Realism and Naturalism

This week's readings explore the themes of realism and naturalism. Works that fall under realism are characterized by aspects of everyday life. Their concerns are of marriage, work, family, human interaction, and other things having to do with society. Naturalism, on the other hand, deals with things outside of the social sphere. It is more concerned with the environment and animals.

"A White Heron" by Sarah Orne Jewett tells the story of a girl named Sylvia who discovers a beautiful white bird (a symbol of innocence) and develops a great deal of admiration for it. She chooses fellowship with the bird over communion with other human beings. A hunter asks her to take him to the heron and she refuses--disclosing its location would mean giving its life away. She does not want the bird's song to be hushed and its "pretty feathers stained and wet with blood." Sylvia is able to connect with nature and appreciate its beauty, while the hunter desires to take away its life and turn it into a trophy for his wall. Therefore Sylvia stands to represent a naturalistic view while the hunter manifests a more realistic one. However, the story itself does not take a naturalistic tone; if it emphasized naturalism where the law of man does not govern wild animals, the bird would have bitten off Sylvia's head and fed it to the nest.