ To Build A Fire; a young, inexperienced boy goes into the woods and tries to survive off of nature. The boy in To Build A Fire also had a wolf alike the character in White Fang. However, unlike the wolf in the movie, this wolf was untamed and rather skittish to the man. The wolf carried the instinct that the inexpert traveler just did not possess. Without the proper knowledge or instinct, the man ended up dying, and struggling while trying to stay alive. He too was told to, “No man must travel alone in the Klondike” (pg 4, Para. 4). If Jack London’s character had taken the first bit of advice and old-timer had told him, perhaps his struggle wouldn’t have been so hard, and perhaps he would have survived the raw Alaskan wilderness.
Much like many other works of literature of the Naturalist Movement time, Origin of the Species by Darwin also focuses on the strive to survive. In chapter three of Origin of the Species, Darwin states, “I should premise that I use the term “struggle for existence” in a large and metaphorical sense”. He also stated, “It takes more to realize who you are when not even providing for yourself.” By this, he is referring to how most of us then, and now, depend on other sources for food; a main component to survival. Not often to we veer from our safety food net. Finding food for one’s self may not be easy, especially when in nature with limited ways of catching food. The Naturalist Movement was a lot about finding who you are through struggle, providing for one’s self may be main struggle for existence.
Some writers expressed the idea of this movement through poetry. Stephan Crane, a Civil War poet, focused on the beauty of nature and its finest qualities. “Because it is bitter, And because it is my heart” (lns 9-10). These are the last lines of Stephan’s’ poem, “In the Desert”. Stephan feels as though he is connected with nature, as if one. Thomas Hardy wrote poems alike. In Hardy’s poem, “The Darkling Thrushy”, he stated, “And every spirit upon Earth seemed favourless as I” (ln 16). Here, Hardy is relating himself to nature. In The Naturalist Movement, these types of comparisons are common.
Stephan Crane is also known for writing The Red Badge of Courage. In this story, the main character, Henry, finds himself struggling with the wrath of war. At one point, Henry feels, “Absurd ideas took hold upon him. He thought that he did not relish the landscape. It threatened him. A coldness swept over his back, and it is true that his trousers felt to him that they were no fit for his legs at all” (3.27). Henry is experiencing somewhat of a discomfort in nature, he is experiencing emotions he is not so sure of. He is relating all of this back to nature and his current survival.
Literature took a self-confiding turn in the 1870s and early 1900s, The Naturalist Movement. Readers were able to relate to the characters struggle for existence, survival, and journey to find themselves. These works of literature are still well read and they mark a movement that would forever change writings.
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