Monday, November 23, 2015
Maggie and Naturalism notes
Maggie:
A Girl of the Streets
by Stephen Crane
Stephen Crane
·
American
writer
·
Invented
“Naturalism” literary movement in America
·
Notable
novels: Maggie: A Girl of the Streets, The Red Badge of Courage
FUN FACT:
Wrote Maggie when he was
22. Self-published it in 1893 under the pseudonym “Johnston Smith.” After The
Red Badge of Courage came out in 1895 and was a great success, he
revised/rewrote Maggie and republished it under his own name.
Naturalism – literary movement
1 1880s to 1940s
·
grew out of Realism
(literary movement)
-
attempts to depict everyday life as it really is (dirty, rough,
few happy endings)
-
characters are regular people with real problems
-
explores middle and lower-class
·
suggested that
social conditions, family, and environment determine one’s outcome
·
influenced by Charles
Darwin's theory of
evolution (Survival of the fittest)
·
exposed the
dark side of life—including poverty, racism, violence, prejudice, disease, corruption, prostitution, and filth
·
criticized for
focusing too much on human vice and misery
|
Difference between Realism and Naturalism:
Where
Realism tries to describe subjects as they really are, Naturalism also attempts to determine
"scientifically" the underlying forces (e.g., the environment, heredity)
influencing the actions and outcome of its characters
Maggie: A Girl of the Streets Audiobook
Click here for the Maggie Audiobook. Warning = the reading is a bit dull/dry, but the accents are accurate and authentic.
Maggie Audiobook
Maggie Audiobook
Monday, September 28, 2015
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