Teaching Naturalism Unit

8/8/2019 Teaching Naturalism Unit

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Teaching Naturalism UnitNaturalism is a great teaching unit with many ideas and themes thatcan apply to students. This unit includes a timeline, handouts, andideas for teaching Naturalism in an American Literature course. Thisunit should last about 4 weeks. (Note: my classes are shorter, so youmay be able to condense activities into fewer days)

Session 1:First, what is Naturalism? Go over the attached introductory handout withstudents. Discuss with students as you go over the handout. Ask students: What are objectivity, impartiality, and detachment? What do these words

mean? What do we mean to study humans as products? (I gave the example of a

cattle ranchthese animals are observed as products, because that is whatthey will eventually become. We do not moralize about whether or not killingthem is good or bad (unless you have other beliefs); it is done because it isneeded).

What is the scientific method? How might it be used in writing? (I talked aboutbeing very methodical and deliberate in writingyou have a hypothesis, anexperiment, and you discuss the results).

What do the words heredity and environment mean? How might someoneslife be controlled by heredity? How might someones life be controlled byenvironment?

Discuss with students the type of characters and settings a naturalistic authormight use. You could even use movie clips, showing some down and outtypes of characters and places to illustrate this point. Some good examples:

West Side Story (immigrants, ill-educated, city setting)Freedom Writers (urban setting, ill-educated)

Why might the authors use urban settings? (I talked about how there aremore people and experiences to observe in a city than elsewheremoresubjects to see how they interact with their environment and how theirenvironment might shape them)

What does clinical mean? What about panoramic? What do I mean by slice of life? (Clinical meaning a very scientific and removed approach, like observinganimals in a lab experiment.)

What does a chronicle of despair imply? What is a chronicle? (I talked abouthow these stories record a downward spiral, how things went from bad toworse)

So, what type of story do you think a naturalist author would write? What does the brute within mean? (I talked about The Hulk or Spiderman

hiding beneath their veneer of civilization is a brute waiting to be released, if

the right situation arises) How does Nature perceive human beings? (she is indifferent, unconcerned

with their existence) In Naturalistic writing, do human begins have controlover their universe and their fate? (no) If they are not in charge, who is?(nature, heredity, environment, their passions)

For naturalistic author, is free will a real thing or is it an illusion? (an illusion,someone else is pulling the strings. Characters are like puppets, beingdirected by something greater than them and beyond their control)


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Read the list of Naturalist authors and discuss the short quote from Crane.How is that quote a good example of Naturalism?

The term naturalism describes a type of literature that attempts toapply objectivity and detachment to its study of human beings. Fornaturalistic writers, characters can be studied through theirrelationships to their surroundings. Naturalist authors believed thathuman beings as "products" should be studied impartially, withoutmoralizing about their natures.

Naturalistic writers believed that the laws behind the forces thatgovern human lives might be studied and understood. Naturalisticwriters thus used a version of the scientific method to write theirnovels; they studied human beings governed by their instincts andpassions as well as the ways in which the characters' lives weregoverned by forces of heredity and environment.

The naturalist often describes his characters as though they areconditioned and controlled by environment, heredity, instinct, orchance.

Characteristics: Characters: Frequently ill educated or lower class characters whoselives are governed by the forces of heredity, instinct, and passion.

Their attempts at exercising free will or choice are manipulated byforces beyond their control.

Setting: Frequently an urban setting, like a city.

Techniques and plots: The naturalistic novel offers "clinical, panoramic,slice-of-life" drama that is often a "chronicle of despair.

Themes:Survival, determinism, violence, and taboo as key themes.

The "brute within" each individual , composed of strong and oftenwarring emotions: passions, such as lust, greed, or the desire fordominance or pleasure; and the fight for survival in an amoral,indifferent universe. The conflict in naturalistic novels is often "man


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against nature" or "man against himself" as characters struggle toretain a "veneer of civilization" despite external pressures thatthreaten to release the "brute within."

Nature as an indifferent force acting on the lives of human beings .

--here becomes Stephen Crane's view in "The Open Boat": "This towerwas a giant, standing with its back to the plight of the ants. Itrepresented in a degree, to the correspondent, the serenity of natureamid the struggles of the individual--nature in the wind, and nature inthe vision of men. She did not seem cruel to him then, nor beneficent,nor treacherous, nor wise. But she was indifferent, flatly indifferent."

