Transcript Nature and Naturalism

Themes in Literature:
Nature and Naturalism
Turn in Essay 1
• Role will be recorded by your essays.
• If you are here today, but are not turning in an essay, please
let me know.
• DON’T turn in your Reading Response yet.
• Keep ahold of them until the end of class because we might
use them for discussion.
Discussion Set #1
• "To Build a Fire" (online reading)
• "Traveling through the Dark“ p. 635
Quickwrite Questions:
1. Two of these pieces we read for today, the
short story "To Build a Fire" (the online
reading) and the poem "Traveling through the
Dark“ have some similarities. What
connections can you see between them?
2. Write about a time when you have been
"exposed to the elements" or otherwise
experienced the power of nature. Did it
influence the way you think about nature? Can
you relate your experience to one of the works
we read for today?
Background information on
Jack London
• Jack London spent time on the very creek that
was the man's destination “To Build a Fire” in
November of 1897, hoping to find gold during
the Klondike Gold Rush, which began with the
discovery of gold in the Klondike (an area in
Alaska) in 1896.
• Many men rushed north thinking to find gold
and make their fortunes and found cold, bitter
weather and inhospitable terrain they weren't
prepared for instead.
Miners climbing Chilkoot Pass
Jack London and Naturalism
London belonged to the “Naturalist” school of
writers.
"Naturalism assumes that humans have little if any
control over what happens. Rather, things
happen to people, who are at the mercy of a
variety of external and internal forces…" from
The Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary
Terms
Another characteristic of Naturalist writing is its
lack of commentary on the events of the story.
How is “To Build a Fire” a “Naturalist” story? Do
you think that “Traveling Through the Dark” fits
this definition as well?
Jack London and Naturalism
Naturalism is related to the idea of “determinism.”
From the Stanford Philosophy Encyclopedia:
"Causal determinism is, roughly speaking, the
idea that every event is necessitated by
antecedent events and conditions together with
the laws of nature."
In other words, this is the idea that every event
happens because it must. How does this apply
to human thought and action in the works we
read for today?
Brief Detour: Revisiting POV
• What is the point of view in “To Build a Fire”?
• I found this awesome flow chart to help determine POV in any
story and thought I should share it with you!
Questions to Consider:
• In “To Build a Fire,” is the man's fate inevitable?
What events let up to his certain demise? At
what point was his fate sealed?
• In “Traveling Through the Dark” what events
necessitate (cause to be necessary) the speaker’s
actions at the end of the poem?
• Does the necessity of these actions detract from
the emotional “punch” of the poem, or does it
add to it?
Nature and Romanticism in
"I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud“ p. 630
This poem’s view of nature:
• Nature is sublime. (Awe-inspiring.)
• Nature is a source of inspiration and comfort.
(Wordsworth wrote in his preface to Lyrical Poetry
that his definition of poetry was "the spontaneous
overflow of powerful feelings: it takes its origin
from emotion recollected in tranquility.")
• What else can you say about Wordsworth's view of
nature after reading this poem?
Faith and Doubt in "Dover Beach”
p. 656
In this poem:
• Nature, especially the sea, is a metaphor. What
does it stand for?
• Do you think that this poem is ultimately pessimistic?
About faith? About life? Why or why not?
• Why do you make of the allusion to Sophocles in
lines 15-20? Why do you think he includes this?
• What else can we say about Arnold's use of nature
in this poem?
Nature as a source of self-knowledge?
• In all of these works, the speaker or main
character experiences an epiphany, a
moment of realization.
• What does each of these characters know
at the end of the work that they did not
know at the beginning? What did they
have to go through to get there?
Attitudes Towards Nature
• If you had to describe these authors' attitudes
toward nature, what would you say about each
of them?
• In “How to Build a Fire”, how does the
relationship between the man and the dog
change over the course of the short story, and
what do you think that says about London’s
attitude towards “human” intelligence?
Langston Hughes: “The Negro
Speaks of Rivers” p. 686
• Our friend Langston again!
• How is this poem similar to “Negro”?
• Why does this poem focus on a geographical feature? How
does that give focus to the poem?
• Can this poem meant to be seen as a companion to “Negro”?
• How so? How do we know? What evidence do you see for this?
Mary Oliver “Wild Geese” p. 634
• This poem expresses a view of nature that is a little different
than the other’s we have looked at.
• This poem expresses nature and humanity as one.
• Where do we find evidence of this in this poem?
• This poem views the relationship between humanity and
nature as one of inspiration, oneness, and healing.
• That although we rush around and worry and think of ourselves
as so separate and isolated from the world, we are part of a
greater whole, and that realizing that, noticing nature and seeing
ourselves as a part of it and not apart from it, we can heal.
Robert Frost: “Stopping by Woods
on a Snowy Evening” p. 680
• This is probably one of the most famous nature poems in the
world, but is it really about nature?
• Many people argue it is not.
• What is it about? Anyone want to give us their interpretation
of this poem?
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfOxdZfo0gs
From Last Week: Strange Love
• We didn’t have time to get to it in class, but last week when
we discussed our “Strange Love Pomes” I gave you all a
challenge for extra credit to write a love poem with as many
gross words/images as you could.
• Did anyone do this?
• Would you like to share it with us? 
Next Week’s Theme: War
• Tuesday, March 25 Topics: Themes Across Genres: War
Homework Due:
• Read Short Story: Tim O’Brian’s “The Things They Carried” p. 269-281
• Read Poem: Denise Levertov “What Were They Like?” (handout)
• NOTE: both of these works are about the same war—make sure you
understand which one.
• Thursday, March 27 Topics: War Poetry
Homework Due:
• Read Poems:
•
•
•
•
Richard Lovelace “To Lucasta: Going to the Wars” p. 527,
Wilfred Owen “Dulce et Decorum Est” p. 642,
Yusef Komunyakaa “Facing It”,
Wislawa Szymborska “The End and the Beginning” p. 648