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Mary Emerson Owen

Mrs. Kirschner
English II- Section 2
1 December 2015
Realism/Naturalism Journal
Prompt 1: Life in the Iron-Mills by Rebecca Harding Davis
The authors narrator directly addresses the reader because Davis wants the reader to
connect to the characters and setting of the story. After describing the setting, the reader is
directly asked, Can you see how foggy the day is? (Davis 2). The reader is also told I want
you to hide your disgust and come right down with me, --here, into the thickest of the fog and
mud and foul effluvia. I want you to hear this story (Davis 2). These direct addresses to the
reader capture their attention and welcome them into the story. They cause the narrator to have a
realistic effect on the reader. The reader takes in the narrators account and believes that she is
accurately describing the events and the lives of the mill workers, as well as other main
characters.
From the narrators descriptions, the reader can get a sense of what life was like during
the time period. Because of the first-person narration, the reader becomes is able to follow the
events as if witnessing them in real life. Davis uses the first-person narration to realistically
convey the lives of the characters. If you could go into this mill where Deborah lay no ghost
Horror would terrify you more (Davis 8). This quote describes the terrifying conditions of the
mill. I want you to come down and look at this Wolfe, standing there among the lowest of his
kind, and see him just as he is (David 8). This quote is an example of how the first-person
narration connects the reader to the character.

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Prompt 2: The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman and The Palace-Burner
by Sarah Piatt
In The Yellow Wallpaper and The Palace-Burner, the narrators have similarities.
Both narrators are women, and they express feminist ideas. In The Yellow Wallpaper, the
narrator expresses these ideas through her writing. Personally I disagree with their ideas...I did
write for a while in spite of them; but it DOES exhaust me a good deal--having to be so sly about
it, or else meet with heavy opposition (Gilman 1). In this quote, the narrator is showing how
through her writing she can be independent, so she goes against what her family tells her to do.
In The Palace-Burner, the narrator expresses her ideas by comparing herself to the woman at
the burning. But women brave as she/Leave much for cowards, such as I, to guess (Piatt lines
3-4). The narrator wishes she could be as brave as the other woman and take part in the burning.
These similarities indicate how oppressed women were at the end of the 19th century.
Their health and views were usually controlled by others, especially by men. For example, the
narrator in The Yellow Wallpaper is controlled by her husband, John. John laughs at me, of
course, but one expects that in marriage (Gilman 1). This indicates that the narrator is being
brought down by her husband, but it was a normal occurrence during this time. In The PalaceBurner, the narrator is questioned by her son. Would I? Go to your play. Would I,
indeed?/Does the boy not know my soul to be/Languid and worldly/Yet he questions me
(Piatt lines 17-20). Her son is questioning his mothers courageousness, making her feel less
empowered as compared to the woman at the burning of the palace.

Prompt 3: The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin

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Mrs. Mallards character in The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin was more of a
sympathetic character. Even though she felt free after a certain point, she still went through a
stage of grief when she heard the news about her husband. She did not hear the story as many
women have heard the same, with a paralyzed inability to accept its significance. She wept at
once, with sudden, wild abandonment, in her sister's arms (Chopin 1). The author even called
her fit the storm of grief (Chopin 1). The readers gender, age, class, and ethnicity can
influence their response to this story. For example, being a female, particularly an older female,
would cause the reader to feel sorry for Mrs. Mallard when she heard about the death of her
husband.
Chopins critique of the institution of marriage is not applicable today. The reader is able
to evaluate and come to the conclusion that Mrs. Mallards husband but her into some type of
facility to treat her heart condition. Knowing that Mrs. Mallard was afflicted with a heart
trouble, great care was taken to break to her as gently as possible the news of her husband's
death (Chopin 1).It was common for men to put their wives into treatment to try and treat
mental illnesses. Doctors did not know how to correctly treat these illnesses at the time,
resulting in unfair treatment of women. Mrs. Mallard also felt freedom after the found out about
her husbands death, suggesting that she did not feel comfortable in their marriage. "Free! Body
and soul free!" she kept whispering (Chopin 2). And yet she had loved himsometimes. Often
she had not (Chopin 2) also suggests that their marriage was unhealthy. Because Chopin
demonstrates these elements of realism in her story, the reader is able to see that marriage does
not work like this today.

Prompt 4: To Build a Fire by Jack London

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In response to the Frank Norris quote about Realism, I agree with his quote. Realism
can tend to be somewhat boring because it describes daily life and reality. Daily life, especially
in stories like Life in the Iron-Mills by Rebecca Harding Davis, is not particularly interesting
to the audience because it includes drab details about the lives of mill workers during the
industrial revolution period. I cannot tell why I choose the half-forgotten story of this Wolfe
(Davis 3). Another story, The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, also includes
many details about the daily life of the narrator. Her thoughts about the wallpaper and her room
tend to be repetitive. Behind that outside pattern the dim shapes get clearer every day, it is
always the same shape, only very numerous (Gilman 6). These quotes show the daily life in
these characters.
Edith Whartons quote contrasts with Frank Norris quote because she states that
naturalism has a sense of edge and danger that realism cannot provide readers. In To Build a
Fire by Jack London, the main character is left in the freezing cold wilderness with no one to
help him but himself. He is exposed to the freezing dangers and to the thoughts of his own mind.
And the man, as he waved his arms and hands, looked with longing at the creature that was
warm and secure in the covering provided by nature (London 74) represents natures
indifference towards man. He tried to keep this thought out of his mind and to forget it. He
knew that such thoughts caused a feeling of fright in him (London 78) describes how the
mans own thoughts were a danger to him when he was exposed to the cold and harsh nature.

Prompt 5: A Memorandum of Sudden Death by Frank Norris

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The narrator uses a journalistic tone throughout the story by setting up the manuscript and
making comments throughout the manuscript. Before the manuscript, the narrator states, My
interest in the affair is impersonal (Norris 1). The narrator literally states that he is using an
objective point of view throughout the story. This reflects the journalistic tone found in
naturalism where the author or narrator reports on events without using bias. Karslake
evidently made the next few entries at successive intervals of time, but neglected in his
excitement to note the exact hour as above (Norris 11) also shows journalistic tone through the
narrators comments.
One technique that the narrator uses that is borrowed from journalism includes the
commentary that is inserted into the manuscript. The narrators commentary helps inform the
reader about what is going on. With this entry Karslake ended page five, and the next page of
the manuscript is numbered seven. It is very probable, however, that he made a mistake
(Norris 7) is an example of how the narrator interprets the journal. Karslake was evidently
wounded sometime between ten and twenty-five minutes after four. His notes make no mention
of the fact (Norris 16). This quote is another interpretation made by the narrator. This
interpretation helps the reader understand the line above, I am very weak (Norris 16). The
narrators insight allows the reader to comprehend what is going on in the fast-paced situation.