The forces of heredity and environment as they affect--and afflict--individual lives .

An indifferent, deterministic universe . Naturalistic texts often describe

the futile attempts of human beings to exercise free will, oftenironically presented, in this universe that reveals free will as an illusion.

Naturalistic Authors:Frank Norris

Theodore Dreiser Jack LondonStephen CraneEdith Wharton, The House of Mirth (1905)Ellen Glasgow, Barren Ground (1925)

John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath (1939)

Norman Mailer, The Naked and the Dead (1948)William Styron, Lie Down in Darkness (1951)Saul Bellow, The Adventures of Augie March (1953)

A man said to the universe:"Sir, I exist!"

"However," replied the universe,"The fact has not created in me

A sense of obligation." --Stephen Crane (1894,1899)


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Session 2: Begin reading The Open Boat by Stephen Crane. Make acharacter list with students. See below.

Character Description Strengths/Weakn

esses

Fate of

Character

The Oiler(aka Billie)

Kind,forgiving,takes ordersand does whathes told,physicallystrong

Takes orders well,hardworking,willing to sacrificefor the well-beingof others

Dies

The CookOverweight,likes food,

doesnt helptoo much

Knows how to helpease the tension of a tough situation,

but does not assistin rowing and isphysically weak

Lives

The Captain

Injured, givesorders,concernedabout hisshipwreckedboat and hiscrew

Knows that aleader is needed tohelp them survivethis ordeal, canlook past his selfishdesires to see whatis best for the crew,very smart

Possibly livesor dies, it is uptointerpretation

TheCorrespondent

Easygoing andwilling to help,physicallystrong as well

Willing to workhard and rows withthe Oiler, obeys theCaptain and theorders he is given,seems upbeat andsomewhat positivethroughout theordeal

Lives

Session 3: Finish reading The Open Boat. Stop periodically todiscuss what is happening in the story. Make sure students know thecharacters and are filling out their character chart.

Session 4: Go over the character handout and Open Boat questionswith students (see attached handout). Make sure students can explainhow The Open Boat is a naturalistic story. Discuss how Crane writesabout his characters and their surroundingsisnt it interesting that he


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uses more adjectives and descriptive language when talking about thesea than when talking about the characters?

The Open Boat

Refer back to the beginning of The Open Boat .

1. Write down some of the descriptive language used in the opening:

2. What does it mean, none of them knew the color of the sky? Whatkind of mood does that set for the story?

3. What type of conflict is presented at the beginning of The OpenBoat?

4. What kind of imagery does the opening scene present?

5. How does the narrator describe the crew? What adjectives does thenarrator use?

6. What kind of point-of-view is the narrator adopting in this storyfirst or third person? How does this perspective effect the telling of the story?

7. Does the narrator focus on any one character more than the others?Are there any characters that are more significant than the others?

Go back to section II of the story (page 561). Read until thecook was bailing

8. What is the relationship between man and nature in this scene?

9. Does Crane see nature as arbitrary, malicious, or something else?

10. Find three passages in the story that emphasizes the power of nature over humans. Write the quote and page number below:

1.

2.

3.


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Session 5: Start reading To Build a Fire by Jack London.Introduce the author before beginning his story.Session 6: Finish reading To Build a Fire. Go over the reviewquestions and do the knowledge chart with students.

Knowledge or InstinctUse this chart to note passages that discuss knowledge and instinctin Jack Londons To Build a Fire. The shared space is available forthose passages where the situation is unclear.

Knowledge Unclear Instinct

The trouble with him

was that he waswithout imagination.He was quick andalert in the things of life, but only in thethings, and not in thesignificances.

Empty as the mansmind was of thoughts,he was keenly

observant.He had forgotten tobuild a fire and thawout.

But the dog knew; allits ancestry knew, andit had inherited theknowledge.

Its instinct told a

truer tale than wastold to the man by themans judgement.

But the brute had itsinstinct.

he compelled thedog to go on in front.

The dog did not wantto go.

It did not know this.It merely obeyed themysterious promptingthat arose from thedeep crypts of itsbeing.


