Form and History in American Literary Naturalism

Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism, American
Cover of the book Form and History in American Literary Naturalism by June Howard, The University of North Carolina Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: June Howard ISBN: 9781469620695
Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press Publication: March 1, 2017
Imprint: The University of North Carolina Press Language: English
Author: June Howard
ISBN: 9781469620695
Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press
Publication: March 1, 2017
Imprint: The University of North Carolina Press
Language: English

Examining the novels of Frank Norris, Theodore Dreiser, Jack London, and other writers, June Howard presents a study of American literary naturalism as a genre. Naturalism, she states, is a way of imagining the world and the relation of the self to the world, a way of making sense -- and making narrative -- out of the comforts and discomforts of its historical moment.

Howard believes that naturalism accomodates the sense of perilousness, uncertainty, and disorder that many Americans felt in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. She argues for a redefinition of the form which allows it to be seen as an immanent ideology responding to a specific historical situation.

Working both from accepted definitions of naturalism and from close analysis of the literary texts themselves, Howard consructs a new description of the genre in terms of its thematic antinomies, patterns of characterization, and narrative strategies. She defines a range of historical and cultural reference for the ideas and images of American naturalism and suggests that the form has affinities with such contemporary ideologies as political progressivism and criminal anthropology. In the process, she demonstrates that genre criticism and historical analysis can be combined to create a powerful method for writing literary history.

Throughout Howard's study, the concept of genre is used not as a prescriptive straitjacket but as a category allowing the perception of significant similarities and differences among literary works and the coordination of textual analysis with the history of literary and social forces. For Howard, naturalism is a dynamic solution to the problem of generating narrative from the particular historical and cultural materials available to the authors.

Originally published in 1985.

A UNC Press Enduring Edition -- UNC Press Enduring Editions use the latest in digital technology to make available again books from our distinguished backlist that were previously out of print. These editions are published unaltered from the original, and are presented in affordable paperback formats, bringing readers both historical and cultural value.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Examining the novels of Frank Norris, Theodore Dreiser, Jack London, and other writers, June Howard presents a study of American literary naturalism as a genre. Naturalism, she states, is a way of imagining the world and the relation of the self to the world, a way of making sense -- and making narrative -- out of the comforts and discomforts of its historical moment.

Howard believes that naturalism accomodates the sense of perilousness, uncertainty, and disorder that many Americans felt in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. She argues for a redefinition of the form which allows it to be seen as an immanent ideology responding to a specific historical situation.

Working both from accepted definitions of naturalism and from close analysis of the literary texts themselves, Howard consructs a new description of the genre in terms of its thematic antinomies, patterns of characterization, and narrative strategies. She defines a range of historical and cultural reference for the ideas and images of American naturalism and suggests that the form has affinities with such contemporary ideologies as political progressivism and criminal anthropology. In the process, she demonstrates that genre criticism and historical analysis can be combined to create a powerful method for writing literary history.

Throughout Howard's study, the concept of genre is used not as a prescriptive straitjacket but as a category allowing the perception of significant similarities and differences among literary works and the coordination of textual analysis with the history of literary and social forces. For Howard, naturalism is a dynamic solution to the problem of generating narrative from the particular historical and cultural materials available to the authors.

Originally published in 1985.

A UNC Press Enduring Edition -- UNC Press Enduring Editions use the latest in digital technology to make available again books from our distinguished backlist that were previously out of print. These editions are published unaltered from the original, and are presented in affordable paperback formats, bringing readers both historical and cultural value.

More books from The University of North Carolina Press

Cover of the book Contesting the New South Order by June Howard
Cover of the book No Direction Home by June Howard
Cover of the book Businessman in the Statehouse by June Howard
Cover of the book The Yankee Plague by June Howard
Cover of the book Turning Right in the Sixties by June Howard
Cover of the book Prostitution, Modernity, and the Making of the Cuban Republic, 1840-1920 by June Howard
Cover of the book Making a Slave State by June Howard
Cover of the book Time before History by June Howard
Cover of the book Michel Foucault's Archaeology of Western Culture by June Howard
Cover of the book Josephus Daniels by June Howard
Cover of the book Southern Cultures by June Howard
Cover of the book North Carolina Parade by June Howard
Cover of the book Piero Gleijeses' International History of the Cold War in Southern Africa, Omnibus E-Book by June Howard
Cover of the book The Children's Civil War by June Howard
Cover of the book Upbuilding Black Durham by June Howard
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy