An important paradox characterizes the history of American literary naturalism. Although the movement has been attacked by literary journalists and academic critics since its origin in the 1890s, it has been one of the most persistent and vital strains in American fiction. Naturalism 'refuses to ...
An important paradox characterizes the history of American literary naturalism. Although the movement has been attacked by literary journalists and academic critics since its origin in the 1890s, it has been one of the most persistent and vital strains in American fiction. Naturalism 'refuses to die' in America despite the deep antagonism it usually inspires. Few of our major twentieth-century novelists have escaped its 'taint, ' and it is perhaps the only modern literary form in America which has been both popular and significant.