Naturalism

Essay Exam Ð'- Choice #2

The story, "The Alien" by John G. Neihardt, is an extraordinary example of the 20th century writing style, Naturalism. There are many characteristics in "The Alien" that make it a Naturalist style of writing. The first evidence of this was the beginning started with action in the middle of the story narrated through the main character. Other support of evidence of Naturalism includes the overall dark tone of the story along with the end resulting in death. The final reason the story "The Alien" is a good example of Naturalism is that the main character is portrayed to have survival instincts and be very animalistic.

The first evidence that "The Alien" was an example of Naturalism was how it started off midway in the narrator's story. One common element of naturalistic work is that the action begins in the middle of the plot and the reader has to be informed of what has happened. "The Alien" started with Antoine on a horse he just stole fleeing from men on horseback in the middle of the night. Then some questions the reader first has are answered slowly through Antoine's thoughts. Questions about, who Antoine is and what brought him hear, are answered. "Then he began to remember; remembered that he was hunted; that he was an outcast, a man of no race; remembered dimly, and with a malignant grin, a portion of a long series of crimes; remembered that the last was horsestealing and that some of the others concerned blood. And as he remembered, he felt with horrible distinctiveness the lariat tightening about his neck Ð'- the lariat that the men of Cabanne's trading post were bringing on fleet horses, nearer, nearer through the silent night"(43-44).

The next characteristic of Naturalism, found in "The Alien", I want to discuss is the overall dark tone set for the story by Neirhardt. The story starts in the middle of the night in a hostile situation, which puts the reader automatically in a dark mood. Throughout the whole story there were no signs of happiness and nothing for the reader to smile about. This is how Naturalistic writers want the reader to feel. They are very pessimistic and view life as being very dark. Neihardt did succeed in casting a dark tone in the story through Antoine's pitiful, lonely, troublesome life. A life so lonely that the only one in it is an actual wolf he befriends and starts to share his life story with. "I've been lonesome always. I hain't got no people. Do you know who your dad was, Susette? Neither do I. Some French trader