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To Build a Fire

1. Identify the point of view of the story.

2. What is the mood in the opening paragraph?

3. What is the tone of the narrator? How does he feel towards thesubject that he is presenting?

4. What is significant about the fact that the main character has noname?

5. Who or what is the antagonis t in the story?

6. Discuss the personality of the man. What does he seem to thinkabout his own abilities? How does he behave in relation to hisenvironment?

7. What are some of the mistakes in judgment that the man makesduring the course of the story? What is his fatal flaw? Describe thechanges in attitude that he undergoes during the story.

8. Discuss the personality and role of the dog in the story. In whatways is the dog smarter than the man? What did the doginstinctively understand that the man did not?

9. What is the relationship between man and nature in this story?

10. In this story, what is the difference between knowledge andinstincts? Use the chart on the back of this page to answer thisquestion.

11. What does the mans failure to build a fire symbolize?

12. What is the significance of the dogs final movement towardscivilization at the end of the story? What does this suggest aboutthe dogs relationship to nature?


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Session 7: Discuss the themes of naturalism : survival, determinism,violence, the "brute within" each individual, Nature as an indifferent force acting on the lives of human beings, the forces of heredity and environment, an indifferent, deterministic universe, and taboo . Use thechart below to locate themes in the writings. Make sure students

record their thoughts so that they can share them in the classdiscussion.

Theme of Naturalism

Quotation fromstory (write OB orBF to indicate the

story)

Student commentsfor class discussion

Indifference in nature It did not lead him tomeditate upon hisfrailty as a creature of temperature, and

upon mans frailty ingeneral. (BF)Deterministic,indifferent universe

If this old ninny-woman, Fate, cannotdo better than this,she should bedeprived of themanagement of mensfortunes. She is an oldhen who knows nother intention. If shehas decided to drownme, why did she notdo it in the beginningand save me all thetrouble. (OB)

Violence

The brute within

Heredity andenvironment

Taboo

Survival


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Session 8: Begin discussing the plot of decline with students. Usethe handout below to have students create a chart showing the plot of decline.

Plot of DeclineNaturalist stories often feature a plot of declinea plot that depicts acharacters progression towards degeneration or death. Each storycontains a metaphorical journey, with the protagonists encountering

nature and succumbing to its indifferent wrath. In groups or on yourown, you will need to identify important steps along thecharacters journeykey events or narrative observations fromeither The Open Boat or To Build a Fireand plot thesekey events on a chart. Cite AT LEAST TEN events on your chart.Do the events you cite lead toward the characters decline?

You also need to answer the following questions:1. How does each event you cite affect the following event?2. Are the effects or consequences of each event better or worse than

the one that preceded it? Why or why not?3. Can you think of ways in which the protagonist could have changed

the course of events?4. What are several factors that might prevent the protagonist from

changing the course of events?5. How would you describe the ending of your story? What is the

outcome like?

Session 9: Continue creating Plot of Decline chart. Have studentspresent their charts to the class. Discuss the charts and the plot of naturalist stories.Session 10: Put on the overhead projector the image and questionsabout Migrant Mother. Give students time to write the answers to thequestions in their journals. Discuss students entries as a class. Thenread the newspaper article about the girl from the photo. Does thischange their point of view about the photo? Begin discussing JohnSteinbeck and his contributions to naturalist writing. Give a brief overview of The Grapes of Wrath. (I felt this novel was too faradvanced for my students to read, and I did not have class copies of the novel anyway. If your class could handle it, I would suggest usingthe novel as part of the naturalist unit). Start watching the film version


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of The Grapes of Wrath. Students must follow along and take noteson where they see naturalism occurring in the film (see below forMigrant Mother overhead, newspaper article, and Grapes of Wrathcharacter list, summary, and questions.)


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What do you believe this mother might be thinking? Whatcould be going through her head? Why are her childrenturned away from the camera? What significance might thispicture have as we learn about Naturalism?

Girl from iconic Great Depression photo:


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'We were ashamed'

By Thelma Gutierrez and Wayne DrashWed December 3, 2008

MODESTO, California (CNN) -- The photograph became an icon of the Great Depression: a migrant mother with her children burying theirfaces in her shoulder. Katherine McIntosh was 4 years old when thephoto was snapped. She said it brought shame -- and determination --to her family.

