Theme Of Naturalism In Ethan Frome

During the period of realism, LOOKING FOR NEW HOOK. Other than the important events and immense changes to our country, the Realism period brought many new pieces of literature. This era occurred during the 1830s through when the Civil War ended. Many events had an immense impact on the social and cultural trends. For example, the literature that was written during this time was about the life of an average human. Numerous writers used Naturalism, a philosophical movement that examines how heredity, economic circumstances, physical abilities, and the environment shape people, and Realism, a literary technique to describe story elements, such as setting, characters, themes, etc., without using elaborate imagery, or figurative language. Within

The setting often becomes a character in and of itself” (Naturalism by SuperSummary.com). An example of this writing is Ethan, the main character, in Ethan Frome. He describes his journey back home through the rough weather in Massachusetts after a tough search for glue to fix his wife, Zeena, special pickle dish. In Ethan Frome, Ethan experiences, “The fitful bursts of sleet had changed into a steady rain and the horses had heavy work even without a load behind them. Once or twice, hearing sleigh-bells, Ethan turned his head, fancying that Zeena and Jotham might overtake him; but the old sorrel was not in sight, and he set his face against the rain and urged on his ponderous pair” (Wharton ch. 6). The environment had a major effect on Ethans emotions and how he wanted his actions to go. The environment has no control over what it does or makes occur but in our lives and plans it can have a major impact. Another example of troubles occurring from the environment is through the main characters of “The Outcasts of Poker Flats”. They are traveling away from their home town

These expectations had an impact on people and also occurred as a topic many realistic writers wrote about during this period. In “Realism” by Study.com, it proclaims, “Most of the… works [written] highlighted social problems of their time and country, and were often considered revolutionary… Because of [a] growth of [the] industrial nation, a social shift really did take place. Life at this point was not about the promise of westward expansion anymore; rather, it was about working a job, feeding a family and dealing with the hand you were dealt.” Numerous Realistic writers used social expectations as a burden for their main characters in their writings. An example of this occurs in Ethan Frome. Ethan describes his shock toward the warm-hearted feeling he received from getting spoken to by Mrs. Hale how she did. He was shocked that Mrs. Hale felt that way and felt guilty for future plans, of taking money from the family. He knew he couldn’t steal from them for his personal gain if they were that kind and generous. In Ethan Frome, the passage elucidates, “It was a long time since anyone had spoken to him as kindly as Mrs. Hale…If the Hales were sorry for him they would surely respond to his appeal...He was planning to take advantage of the Hales' sympathy to obtain money from them on false pretences. He was a poor man, the husband of a sickly woman, whom his desertion would leave