Realism and Naturalism An Episode of War

We discussed about the Realism and Naturalism during the class. I did not post this, because I still need some time to understand the story, and the Realism and Naturalism.

Naturalism started around 1890 and remains huge in American literature for the next twenty years. Naturalism is an outgrowth of realism. Like realism, it wants to present an almost photographically accurate version of “real” life.

Realism is a literary style originated from the journalism. It tried hard to present the world as it really is. The realists usually use the simple things draw from everyday life to fill their work.

The article “Episode of War”, written by Stephen Crane is a good example of Realism and Naturalism. This short story describes the beliefs and settings in which people seem to be helpless. Through the story, the author indicates that people’s situation is depended on their personal decisions or environment.

The story mainly has three part, Lieutenant got a gunshot, the way to the hospital, and the amputation of his arm.

At the first part of the story, the Lieutenant got a gunshot on his arm.I consider it as a expression of Naturalism since he could not do anything to stop that and he was affected only by the environment.

The Realism is apparent during the second part of the story. On the way to the hospital, the author describes what he saw. Although the Lieutenant could have a higher position, he still had to experience the pain from the wound.

Also, at the end of the story, the choice of the Lieutenant is a truly example of Realism. He could choose if he listen to the doctor or not. However, he did not have a chance, and that resulted in the amputation of his arm.

In my opinion. the naturalism is more related to environment while the realism is related to other people. Because I think the naturalists consider the whole thing, the whole nature, affect more than the single one individual (realism).