"I wanted to make sure I never lived like that again," saysMcIntosh, who turns 77 on Saturday. "We all worked hard and we allhad good jobs and we all stayed with it. When we got a home, westayed with it."

McIntosh is the girl to the left of her mother when you look at thephotograph. The picture is best known as "Migrant Mother," a black-and-white photo taken in February or March 1936 by Dorothea Langeof Florence Owens Thompson, then 32, and her children.

Lange was traveling through Nipomo, California, takingphotographs of migrant farm workers for the ResettlementAdministration. At the time, Thompson had seven children who workedwith her in the fields.

"She asked my mother if she could take her picture -- that ... hername would never be published, but it was to help the people in theplight that we were all in, the hard times," McIntosh says.

"So mother let her take the picture, because she thought it wouldhelp."

The next morning, the photo was printed in a local paper, but bythen the family had already moved on to another farm, McIntosh says.

"The picture came out in the paper to show the people what hardtimes was. People was starving in that camp. There was no food," shesays. "We were ashamed of it. We didn't want no one to know who wewere."

The photograph helped define the Great Depression, yetMcIntosh says her mom didn't let it define her, although the picture"was always talked about in our family."

"It always stayed with her. She always wanted a better life, youknow."

Her mother, she says, was a "very strong lady" who liked to havea good time and listen to music, especially the yodeler named MontanaSlim. She laughs when she recalls her brothers bringing home a skinnygreyhound pooch. "Mom, Montana Slim is outside," they said.

Thompson rushed outside. The boys chuckled. They had namedthe dog after her favorite musician.


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"She was the backbone of our family," McIntosh says of hermom. "We never had a lot, but she always made sure we hadsomething. She didn't eat sometimes, but she made sure us childrenate. That's one thing she did do."

Her memories of her youth are filled with about 50 percent good

times, 50 percent hard times.It was nearly impossible to get an education. Children worked thefields with their parents. As soon as they'd get settled at a school, itwas time to pick up and move again.

Her mom would put newborns in cotton sacks and pull themalong as she picked cotton. The older kids would stay in front, so momcould keep a close eye on them. "We would pick the cotton and pile itup in front of her, and she'd come along and pick it up and put it in hersack," McIntosh says.

They lived in tents or in a car. Local kids would tease them,telling them to clean up and bathe. "They'd tell you, 'Go home and

take a bath.' You couldn't very well take a bath when you're out in acar [with] nowhere to go."She adds, "We'd go home and cry."McIntosh now cleans homes in the Modesto, California, area.

She's proud of the living she's been able to make -- that she has a roof over her head and has been able to maintain a job all these years. Shesays her obsession to keep things clean started in her youth when herchore was to keep the family tent clean. There were two white sheetsthat she cleaned each day.

"Even today, when it comes to cleaning, I make sure things areclean. I can't stand dirty things," she says with a laugh.

With the nation sinking into tough economic times and analystssaying the current economic crisis is the worst since the GreatDepression, McIntosh says if there's a lesson to be learned from herexperience it is to save your money and don't overextend yourself.

"People live from paycheck to paycheck, even people makinggood money," she says. "Do your best to make sure it doesn't happenagain. Elect the people you think is going to do you good."

Her message for President-elect Barack Obama is simple: "Thinkof the middle-class people."

She says she'll never forget the lessons of her hard-workingmother, who died at the age of 80 in 1983. Her gravestone says:"Migrant Mother: A Legend of the strength of American motherhood."

"She was very strict, but very loving and caring. She cared for usall," McIntosh says.


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The Grapes of Wrath

Released from an Oklahoma state prison after serving four yearsfor a manslaughter conviction, Tom Joad makes his way back to hisfamilys farm in Oklahoma. Tom gets his home, only to find itand allthe surrounding farmsdeserted. Muley Graves, an old neighbor,wanders by and tells the men that everyone has been tractored off the land. Most families, he says, including his own, have headed toCalifornia to look for work. Tom finds Ma and Pa Joad at Uncle Johnsthe next day, packing up the familys few possessions. Having seenhandbills advertising fruit-picking jobs in California, they envision thetrip to California as their only hope of getting their lives back on track.

