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The development of imaginative literature may be characterized by the sequence of successive changes of the literary trends driven by the changes of social conditions and the change of topicality of the themes expressed in the literary works. Naturalism is one of the most controversial literary trends as it emerged as a major new form of expression at the turn of the century, was often ignored, or, when not ignored, condemned out of hand (Applegate xix). However, naturalism presents special interest due to the originality of the way the themes are expressed in naturalistic works, due to the application of scientific principles of determinism to fiction (Applegate xxi), principles of objectivity and detachment [in the ] study of human beings (Campbell par. 1). Jack London may be considered one of the most outstanding and prominent representatives of the literary trend of naturalism. As for Stephen Crane, naturalistic tendencies may be observed in his poetic works and works of fiction. Thus, the present work is aimed at the study of the literary legacy of the two authors from the literary perspective of naturalism.
As for the characteristic features of naturalism in the works of the writers, the characters and the place of action, setting should be analyzed first of all. Campbell states that urban setting is frequently used by the authors (par. 7); however, it is not reduced to urban setting only. If the action of Martin Eden really takes place in the city, the majority of the stories may be characterized by wild nature as the place of action, what is more, nature may not be treated as mere place of action, it is a powerful character of the works as well, for instance, the Canadian tundra in the Love of Life . As for the setting in Cranes poetry, it is frequently described as desert (par. 1), however, the metaphorical image of desert should be interpreted figuratively because desert stands here for society on the whole and hostile nature.
As for the choice of characters, Campbell states that naturalists usually find their characters among the representatives of the lower class. In fact, Londons Martin Eden really has a very poor descent, in the beginning of the novel we observe his being thrilled when he is called Mr. Eden as this type of address is absolutely strange for him (London unpaged). Another typical feature of naturalistic characters is their namelessness. In fact, the plot and the events that happen to the characters bear primary significance for the authors, not the personalities of the characters themselves. This may be observed in The Open Boat by Crane, where he identifies his characters without names giving their occupations only: the captain, the correspondent (who is an autobiographical character, by the way), the cook. However, one character is granted a name, its Billie. By the strange coincidence he is the only person who is not rescued and dies, though he is the most physically strong character among the four men. The author intentionally kills this character in order to show human inability to resist nature and fate. Nature, mainly sea is the main protagonist of the story, not men are. All of them are presented in their connection with fate and doom, nature is ruling their lives, they are puppets in its hands.
The same goes with the protagonist of Love of Life who is struggling against death and starvation during the whole story (London unpaged). Besides, London does not give the reader the name of the protagonist, as well as Crane, while he identifies the protagonists companion, who dies. May be it is a strange coincidence but these two characters are namesakes, Bill and Billie (London unpaged), (Crane unpaged). Besides, the protagonist of The Love of Life and Cranes creature, naked, bestial (line 2) resemble one another, especially when the exhausted man is struggling against the weak woof and the crew of the ship sees him: they saw something that was alive but which could hardly be called a man. It was blind, unconscious. It squirmed along the ground like some monstrous worm (London unpaged). Thus, both authors present pessimistic description of human beings as unable to oppose nature.
As for the main themes of the literary works, they are also the same in the works by both authors. They reveal the brute within each individual (Campbell par. 10). They show the main conflict between a man and nature (Campbell par. 10) and human insignificance in comparison with power of nature. The protagonist of Love of Life manages to survive; his love of life helps him, however, he is deeply wounded by the cruelty of nature and he finds it unable to exist further as he existed before, famine becomes his worst nightmare and he takes measures of precaution against it (London unpaged). The same goes with the the beast from Cranes poetry who Held his heart in his hands, And ate of it (lines 4-5). The doom and degradation of a human being is eloquently described by both authors.
Drawing a conclusion, it may be stated that the legacy of Jack London and Stephen Crane may be characterized by the presence of naturalistic motives, themes, and ways of expressing the themes. The pessimism of the works creates rather depressing impression of the works. At the same time, the function of literature is not to amuse and entertain the reader only. The thing that bursts upon the eye while reading the works and cannot be left without appreciation is the truth about human nature revealed by the authors. If the truth is revealed it should be accepted, no matter how ugly it might be.
References
Applegate, Edd. American Naturalistic and Realistic Novelists: A Biographical Dictionary. Westport: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2002.
Campbell, Donna M. Naturalism in American Literature. Literary Movements. 2008. Web.
Crane, Stephen. The Black Riders. Selected Poems.1895. Web.
Crane, Stephen. The Open Boat. Web.
London, Jack. Love of Life. McClures Magazine, 26 (1905). Web.
London, Jack. Martin Eden. Macmillan and Company, 1913. Web.
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