Naturalism In Kate Chopin's 'The Storm'

What is Naturalism? Naturalism is applying scientific principles of objectivity to study humans. In Kate Chopin narrative “The Storm” nature was taking over the story. The Storm is a story that was centered on the nature and how does it force Alcee and Calixta to do things that they did not want to do. In this essay, I will analyse or show how does naturalism was introduce in the story.

The Harlem Renaissance was a cultural, social and artistic explosion. This event took place in Harlem, New York between World War I and the mid-1930’s. It was known as the “Negro Movement”. During this movement 1.6 million African Americans moved away from the racial discrimination looking for new opportunities. These African Americans went out and expressed their racial pride with different forms of art.

The Harlem Renaissance referred to the flowering of the African- American art and literature during the 1920s. However, it was mainly experienced in the Harlem in New York City.

In the story "The Storm", Kate Chopin plots a situation in which two people surrender to their physical desires. Chopin wrote fiction stories in the late 19th century. She was condemned due to the immorality presented in her work. At her times, woman was considered to be very innocent, and always faithful to her husband. In Chopin's work one sees a totally different view of a woman's behavior. She is not a popular writer of her era because of her crude works; the audience of her period could not justify her stories. In the story "the storm", Kate Chopin by hiding the immoral behavior of her characters behind the fear of bad weather is being ironic.

One of the many revolutionary eras in history was the Harlem renaissance. This was a sudden cultural revolution that was realized in the 1920s and it became popularly known as the “Harlem Renaissance” or “The New Negro movement”. This is a particular era that the African American people draw pride in. the era saw a cultural, social, music and art explosion of epic proportions This was aimed at shifting the stereotypical view of black people as uneducated, intellectually deprived farmers to one of a complex, organized and intellectually equal to the whites. The Harlem renaissance took place in 1920s thru 1930s. This era saw a phenomenon rise in famous black writers and marked the onset of blues, musical theatre, blues, dance and poetry. The new art caught on an appealed to the whites as well. Harlem became a cultural and literature center. The African Americans artists and writers were gaining recognition from the white. [2]

Usually a storm creeps upon us, hits a luminous climax, and then fades away into nothingness.  In The Storm, Kate Chopin develops a parallel between a rainstorm and an emotional storm in a woman’s life.  Chopin uses symbolism to depict the feelings of relationships that are as unpredictable as that of a raging storm.

“They did not heed the crashing torrents, and the roar of the elements made her laugh as she lay in his arms.”(Chopin807)

     The Harlem Renaissance was a time of racism, injustice, and importance. Somewhere in between the 1920s and 1930s an African American movement occurred in Harlem, New York City. The Harlem Renaissance exalted the unique culture of African-Americans and redefined African-American expression. It was the result of Blacks migrating in the North, mostly Chicago and New York. There were many significant figures, both male and female, that had taken part in the Harlem Renaissance. Ida B. Wells and Langston Hughes exemplify the like and work of this movement.

Harlem Renaissance, a blossoming (c. 1918–37) of African American culture, particularly in the creative arts, and the most influential movement in African American literary history. Embracing literary, musical, theatrical, and visual arts, participants sought to reconceptualize “the Negro” apart from the white stereotypes that had influenced black peoples’ relationship to their heritage and to each other. They also sought to break free of Victorian moral values and bourgeois shame about aspects of their lives that might, as seen by whites, reinforce racist beliefs. Never dominated by a particular school of thought but rather characterized by intense debate, the movement laid the groundwork for all later African American literature and had

Naturalism is the story that human characters struggle and experience from natural forces which are unable to control. There are four characteristics of Naturalism and those are in “The Open Boat” and “To Build a Fire”. First, Naturalism has four determinism; mechanical determinism, biological determinism, psychological determinism, and social determinism. Especially, “The Open Boat” has psychological and biological determinism and “To Build a Fire” has biological determinism. In “The Open Boat”, the captain, the cook, the oiler and the correspondent are in psychological rollercoaster.

Kate Chopin in “the Storm” uses symbolism in characters to develop the theme that marriages are not perfect. Although there is a physical storm in the story, there is also a storm of emotions. Chopin is able to convey the emotions of her characters throughout the story because the storm that takes place at the very beginning of her story.

The harlem renaissance was a cultural, social, and artistic event that took place in Harlem, New York, in the early 1900’s.

In “The Storm” Kate Chopin makes the setting an essential and entwined part of her action and ideas. The story focuses on the two main characters, Calixta and Alcee and their short love affair. The action is taking place in a small town in Louisiana where all of the characters live. The story is set in the late nineteenth century when adultery was not expected from anyone, as woman were considered to be innocent and faithful. The integration of setting and story can be followed in details about the storm itself, setting of the atmosphere/mood, and also the complexities of married status in the society.

This short story was really straight forward until it got to the end, where it had a twist, which made me pick the story to write on. Kate Chopin did an outstanding job using symbolism, but this novel is not for all ages, if you know what I mean. How the setting, tone and theme all tie all together is what makes the story different from the others.

The Harlem Renaissance was regarded as a blossoming of African -American culture particularly in the genre of creative art and one of the most influential movement in African- American literary history. While the Harlem Renaissance embraced musical, theatrical, literary and visual arts, the participants within the movementsought to re-conceptualize