Naturalism is a literary movement which generally expresses the situation whereby social conditions and environmental setup and conditions shape the human character. These two conditions shape the belief and normal realities of a person. Naturalism can be dated back in the 19th and 20th centuries where the blacks tended to change their character and behavior prior to the social and environmental condition the whites exposed them to.
Naturalism has two major determining forces that make an individual change their belief, character and general normal realities. The first determiner is the biological determiner. This phenomena state that human beings are driven by some biological forces which are unknown to them ranging from urges to libidos in the sense that once this biological forces change the character of the person changes. The second one is the socioeconomic determiner which majorly focuses on the environment. It states that the environment plays a major role in shaping an individual’s character. This aspect also looks on the social conditions an individual is in
Naturalism has been studied and written by different scholars and writers. Focusing on the work of Stephen Crane, Frank Morris and Theodore Dreiser, they expressed human beings as helpless spices of the natural and social environment which drive them without their consent. (Crane 1627). They studied naturalism in the scenario that human beings are in a world that has forces that make them be in a situation of struggle. These forces are the social and environmental conditions. They said that these forces act on each individual differently hence the existence of different characters. (Crane 1630)
Ann Petry’s story like a winding sheet in Norton Anthology of African literature generally focuses on the concept naturalism. It shows us how the social and environmental conditions that an individual is can make them change. We are introduced to Johnson who undergoes transformation throughout the story and at the end we can conclude that he has undergone naturalism. Johnson was a black male who lived with his wife Mae and they worked in a labor plant. ‘Winding sheet’ is used to express Johnson’s life which undergoes change. Ann Petry tries to show how the environment in which an individual is can make an individual change from his belief. Johnson believed that he cannot hit a woman thanks to the teachings that his family had brought him up with. This is evident when he has an argument with his wife Friday the thirteen when his wife told him to go work and he dared not speak rude or hit her.
His ‘winding sheet’ starts when he goes to work late and his boss; Mrs. Scott calls him a nigger. He felt like hitting her hard but holds to his belief. Likewise, when he goes to the all-time restaurant for a cup of coffee and the coffee lady sees him and says ‘no more tea’ ( Petry 1496). This raises his ‘winding sheet’ even more and his belief tends to weaken. When he gets back home from work his ‘winding sheet’ is at the limit and his belief is tested even more by his wife Mae who tells him that he is just an old hungry nigger trying to act tough ( Petry 1497). This time his ‘winding sheet’ was at the limits and he forgot his belief not to hit a woman and he goes ahead to brutalize his wife mercilessly. This shows us how the social and environmental conditions made Johnson forget his believe and changed into someone he is not and hit his wife.
This story shows how the conscious mind can loose its control. In modern life this leads to aggression. Aggression comes when we cannot control the situation at hand. The situation at hand of Johnson was aggression towards a woman and he could not control it prior to the pressure he had undergone and we see him hit his wife.
In conclusion, naturalism is true and though it is dated back in the 19th and 20th centuries, it is something that has been there and will be there so long as human beings are the subjects. Naturalism acts differently on each individual but the core determiners of naturalism as stated above are the biological, social and environmental conditions an individual is in.
Work Cited
Petry, Ann. "Like a winding sheet." Norton Anthology of American literature. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1995. 1496-1497. Print.
Crane, Stephen. "The blue Hotel." Norton Anthology of American literature. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1995. 1626-1645. Print.