Character List for The Grapes of Wrath

Tom Joad - The novels protagonist, and Ma and Pa Joads favorite son. Tom is good-natured and thoughtful and makes do with what life handshim.

Ma Joad - The mother of the Joad family. Ma is introduced as a womanwho knowingly and gladly fulfills her role as the citadel of the family.

Pa Joad - Ma Joads husband and Toms father. Pa Joad is an Oklahomatenant farmer who has been evicted from his farm. A plainspoken,good-hearted man, Pa directs the effort to take the family to California.

Jim Casy - A former preacher who gave up his ministry out of a belief that all human experience is holy.

Rose of Sharon - The oldest of Ma and Pa Joads daughters, andConnies wife. An impractical, petulant, and romantic young woman,Rose of Sharon begins the journey to California pregnant with her firstchild.

Grampa Joad - Tom Joads grandfather. The founder of the Joad farm,Grampa is now old and infirm.

Granma Joad - Granma is a pious Christian, who loves casting hellfireand damnation in her husbands direction.

Al Joad - Toms younger brother, a sixteen-year-old boy obsessed withcars and girls.

Ivy and Sairy Wilson - A couple traveling to California whom the Joadsmeet on Highway 66.


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Connie - Rose of Sharons husband, Connie is an unrealistic dreamerwho abandons the Joads after they reach California.

Noah Joad - Toms older brother.

Uncle John - Toms uncle.

Ruthie Joad - The second and younger Joad daughter. Ruthie has afiery relationship to her brother Winfield: the two are intenselydependent upon one another and fiercely competitive.

Winfield Joad - At the age of ten, Winfield is the youngest of the Joadchildren.

Muley Graves - One of the Joads Oklahoma neighbors. When the bank

evicts his family, Muley refuses to leave his land.

Agnes Wainwright - Agnes becomes engaged to Al, who leaves hisfamily in order to stay with her.


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The Grapesof Wrath

MovieQuestionsDuring and/or after viewing the movie, answer the following questions(refer to your Naturalism notes from two weeks ago for help):

1. What types of characters are the main focus of The Grapes of Wrath? What about the setting? What about the plot? Make sure toanswer ALL PARTS of this question.

Characters:

Setting:

Plot:

2. Write about AT LEAST THREE THEMES that you see portrayed in the

film (refer to your notes for a list of themes). Write about the THEMEand how it is PORTRAYED in the film:

Theme 1:Example:

Theme 2:Example:


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Theme 3:Example:

3. Who or what is the antagonist in The Grapes of Wrath? Why?

4. What, do you believe, is the main idea of this film?

5. What is the relationship between the Joad family and nature?

6. In a complete paragraph, answer the following question: Does thisstory fit within the Naturalist genre of literature? Why or why not?Give at least THREE specific examples to prove your point:

Session 11: Continue Grapes of WrathSession 12: Continue Grapes of WrathSession 13: Finish Grapes of Wrath. Discuss the naturalist elements

in the film. Have students turn in their notes from the film.Session 14: Begin reading Cranes The Blue Hotel. (I was able tolook online and find the text in its entirety, then made copies for thestudents since this short story was not in our lit books). Students needto be taking notes on their own and identifying naturalist elements inthe story.Session 15: Finish reading The Blue Hotel. Students must continuetheir note taking on Naturalist elements in the story. After reading thestory, give students the naturalism quiz (see below).


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Literary Naturalism QuizDO NOT WRITE ON THIS QUIZ!

MARK ALL ANSWERS ON A SEPARATE PIECE OF PAPER!

Answer the following questions after reviewing the basic conceptsassociated with American literary naturalism:

1. Which of the following IS NOT a key theme of American literarynaturalism?a. taboob. survivalc. determinismd. romance

2. TRUE or FALSE: Nature is seen as romantic in most stories of American literary naturalism.

T ____ F ____

3. Free will for the characters in naturalist stories:a. is an illusionb. is a necessityc. is central to their beliefsd. doesnt matter at all

4. Often, literary naturalism contains:a. a flat plotb. no plot at allc. a plot of declined. a plot of success

5. Characters in naturalistic stories are usually:a. Wealthy, upper-class citizensb. Uneducated, lower-class citizensc. Citizens whose lives are controlled by passiond. Both A and Ce. Both B and C


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6. Naturalist authors:a. Believed in writing about real eventsb. Believed that people could control their lives and their futuresc. Believed that nature was being destroyed by humansd. Believed that people are controlled by heredity and environment

7. Identify at least ONE naturalistic QUOTE from The Open Boat andwrite the quote below. You may use your literature book.

