American Literature Reading and Writing Workshop
Reading and Writing Workshop: Realism and Naturalism (1865-1914)
Unit Focus: This workshop focuses on close reading and writing exercises that examine the key features of Realism and Naturalism in the works of Mark Twain, Jack London, Kate Chopin, and Stephen Crane. Students will explore how these literary movements portray the struggles of characters in the face of social, economic, and environmental forces. The workshop will emphasize critical thinking, narrative development, and the reflection of the human condition in American literature.
Workshop Structure:
The workshop is divided into 5 sessions. Each session includes reading, discussion, and writing activities.
Session 1: Introduction to Realism and Naturalism
Reading Focus: Excerpts from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Key Concepts:
Session 2: Character Development in Naturalism
Reading Focus: The Call of the Wild by Jack London
Key Concepts:
Session 3: The Role of Social Expectations in Realism
Reading Focus: The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin
Key Concepts:
Session 4: The Harsh Realities of Survival in Naturalism
Reading Focus: The Open Boat by Stephen Crane
Key Concepts:
Session 5: Comparative Analysis and Final Writing Project
Reading Focus: Review of key passages from the texts read in the previous sessions.
Key Concepts:
Assessment:
Unit Focus: This workshop focuses on close reading and writing exercises that examine the key features of Realism and Naturalism in the works of Mark Twain, Jack London, Kate Chopin, and Stephen Crane. Students will explore how these literary movements portray the struggles of characters in the face of social, economic, and environmental forces. The workshop will emphasize critical thinking, narrative development, and the reflection of the human condition in American literature.
Workshop Structure:
The workshop is divided into 5 sessions. Each session includes reading, discussion, and writing activities.
Session 1: Introduction to Realism and Naturalism
Reading Focus: Excerpts from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Key Concepts:
- Realism: The representation of life as it truly is, focusing on everyday people and situations.
- Naturalism: The extension of Realism, emphasizing the impact of nature, heredity, and social environment on characters' lives.
- Read excerpts from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (e.g., Chapters 1–5), focusing on Huck’s relationships with his society and how he challenges the norms of the time.
- Character Journal: Have students write a journal entry from Huck’s perspective. In the entry, Huck reflects on his life with the Widow Douglas and his struggles with her attempts to "civilize" him. Students should consider Huck’s internal conflict and his perceptions of society.
- Prompt: “Why do you think Huck is so resistant to the rules of society? What do his experiences tell you about the social forces at work during this time?”
- Discuss Huck’s resistance to societal expectations and how this reflects the Realist focus on individual experiences.
- Connect Huck’s situation to broader issues of class, race, and social expectations in post-Civil War America.
Session 2: Character Development in Naturalism
Reading Focus: The Call of the Wild by Jack London
Key Concepts:
- Naturalism’s focus on survival and the influence of nature on the characters’ fate.
- How environment shapes behavior, especially when survival is at stake.
- Read excerpts from The Call of the Wild (e.g., Chapter 1: “Into the Primitive”), focusing on Buck’s transformation as he is thrust into the harsh environment of the Klondike.
- Character Evolution Essay: Have students write an essay analyzing Buck’s character evolution. In the essay, they should explore how Buck’s physical and emotional development is shaped by his environment.
- Prompt: “How does Buck’s environment in the wilderness change him? How does his transformation reflect Naturalistic themes about the power of nature and the survival instinct?”
- Discuss how Buck’s struggle for survival mirrors the Naturalist idea that characters are often at the mercy of their environment.
- Explore the idea of the "survival of the fittest" and how it is portrayed in the novel.
Session 3: The Role of Social Expectations in Realism
Reading Focus: The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin
Key Concepts:
- Realism's depiction of the internal lives of characters, especially women.
- The societal constraints placed on women during the late 19th century.
- Read The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin.
- Narrative Rewrite: Ask students to rewrite the story from Louise Mallard’s perspective, imagining what she might have thought during her final moments after the revelation about her husband’s death.
- Prompt: “How does Louise’s reaction to the news of her husband’s death reflect the tensions between societal expectations and her own desires? What does this suggest about the role of women in society during the time period?”
- Discuss the theme of freedom in The Story of an Hour and how social constraints affect the character’s actions and emotions.
- Explore how Chopin uses Realism to depict the complexities of gender roles in 19th-century America.
Session 4: The Harsh Realities of Survival in Naturalism
Reading Focus: The Open Boat by Stephen Crane
Key Concepts:
- Naturalism’s focus on man versus nature, often portraying life as a struggle for survival.
- The randomness of fate and the indifferent universe.
- Read The Open Boat by Stephen Crane (whole story).
- Survival Narrative: Have students write a short narrative from the perspective of one of the men in the boat. In the narrative, they should describe the struggle against the elements, emphasizing their feelings of helplessness and the harsh reality of survival.
- Prompt: “How does the story of the men in the boat reflect the Naturalist view of fate and survival? How do the characters respond to the challenges they face, and what does this say about their relationship to nature?”
- Discuss the theme of survival in The Open Boat, focusing on the randomness of the ocean and the men’s internal responses to their situation.
- Reflect on how Crane’s Naturalism portrays nature as an indifferent force.
Session 5: Comparative Analysis and Final Writing Project
Reading Focus: Review of key passages from the texts read in the previous sessions.
Key Concepts:
- Comparing and contrasting the depiction of characters’ struggles in Realism and Naturalism.
- The relationship between characters and their environments in shaping human experiences.
- Comparative Essay: Have students write a comparative essay analyzing how Realism and Naturalism are portrayed in the works of Twain, London, Chopin, and Crane. Students should compare the portrayal of characters in these works and the way environment, society, and internal conflict shape their decisions.
- Prompt: “Compare how the characters in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Call of the Wild are influenced by their environments. How do the two works reflect the themes of Realism and Naturalism? Consider both the external (societal/environmental) and internal (psychological) factors shaping these characters.”
- Have students share their essays and discuss the differences and similarities between the Realist and Naturalist works.
- Reflect on how both movements portray the complexities of human nature and survival, and how they reflect the social and environmental realities of the time.
Assessment:
- Character journal (Session 1)
- Character evolution essay (Session 2)
- Narrative rewrite (Session 3)
- Survival narrative (Session 4)
- Comparative essay (Session 5)