provide the basic documents for informed, though by no means
final, answers to Naturalism in theory and practice. Its First Part is
an anthology of important selections from most of the foreign theo-
rists acknowledged at one time or another to have influenced the
literature of Naturalism. These writers represent practically every
facet of nineteenth-century thought. Although their multivolumed
wisdom has had to be abridged, selections are provided from their
most influential works. Here, then, it is hoped, is offered the gist, not
only of a book, but of a mind. Part II is an anthology of the recog-
nized or disputed examples of Naturalism in American literature.
Here again, in an effort at a mean between snatches and saturation,
two or more works by each writer are provided in several cases.
Questions in Part III lead the student to a synthesis and correlation. A
thorough study of the documents in Part I will make it possible for
him to attempt his own definition of Naturalism, and then to apply
this definition to the poems, stories, and novels in Part II. Although
the selections and apparatus of these first three parts are designed to
be largely self-sufficient, Part IV leads the interested student beyond
the materials presented by suggesting parallel topics for investiga-
tion. These topics begin where those of Part III leave off. Finally,
accompanying Part IV and facilitating such further research as it
suggests, there is a useful general bibliography of the subject of
Naturalism.

The uses of this book, then, are two. One is in courses in American
Civilization or in the definition of ideas. The other is in the theory
and writing of the research paper. As a text of controlled research
materials, this book provides another way out of the growing diffi-
culty and undesirability of assigning to hundreds of students hun-
dreds of topics for compositions based largely on sources available
only in the college or university library. At the same time it fosters
intellectual independence and integrity on the part of students by
teaching them to rely on primary rather than on secondary source
materials. In order to simulate ideal library-research procedures, the
examples cited here have been taken mostly from the original
American editions of foreign source books and native literature. Page
references to the original work are given in the text of articles. Topics
are included not only for the usual end-product--the long, docu-
mented "Term Paper"--but also for many short research exercises.
Throughout the selections, key terms as well as structural and com-
parative questions are raised. These terms and questions urge the

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