8. Identify at least ONE Naturalistic THEME from The Open Boat.Write what theme can apply to the story and why:

9. Identify at least ONE naturalistic QUOTE from To Build a Fire and

write the quote below. You may use your literature book.

10. Identify at least ONE Naturalistic THEME from To Build a Fire.Write what theme can apply to the story and why:

11. Identify at least ONE naturalistic QUOTE from The Blue Hotel andwrite the quote below. You may use the story handout.

12. Identify at least ONE Naturalistic THEME from The Blue Hotel.Write what theme can apply to the story and why:

13. Identify at least ONE naturalistic THEME from The Grapes of Wrath. Write the theme and the example that displays the themebelow:

14. What is the one thing you found most interesting about Naturalismand Naturalist authors? (Nothing is not an answer)


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Session 16: Discuss The Blue Hotel. Have students bring up thingsthat they saw in the story that fit the naturalist description. Then givestudents the Blue Hotel essay assignment (see below). Students canstart writing their essays.

Naturalism Essay Your essay must answer the following question: In what ways doesthe story The Blue Hotel represent the literary genre knownas Naturalism? Use your notes from the Naturalism lecture to helpyou. You must include THREE examples that prove that The Blue Hotelrepresents Naturalist literature. Make sure to include QUOTES from thestory that prove your point. When you use quotes, remember that youmust EXPLAIN the importance of the quote; dont just plug it in andexpect it to speak for itself. Your essay must also have anINTRODUCTION and a CONCLUSION. This means you are writing a FIVE-PARAGRAPH ESSAY. Your essay MUST BE: Times New Roman 12pt font,2 pages, double-spaced, TYPED! This essay is DUE FRIDAY,

JANUARY 22 nd !

Session 17: Work on Blue Hotel essays in the computer lab.Session 18: Continue to work on Blue Hotel essays, DUE today.

Reading Journal Ideas:RJ #1: Have you ever felt like you had very little control over theevents in your life? Why do you think you felt (or currently feel) thatway? What do you believe DOES (or did) have control over your life?RJ #2: Have you ever had an instance where you thought you weregoing to die? Who or what do you believe was in control of your fate inthat instance?RJ #3: Are you an optimistic person or a pessimistic person? Why?RJ #4: Do you believe in fate? Why or why not?RJ #5: Do you believe that Nature is a powerful force? Do you believethat Nature is more in control of your environment than you are?RJ #6: View the Migrant Mother picture supplied above. Have studentsrespond to the questions at the bottom of the picture in their journals.

Extend the Lesson:

Assign the Jack London story In a Far Country. Read together as aclass after reading The Blue Hotel and allow students to choosebetween the two stories for their naturalism essay.

This is a good introductory unit for teaching the novels The Grapesof Wrath or The Awakening. Both novels are great examples of naturalism, and fit within the time period.

Have students think of examples in popular culture (film, music, tv)that show the futile attempt of humans to have power over nature,


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and then they can present a brief synopsis to the class. Or youcould listen to the music, watch the tv shows, or watch some of thefilms. Below are some film examples:

Into the WildCastaway

The Perfect Storm Have students think of examples in modern times of the power of

nature over humans, like Hurricane Katrina. Students must presenttheir modern event to the class and discuss how one of thenaturalist authors discussed in class might view this event or howthey might write an account of the natural disaster.

Have students pretend to be a naturalist author, and they mustwrite an account of a recent natural disaster from the point of viewof a naturalist author. How might a naturalist author view theseevents? What point of view would he or she use? What kind of adjectives would describe the characters? What about theadjectives for nature? What kind of characters would be chosen tobe portrayed in the story?

I hope youve enjoyed this unit. You are allowed to reproduce this forclassroom purposes, but please do not sell this unit or claim it as yourown. Thank you.

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Teaching Naturalism Unit