Naturalism was founded by a French writer, Émile Zola, in the late 19th century to further the Realism movement. While realists consider observation sufficient for reality, naturalists base their work on experimental reality. This movement is a reflection of the Determinism movement in literature. Zola often focused on social issues in his works and attempted to explain human behavior through hereditary and environmental factors. Naturalism is an influential movement in literature, philosophy, and art. It aims to depict human behavior and environmental influences as realistically as possible, emphasizing human vulnerability to nature and external influences. Naturalist works are often written with striking realism. Most characters come from the lower strata of society and live under harsh conditions. These works vividly portray human instincts, desires, and dark sides. The language used is not very selective; characters speak the language of the environment they come from, so profanity is not censored in Naturalist novels. Naturalist writers often use detailed observations and documented scientific data to criticize society and emphasize human vulnerability to nature. Naturalism has been influential not only in literature but also in painting, theater, and cinema. It encourages a scientific and objective approach to understanding human’s place and interaction in the natural world. While Naturalist works are often written with a pessimistic tone, they reflect an interest in exploring the complexity of human nature and various aspects of life in depth. Some of the most successful works of this movement in world literature are Adolphe Taine’s “The Life and Philosophical Views of a Cat” and Guy de Maupassant’s “The Girl with the Golden Eyes”, while prominent novels in Turkish literature include Nabizade Nazım’s “Zehra” and Hüseyin Rahmi Gürpınar’s “Billur Heart”.
Resources:
(derskitabı.blogspot-2017)
(edebiyatokulu-2023)
(türkcenindirilisi-2019)
(Münşeat Yayın Ekibi-2019)
(Nurullah Ulutaş-2015)
Photo by hosein zanbori on Unsplash